• This program is offered online.

  • Legal Secretary Certificate

    Law firms rely on trained secretaries and assistants to handle day-to-day operations such as preparing legal correspondence, summonses, motions, and subpoenas so that lawyers and paralegals can focus on preparing cases. The Legal Secretary Certificate could prepare you to meet these needs as you learn how to communicate effectively in a legal environment, conduct legal research, analyze theoretical and practical concepts of law, produce written legal correspondence, and evaluate legal sources.

    You will study the role of the paralegal in the civil litigation process and develop the skills necessary for effective legal writing, document processing, and use of software applications. Courses include live seminars, discussion boards, and one-on-one instructor feedback. And, our professors are legal practitioners with real-world experience in legal services, law, and policy. 

    When you are ready to further your education, credits earned in fulfillment of this certificate may be transferred to other Kaplan University associate's and bachelor's degree programs.

    As the largest provider of online legal studies training programs in the United States*, we’ve helped over 6,500 School of Legal Studies graduates achieve their educational goals since 2001. This means that when you earn your certificate from Kaplan University, you join one of the most active and diverse alumni communities in the legal field.

    Legal Secretary Certificate Program Highlights

    This legal secretary training program is designed to help you acquire the knowledge, skills, and work habits employers seek when hiring legal secretaries or legal administrative assistants. This program focuses on:

    • Communication: Demonstrate the ability to effectively communicate in the legal environment.
    • Ethical Decision Making: Demonstrate the ability to apply ethical decision making in the practice of paralegal.
    • Critical Thinking: Demonstrate the ability to apply critical thinking to resolve paralegal practice problems.
    • Theory and Practice: Demonstrate the ability to synthesize and analyze theoretical and practical concepts from a variety of areas of legal specializations.
    • Basic Skills: Demonstrate the ability to apply and employ basic office secretarial skills to produce legal forms and documents.
    • Legal Communication: Demonstrate the ability to produce written legal correspondence and documentation.

    What are the Career Opportunities?

    This program provides you with the specialized knowledge and skills to seek employment as a legal secretary or legal administrative assistant in a variety of settings.† 

    You may qualify to work in a law firm, government agency, health services agency, education services agency, and legal departments of organizations in the profit and nonprofit sectors. Overall employment of secretaries and administrative assistants is expected to grow 12 percent from 2010 to 2020, about as fast as the average for all occupations. ‡ 

    Opportunities are projected to rise but the legal field remains a competitive one and the Legal Secretary Certificate could give you a leg up against the competition.

    Potential career paths include:

    • Legal secretary 
    • Legal administrative secretary
    • Confidential secretary 
    • Judicial administrative assistant
    • Litigation assistant 

  • Kaplan University offers multiple start dates, giving you greater flexibility with your education, life, and work schedules.

    Jun 05

    Online Start Date
    Jun 05, 2013

    Jul 03

    Online Start Date
    Jul 03, 2013

    Jul 31

    Online Start Date
    Jul 31, 2013

    View the Academic Calendar

  • Curriculum: All Tracks

    Certificate Requirements

    CM 107: COLLEGE COMPOSITION I (5 Credits)

    Students will learn how to communicate effectively in their professional field using various writing styles. Students will also identify and further develop their own writing process. Grammar and mechanics will be reviewed, helping students focus on the areas that will improve their writing.

    Prerequisites Required: Any Academic Strategies course or any Eight Skills of the Effective Student course

    Total Certificate Requirements Credits: 31
    Total Program Credits: 31

    CM 220: COLLEGE COMPOSITION II (5 Credits)

    This course helps students apply research and critical thinking skills to develop effective arguments. Students will create professional writings, incorporating post-draft revision strategies, working constructively with colleagues.

    Prerequisites Required: Any College Composition I course

    Total Certificate Requirements Credits: 31
    Total Program Credits: 31

    PA 101: THE PARALEGAL PROFESSIONAL (5 Credits)

    This is an introductory course that will familiarize students with the role of the paralegal in both the workplace and the American legal system. The course is designed to expose students to current trends and issues in the profession, the regulation of the profession, the professional associations available to the paralegal, as well as the ethical considerations associated with the legal profession. Students will also receive basic introductions into the various areas of legal practice, such as law office organization, legal research, and litigation and advocacy. This course will provide students with a good introductory overview of the paralegal's role and contribution to today's legal system.

    Total Certificate Requirements Credits: 31
    Total Program Credits: 31

    PA 106: LEGAL TERMINOLOGY AND TRANSCRIPTION (5 Credits)

    This course is a comprehensive study of documents used in the legal field. Students will learn the basic procedures for transcribing, formatting, and processing legal correspondence and documents and the appropriate use of legal terms, phrases, abbreviations, symbols, and reference sources used by attorneys' paralegals and the courts.

    Total Certificate Requirements Credits: 31
    Total Program Credits: 31

    PA 230: INTRODUCTION TO LEGAL TECHNOLOGY (5 Credits)

    Technology is pervasive and the modern law office is chock-full of technological appliances, tools, and applications that the paralegal must be able to master. At the core of most software applications are the basics-word processors, spreadsheets, databases, and tools for presentations. Of course, the ubiquitous communication tool, email, is the center of modern electronic communications. This course will explore the most common tools and applications found in law firms and those that every "technology-literate" paralegal must know. Word processing, document-assembly programs, and tools for case management, time and billing, calendaring, electronic communications, and creating presentations are a few of the topics explored in this course. Students will leave this course with a solid foundation of the basics in legal technology.

    Prerequisites Required: Students enrolled in a paralegal studies program: PA 101; students enrolled in a legal studies program: LS 102

    Total Certificate Requirements Credits: 31
    Total Program Credits: 31

    PA 305: LAW OFFICE MANAGEMENT (6 Credits)

    Legal professionals are often called upon to handle office management functions. Effective law office managers save their offices time and money and become valuable members of the legal team. The management skills covered in this course can be applied to any office. This course guides students in creating a procedures manual that can be used at the office and as a portfolio of their work.

    Prerequisites Required: Students enrolled in a paralegal studies program: PA 101; students enrolled in a legal studies program: LS 102

    Total Certificate Requirements Credits: 31
    Total Program Credits: 31

    Tuition & Fees: All Tracks

    The 25% tuition reduction applies only to international students living outside of the United States. This discount does not apply to military students. Please check with your advisor to see if you are eligible. 

    All Tracks Online &
    Learning Center     		Campus
    Cost Per Credit
    Number of Credits / Terms  
    Total Tuition Cost

    Tuition and Fees

    Some programs have additional associated fees that are not included in the price of tuition. Click here or check with an Admissions Advisor for more information. 

    Learn More about Kaplan University Tuition and Fees  

    Notice to Learning Center Students

    Kaplan University Learning Center students will only complete a portion of this program on site. You will need to complete at least 50% of the program requirements online, or through transfer credit awarded via prior learning assessment. If you have any questions about these requirements, please speak with an admissions advisor.

    Scholarships and Grants

    Learn more about grants and Kaplan University Scholarships and that may help reduce the cost of your education.

    Kaplan University tuition reductions (including active-duty, spouse, and veterans military tuition rates; scholarships; grants; vouchers; and alumni and alliance reductions) cannot be combined. 

    Tuition Rates for Military Students and Spouses

    Kaplan University has significantly reduced many of our tuition rates and fees for active-duty servicemembers, their spouses, and veterans. Click here for more information.
     

  • * Source: Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), 2009-2010, Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees Conferred, Law and Legal Studies on the Internet at http://nces.ed.gov/IPEDS. Based on total number of degrees granted by Kaplan University compared to other Title IV degree-granting institutions. 

    † Kaplan University cannot guarantee employment or career advancement. Paralegals are not lawyers and cannot practice law or give legal advice to consumers.

    ‡ Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2012-2013 Edition, Paralegals and Legal Assistants, http://www.bls.gov/ooh/Legal/Paralegals-and-legal-assistants.htm (accessed April, 2012). National long-term projections may not reflect local and/or short-term economic or job conditions, and do not guarantee actual job growth.

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