Paralegal Blog

"As a paralegal, become indispensable."  These are the words of Center for Advanced Legal Studies’ Academic Dean, Tom Swanson, to a class of new paralegal students which includes Andrea Keprta.  Andrea looks up, waiting to see if another story is on the way.  "Let me give you an example," says Swanson, and the students put down their pens and drop their hands from their keyboards to listen, riveted as one of their favorite instructors relates matters of the law and the paralegal profession.

Today, the days of classes, homework, and group studying at Center for Advanced Legal Studies are behind Andrea, who proudly received her Associate’s Degree in Paralegal Studies at the February 22, 2013 graduation ceremony.  And she has been happily employed in as a paralegal ever since.

So you’ve completed your classes, walked across the stage to receive your diploma, and you’ve been hired.  What’s next?  As you take the next steps in your life, an important thing to do is prepare to pay back your student loans.  

At Center for Advanced Legal Studies, where I work in the Financial Aid department, students who complete one of our paralegal programs and apply for student loans receive the following information.  This way, they can take charge of their financial situation and begin planning early for their future and their loan repayment. 

Thanks to its recognition as a highly-skilled and hugely helpful profession, the paralegal career is gaining in popularity and becoming more in-demand.  A significant number of people are setting their sights on becoming paralegals because the job is rewarding and the career outlook is sunny.  Many people desire a legal career without the time and cost of law school.  Others desire to use a paralegal career as a helpful stepping-stone to becoming an attorney.

The transition from military to civilian employment can be intimidating.  You may have made the decision to join the military for a myriad of reasons, including self-fulfillment, bringing discipline to your life, obtaining a career focus, or simply—but most importantly—service to our country.  Now that you have gained additional discipline and have fulfilled your service obligation, how do you best find continuing career focus and self-fulfillment in the private sector? 

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.