What Makes CALS Different from Other Paralegal Programs?

If you’re looking to begin a paralegal career, it can be a daunting task to try to choose where to get your paralegal education.  There are a lot of paralegal programs out there; how do you pick one?  Potential paralegal students are able to do a lot of online research and find out many details about different paralegal programs.  But how do you know what the school is really like and what your experience would be like there?  What makes one paralegal program different from another?

Folks, I have worked at Center for Advanced Legal Studies (CALS) for 8 months now, and I can assure you, CALS is a unique school.  I was initially hired at CALS as a temp, so even when I first began—unbiased and assumedly temporary—I was majorly impressed with this school, the paralegal programs offered, and the administration/staff.  When offered a permanent position here, I was beyond eager to continue working for CALS, because I saw how truly dedicated everyone was to the success of the CALS’ students and graduates.  I’ve worked as a legal administrator in the past and have learned a lot about other paralegal programs since working here, and let me tell you:  CALS is a cut above.  From an insider’s perspective, let me share with you a few things that make CALS different from other paralegal programs.

1. Paralegal education is all we do

At almost every other school that offers a paralegal program, their paralegal program is only one of many unrelated programs that they offer.  At Center for Advanced Legal Studies, paralegal education is all we do.  We specialize exclusively in training paralegals, and we’re the oldest exclusively paralegal school out there.  When you specialize in one thing, you can excel in it and be the expert on it, and we’ve spent the last 26 years with the sole focus of equipping students to be excellent paralegals.  Most of our staff members were working paralegals or legal administrators before joining the team at CALS.  Our law faculty is made up of practicing attorneys who know exactly what is needed to be an excellent paralegal.  We know the paralegal profession and job market, inside and out.  This is why we call ourselves “the paralegal people.”  It’s all we do; we have the experience and expertise. 

2. We’re like a family

From the moment I interviewed at CALS, I felt this.  And many graduates have said this in their exit surveys:  CALS is like a family.  The staff and administration are personable, caring, and committed to others.  We truly take an interest in our students and seek to provide as personable and thorough assistance as possible.  I recently overheard a prospective student whisper to her friend while waiting to meet with her Admissions Advisor: “Everyone’s so nice here.”  At CALS, you are not just a number, not just another faceless/nameless student.  We know you by name, and we care about your success.  Truly.

3. Personalized career services

Center for Advanced Legal Studies has excellent employment rates for both their Associate Degree program and Paralegal Certificate program (92% and 81%, respectively!).  Every student and graduate of CALS in good standing can contact our Director of Career Services, Tina Ghanavati, at any time to get one-on-one career advice and placement services.  Tina works with you personally to find out your needs and interests and then helps you perfect your resume, find paralegal positions that best fit your interests, skills, and experience, and ultimately helps get you in a job where you can thrive as a paralegal.  As a result of our paralegal training and our placement services, we have a lot of happy employers who seek to hire CALS graduates!

4. Our exciting future

As “the paralegal people,” we’re constantly seeking ways to make our paralegal programs even better.  We’re staying on top of the trends and needs of the legal field, and we’re always looking for ways to make our programs more cutting-edge.  You won’t get a cut-and-dry, impersonal, or outdated paralegal education here.  We’re the oldest and most experienced exclusively paralegal school in the world; and we’re also committed to be the most contemporary, relevant, and cutting-edge paralegal school in the world!  Stay tuned for a couple exciting new program updates in our near future. 

As always, we are 100% committed to helping our students and graduates be as successful as possible.  That’s our bottom line.  But don’t just take my word for it.  One of our current students, Dana, just wrote this on our Facebook page:  “I wanted to share my amazing experience that I have had so far at CALS, with hope that it will provide future students additional assurance in choosing CALS to pursue their paralegal degree.  The staff, professors, and financial advisors have been outstanding since the beginning of my enrollment.  I have two semesters left… but the even more exciting news is that I have already been hired on as a paralegal this month for a local firm!  I wrote to one of my prior professors, ‘I believe my portfolio I put together that included work examples from each of these classes gave me a substantial advantage over the other applicants’ […] CALS is an exceptional college with outstanding professors and I have enjoyed every minute of it.”  Thanks for the shout out, Dana!

Center for Advanced Legal Studies:  Experts in paralegal education. Committed to your success.