Legal Assisting Technology

  • Program Advising Sheet
  • One-Year Legal Assisting Certificate

Legal administrative assistants are employed in private law firms, offices of public defenders, court systems, government agencies, corporate legal departments, insurance companies, banks, real estate agencies, community service agencies and programs, consumer organizations and health care facilities. Today’s law firms are redefining their management structure out of economic necessity. Effective use of support staff is becoming increasingly important.

The program prepares students to assist attorneys in the performance of their professional duties.

The goal is that graduates will be able to organize work areas, use legal resources, make decisions, and exhibit proficiency in the use of legal office procedures and legal information systems; apply practical knowledge and utilize technical skills such as data input methods (keyboarding and voice recognition), transcription, proofreading, legal document production, integrated computer applications, legal research, records management, and use of the Internet; demonstrate employability skills and professionalism in legal office occupations, and work in individual, team and group settings; must be able to form ideas and information verbally and in written form, use computational skills for solving legal office problems and making analytical judgments; acquire, organize and evaluate information to make decisions and solve problems in legal environments.

Suggested Course Sequence

For course descriptions visit here.

First Semester		Credit Hours
ENG124	College Composition †	3
IRT131	Legal Terminology	3
AOT121	Keyboarding/Formatting	3
AOT130	Communication and Transcription Skills	3
BCA220	Integrated Solutions for Business Problem Solving	4
BUS121	Business Administration	4
BUS101	Business Student Success Seminar	1
		21
Second Semester
AOT224	Legal Office Procedures	3
ENG230	Business Communication	3
AOT129	Keyboarding/Skillbuilding	1
AOT132	Records Management	3
AOT127	Word Processing – Microsoft Word	3
BUS123	Business Mathematics	4
		17
Third Semester
AOT239	Legal Transcription	3
COM121	Effective Speaking	3
AOT106	Computer Applications – Microsoft Access	1
ACC130	Business Law and Ethics	3
	Social Sciences Elective *	3
ACC121	Principles of Accounting	4
		17
Fourth Semester
AOT237	Legal Office Applications	3
AOT235	Legal Research and Writing	3
AOT226	Spreadsheets – Microsoft Excel	3
AOT232	AOT Practicum	3
BUS221	Microeconomics	3
AOT108	Microsoft Outlook	1
AOT107	Digital Technologies	1
		17
	TOTAL CREDITS	72

* Select from PSY121, SOC121, PSC 121
** Successful completion of AOT102, 104, 105 and 106 is equivalent to and may be substituted for BCA120.

Students who are enrolled at the College for at least one semester and who have passed the Professional Legal Secretary (PLS) examination are eligible to receive credit toward an associate of applied business degree in legal assisting technology, subject to the review and approval of the appropriate department chair.

Bold italicized courses indicate courses that contain content for Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) certification.