Legal Studies - flexible scheduling options

Legal studies majors prepare for a career in the legal system.

The American Bar Association defines a paralegal as “a person, qualified by education, training or work experience who is employed or retained by a lawyer, law office, corporation, governmental agency or other entity and who performs specifically delegated substantive legal work for which a lawyer is responsible.”

Mount St. Joseph's Legal Studies program, which has been approved by the American Bar Association for more than 20 years, offers both general professional preparation and concentration in specific legal areas, providing a broad base of knowledge. We emphasize important theoretical and practical professional information, including manual- and computer-based legal research, legal writing proficiency, and mastering life-long learning skills. This is also an excellent law school preparation program.

Students completing this degree also receive a certificate to practice as a paralegal. A paralegal is not licensed to practice law and works under a lawyers' supervision, to manage a variety of tasks, including:

• Interviewing clients
• Acquiring factual data
• Drafting court pleadings and legal documents
• Researching statutes, cases and legal source material

Our program promotes an understanding of how individual students fit into the legal system, both as a professional and as a citizen. You will acquire strong communication skills, as well as the ability to think critically and analyze information. Courses are taught by practicing lawyers and paralegals.

Featured Courses:

The program consists of 42 credit hours in courses such as:

• Real Estate Law
• Family Law Legal Principles
• Legal Research
• Litigation
• Communications.