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Paralegals

Education and Training Requirements

High School

While in high school, take a broad range of subjects, including English, social studies or government, computer science, and languages, especially Spanish and Latin. Because legal terminology is used constantly, word origins and vocabulary should be a focus.

Postsecondary Training

According to the National Federation of Paralegal Associations (NFPA), the majority of paralegals have received some formal paralegal education. Paralegal programs are offered at two-year and four-year colleges or universities. However, current trends across the country, as illustrated by surveys, indicate that formal paralegal education has become a requirement to secure employment, and a four-year degree is the hiring standard in many markets.

There are more than 1,000 paralegal programs, of which about 25 percent have been approved by the American Bar Association. Visit https://www.americanbar.org/groups/paralegals/paralegal-resource-directory for a list of programs.

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