Paralegal BAS

The Paralegal program educates and trains students to perform substantive and procedural legal work under the supervision of a lawyer. Paralegals are non-lawyers who assist attorneys in their professional duties. Two options are available in the Paralegal program: an 63-credit AAS degree program and a 30-credit Intermediate Technical Certificate program.  Upon completion of the Paralegal AAS degree, students will:

  • Be able to think critically
  • Demonstrate organizational skills
  • Work effectively with a variety of legal office professionals and clients
  • Understand and apply legal ethics as required by law
  • Demonstrate in-depth understanding of the legal system and its various agencies
  • Demonstrate solid interviewing and investigation skills
  • Draft legal documents and memoranda pertinent to specific areas of law
  • Demonstrate excellent writing, listening, and speaking skills
  • Demonstrate knowledge in legal research and writing skills
  • Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of a variety of computer programs
  • Maintain confidentiality

Completion of a Technical Skill Assessment is required.

BAS Requires the following:

  • Earned AAS Degree in same major as BAS
  • Gen Ed Core 37 credits
  • AAS program courses for a maximum of 50 credits (note: this can be less than 50 credits)
  • 33 credits of approved upper-division coursework
  • Total Credits Required for BAS is 120

General Education Requirements

Written Communication  
Select one of the following: 6.00
WRITING AND RHETORIC I
and WRITING AND RHETORIC II
 
COLLEGE WRITING AND RESEARCH  
Oral Communication  
Select one from the following: 3.00
FUNDAMENTALS OF ORAL COMMUNICATION  
SMALL GROUP COMMUNICATION  
PUBLIC SPEAKING  
Mathematical Ways of Knowing  
Select one of the following: 3.00-5.00
MATH IN MODERN SOCIETY  
FINITE MATHEMATICS  
COLLEGE ALGEBRA  
COLLEGE ALGEBRA AND TRIGONOMETRY  
STATISTICAL REASONING  
CALCULUS I  
STATISTICAL METHODS FOR THE SCIENCES  
MATHEMATICS FOR ELEMENTARY TEACHERS II  
FINITE MATHEMATICS  
MATH FOR TECHNOLOGY  
STATISTICAL REASONING  
Humanistic & Artistic Ways of Knowing  
Select one course from two categories: 6.00-8.00
Literature
 
LITERATURE AND IDEAS  
WORLD CLASSICS  
INTERNATIONAL LITERATURE  
NATIVE AMERICAN LITERATURE  
MYTHOLOGIES  
Arts
 
INTRODUCTION TO ART  
THE ART AND HISTORY OF THE MOTION PICTURE  
INTRODUCTION TO THE ARTS  
SURVEY OF MUSIC  
MUSIC IN AMERICA  
WORLD MUSIC  
HISTORY OF MUSICAL THEATER  
HISTORY OF JAZZ AND POPULAR MUSIC STYLES  
SURVEY OF THE THEATER  
Language
 
NEZ PERCE LANGUAGE AND CULTURE  
NEZ PERCE LANGUAGE AND HISTORY  
ELEMENTARY SPANISH I  
ELEMENTARY SPANISH II  
Scientific Ways of Knowing  
Select one course from two disciplines; one lab 7.00-8.00
INTRODUCTION TO BIOINFORMATICS  
CONCEPTS OF BIOLOGY  
PLANTS AND PEOPLE  
BIOLOGY IN FILM  
HUMAN BIOLOGY  
HUMAN ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY I  
CONCEPTS OF CHEMISTRY  
GENERAL, ORGANIC AND BIOCHEMISTRY  
PRINCIPLES OF CHEMISTRY I  
INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER SCIENCE  
INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER SCIENCE  
INTRODUCTION TO FORENSIC SCIENCE  
PHYSICAL GEOLOGY  
INTRODUCTION TO EARTH SYSTEMS  
GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS  
INTEGRATED SCIENCE II  
INTEGRATED SCIENCE I  
INTRODUCTION TO NATURAL SCIENCES 1  
NATURAL SCIENCE FOR ELEMENTARY EDUCATOR  
GENERAL PHYSICS I  
GENERAL PHYSICS II
PHYS SCIENCES FOR ELEMENTARY EDUCATORS  
DESCRIPTIVE ASTRONOMY  
PHYSICS FOR SCIENTISTS AND ENGINEERS I  
Social & Behavioral Ways of Knowing  
Select one course from two disciplines: 6.00
CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY  
WORLD PREHISTORY  
INTRODUCTION TO NATIVE AMERICAN STUDIES  
PRINCIPLES OF MACROECONOMICS  
PRINCIPLES OF MICROECONOMICS  
INTRODUCTION TO GEOGRAPHY  
WORLD HISTORY I  
WORLD HISTORY II  
UNITED STATES HISTORY I  
UNITED STATES HISTORY II  
DIVERSITY IN ORGANIZATIONS  
HUMAN RELATIONS IN ORGANIZATIONS  
AMERICAN NATIONAL GOVERNMENT  
INTERNATIONAL POLITICS  
COMPARATIVE GOVERNMENT  
INTRODUCTION TO GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY  
LIFESPAN DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY  
INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY  
SOCIAL PROBLEMS  
DIVERSITY IN ORGANIZATIONS  
HUMAN RELATIONS IN ORGANIZATIONS  
Global Perspectives  
Select one of the following: 3.00-4.00
CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY  
WORLD PREHISTORY  
INTRODUCTION TO NATIVE AMERICAN STUDIES  
RACE AND ETHNICITY  
INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION  
INTERNATIONAL LITERATURE  
NATIVE AMERICAN WRITTEN LITERATURE  
INTRODUCTION TO GEOGRAPHY  
WORLD HISTORY I  
WORLD HISTORY II  
UNITED STATES HISTORY I  
UNITED STATES HISTORY II  
DIVERSITY IN ORGANIZATIONS  
ETHICS AND IDENTITY  
SOCIAL-CULTURAL ASPECTS OF SPORTS  
NEZ PERCE LANGUAGE AND CULTURE  
NEZ PERCE LANGUAGE AND HISTORY  
COMPARATIVE GOVERNMENT  
INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY  
ELEMENTARY SPANISH I  
ELEMENTARY SPANISH II  
INTERMEDIATE SPANISH I  
INTERMEDIATE SPANISH II  
DIVERSITY IN ORGANIZATIONS  
Integrative Seminar: Ethics & Values  
Select one of the following: 3.00
ID 300A - 300Z (see course descriptions for options)
 
HELLS CANYON INSTITUTE  
Total Credits 37.00-43.00

Program Requirements

AAS Program Courses  
Apply up to 50 credits from an earned AAS in Paralegal 50.00
BAS Program Requirements  
Select a minimum of 33 credits from the following: 33.00
REAL ESTATE LAW AND PROCEDURES  
ADVANCED CIVIL LITIGATION  
WILLS, TRUSTS, AND ESTATES  
BUSINESS ORGANIZATIONS  
FAMILY LAW  
TORT LAW  
INTERNSHIP IN LAW  
INTERNSHIP IN LAW I  
Select 10 credits at the 300/400 level
 
Total Credits 83.00

Sequential Plan of Study

Plan of Study Grid
First Year
Fall Credits
CORE Mathematical Ways of Knowing 3.00
CORE Oral Communication 3.00
CORE Scientific Ways of Knowing 3.00
ENGL-101 WRITING AND RHETORIC I 3.00
GNBPT-110 BUSINESS COMPUTER SKILLS 3.00
  Credits 15.00
Spring
ENGL-102 WRITING AND RHETORIC II 3.00
CORE Humanistic & Artistic Ways of Knowing 3.00
CORE Social & Behavioral Ways of Knowing 3.00
LAWPT-219 LEGAL TERMINOLOGY 3.00
LAWPT-223 LEGAL SUPPORT FUNDAMENTALS AND ETHICS 3.00
  Credits 15.00
Second Year
Fall
CORE Global Perspectives 3.00
CORE Humanistic & Artistic Ways of Knowing 3.00
CORE Scientific Ways of Knowing 4.00
LAWPT-294A INTERNSHIP IN LAW I 3.00
Elective Elective Credits 3.00
  Credits 16.00
Spring
CORE Integrative Seminar: Ethics & Values 3.00
CORE Social & Behavioral Ways of Knowing 3.00
GNBPT-185 BUSINESS COMMUNICATION 3.00
GNBPT-200 BUSINESS DOCUMENT PROCESSING 3.00
LAWPT-224 INTRODUCTION TO LAW 3.00
  Credits 15.00
Third Year
Fall
ACCPT-101 BASIC ACCOUNTING I 3.00
GNBPT-222 BUSINESS EDITING 3.00
GNBPT-233 OFFICE PROCEDURES 3.00
Elective Elective Credits 3.00
  Credits 12.00
Spring
LAWPT-230 LEGAL RESEARCH AND WRITING I 3.00
LAWPT-265 BUSINESS LAW I 3.00
LAWPT-274 LEGAL PROCEDURES 3.00
LAWPT-322 PARALEGAL PROCEDURES FOR CRIMINAL LAW 3.00
Elective Elective Credits 3.00
  Credits 15.00
Fourth Year
Fall
LAWPT-323 CIVIL LITIGATION 3.00
LAWPT-331 LEGAL RESEARCH AND WRITING II 3.00
LAWPT-341 BUSINESS ORGANIZATIONS 2.00
LAWPT-345 TORT LAW 3.00
Elective Elective Credits 3.00
  Credits 14.00
Spring
LAWPT-321 REAL ESTATE LAW AND PROCEDURES 3.00
LAWPT-324 ADVANCED CIVIL LITIGATION 3.00
LAWPT-332 WILLS, TRUSTS, AND ESTATES 3.00
LAWPT-342 FAMILY LAW 3.00
LAWPT-367 INTERNSHIP IN LAW 3.00
LAWPT-494A INTERNSHIP IN LAW I 3.00
  Credits 18.00
  Total Credits 120.00

Graduates from Paralegal programs go on to obtain careers in a variety of fields:

  • Legal Assistant
  • Law Clerk
  • Litigation or Judicial Assistant
  • Legal Practice Assistant
  • Court Clerk
  • Title/Abstract Examiner
  • Legal Researcher
  • Contract Specialist
  • Claims Adjuster
  • Court Assistance Program Specialist
  • Limited Practice Officer