Paralegal Certificate Program—Online

Paralegal Certificate Program

A legal assistant or paralegal is a person qualified by education, training or work experience who is employed or retained by a lawyer, law office, companies, governmental agency or other entity who performs specifically delegated substantive legal work for which a lawyer is responsible.” Under this definition, the legal responsibility for a paralegal’s work rests directly and solely upon the lawyer.
Course Details
The Online Paralegal Certificate Program trains students for careers as professional paralegals. This internet-based program provides comprehensive support materials designed to help each student successfully complete the program. The program includes traditional texts, online lecture notes, mock exams, writing labs, and reference materials for all thirty-six states and Abuja. Instructors are experienced lawyers and work with students through the duration of their studies in the program.
Students will be able to study and earn the Paralegal Certificate completely online from anywhere in Nigeria or Africa. Any site with Internet access will allow students to take part in the Online Paralegal Program. Additionally, students are given training on and access to Westlaw and Lexis, the two largest legal research tools in the world. 
Who Should Attend
This program is for anyone considering a paralegal career, career changers, current paralegals and others who work in law firms or government offices, as well as those considering law school. Many of the skills developed in non-legal fields (such as nursing, accounting, business management, law enforcement, medical and teaching) are transferable to the paralegal profession.
Online Advantages

• Convenience — study at home or abroad, day or night
• Unsurpassed website support
• Students work at their own pace (students have one year to complete the program)
• Email access to great instructors who are interested in student success
• Earn a paralegal certificate from Knights Business School.

Web-based but Instructor led
This program offers the convenience of an entirely web-based curriculum, but has the advantage of offering students one-on-one contact with an instructor. Students move at their own pace through comprehensive materials with layers of educational support including texts, chapter notes, trial tests, mock exams, legal documents templates, and many other features. In addition to all this support, each student will also be assigned an instructor whose role is to help students be successful. The instructor will grade exams, evaluate and provide feedback on assignments, and track student progress. Additionally, by not allowing students to move forward until they’ve mastered the material, instructors are able to ensure student success. 
Our curriculum is comprehensive. When students finish our program they are highly trained and ready to go to work. Our curriculum covers topics rarely covered in other paralegal programs.
Curriculum
What You’ll Learn . . . 
Introduction to the Legal Field 
Students will learn what kind of job opportunities exist and tasks paralegals often perform. 
Legal Terminology
By presenting an actual legal matter and following it throughout the legal process, students are introduced to the most relevant legal terms. The case presented is tracked through both the civil and criminal court procedures.
Resume Preparation
Students will receive instruction in preparing resumes and cover letters specifically geared towards law firms, as well as tips for interviewing.
Strategies for Employment
Multiple strategies for seeking employment will be discussed, including traditional and non-traditional methods.
Stages of Litigation
The three stages of the litigation process are presented, and the functions a paralegal may perform during each stage are discussed.
Evidence
Students discuss various forms of evidence, including direct, circumstantial, oral, physical and hearsay. The elements of admissibility are presented, as are the procedures for presentation of evidence to the court. 
Interview Clients
Specific techniques will be presented and discussed for conducting client interviews.
Law Office Investigation
Skip tracing, formal and informal witness statements, the obtaining of public documents and other investigative matters are presented. 
Index Research
Students will learn the “hierarchical structure” of legal indexes and how to efficiently utilize these fundamental research tools.
Legal Analysis
Students will develop the skills to analyse both case law and statutory authority, including what attorneys often refer to as the “IRAC method.”
Legal Memorandum Form
After learning the analytical process, students will analyse cases and statutes. Students will then be taught how to create a legal memorandum.
Blue Book Citation Form
Students will learn the system of legal citation. 
Pleading Preparation
Students will study pleadings and will prepare a complaint as well as a summons.
Discovery Preparation
Students will be taught to create sets of Interrogatories, Requests for Admissions, and Request for Production and Inspection of Documents.
Discovery Coordination
Students will learn the rules relevant to discovery and will learn how to track both sent and received discovery documents.
Preparing for Depositions
Students will study various considerations for deposition set up.
Deposition Digesting
Students will be provided with a deposition transcript and will be taught to summarize that document.
Utilization of Legal Forms
Students will learn to manipulate templates and utilize form books.
Authority Identification
The class will learn to identify primary, secondary, mandatory, persuasive and non-authority.
Legal Research Skills
By using hands-on, interactive training devices, students will learn proper law library utilization: how to locate primary authority, how to use secondary sources, how to update research sources, how to validate authority, and how to utilize specific legal materials. 
Westlaw Training and Access
Students will receive training and individual access to Westlaw Online Legal Research.
Lexis Training and Access
Students will receive training and individual access to LexisNexis Online Legal Research.
Motions, Notices and Briefs
Students will be introduced to various forms of motions and will be required to prepare a motion, notice and brief.
File Maintenance
Proper file maintenance is discussed. Students will be required to assemble all documents created in the class into a client file or evaluation. 
Law Office Etiquette
Students will learn how to properly present themselves in a law office environment, including dress considerations, telephone tips and a discussion of office politics.
File Maintenance
Students will learn how to create and maintain a client file.
Tickler and Calendaring Systems
The class will discuss various forms of reminder systems for important due dates, and both hard-copy and computer-based calendaring methods.
Billable Hours
Students will learn the importance of keeping track of billable hours.
Nigerian Bar Association Rules of Ethics
Students will become familiar with the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) rules that guide the ethical behaviour of attorneys and will discuss how these rules affect paralegals in their day-to-day lives.
Law Office Ethics
Students will be taught to maintain a high ethical standard. To facilitate the learning process, students will be presented with ethical scenarios and potential pitfalls to avoid.
Legal Advice
The class will be instructed in rules preventing a paralegal from providing legal advice and will discuss what does and does not constitute such advice.
Legal Representation
Students will discuss the rules restricting paralegal representation, and the class will be presented with exceptions to these rules.
Nigerian Court Structure and Procedure
Local and state trial and appellate courts will be discussed, including how to access filing procedures for specific courts.
Court Rules
Students are taught the most frequently used court rules and are also taught the skills necessary for finding any rule for specific procedural questions.
Federal Government Structure
Students will learn the structure of government and the laws that apply to each level.
Federal Court Structure
Students will be instructed in the basic differences between state and federal jurisdiction, as well as the federal trial and appellate jurisdictions. The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure will be introduced.
Electronic Legal Research Skills
Students will learn how to create computer queries in order to use Westlaw and Lexis. Students will also be presented with individual access to LexisNexis online legal research.
Electronic Discovery
Students will learn the procedures and issues surrounding the disclosure of digitally stored information.
The Arbitration Process
The class will learn how the arbitration process works, will discuss the arbitration system in Nigeria, and will learn the difference between mandatory and binding arbitration. The class will also discuss new trends in extra-judicial proceedings.
Informal Advocacy
Students will learn to obtain information, documents and relevant material in an informal forum and to act as the lawyer’s “right-hand” in such situations. 
Substantive Legal Areas of Law
Students will develop skills related to the areas of law in which paralegals are most commonly utilized, such as Tort Law and Contract Law.

The curriculum for the online program comprises of the Essential Skills for Paralegals and two Substantive Courses of your choice: Choose two of four possible course offerings.

• Contract Law
• Tort Law
• Criminal Law
• Company Law

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Requirements
At a minimum, 2 passes in SSCE/NECO is required to enrol in this program. In addition, participants need both word processing and basic Internet skills. Participants are required to have Internet access and e-mail. 
CD-ROM
Where internet access is weak or not available, students can avail themselves of our CD-ROM classes. All lectures will be sent via CD-ROM and you will access your lecturers through telephones or mails.
Program Completion Requirements
Students must successfully complete the full Online Paralegal Certificate Program. Class projects, including library research, exams and a comprehensive final will be administered. Participants must achieve at least 70% cumulatively on the substantives, as well as 70% on the comprehensive final in order to earn the certificate. Since this is a non-credit program, students are not assigned a final grade in the course. Transcripts will be issued upon request with all course work marked either “complete” or “incomplete”.
Course Materials
Students are required to pay for their books separately. The online book link is provided to students once they are enrolled in the program. The books vary from course to course, but average cost for all books will be approximately N16.000.00.

Course Duration
Online
4 Months
Classroom Lectures: 
Weekdays- Monday to Friday    9am – 3pm
Weekends – 6 months. Saturdays only

Course Fees:
N95, 000 only

APPLY HERE