The curriculum for the Paralegal Certificate consists of five required courses:

• four core courses, which all students take, and
• one specialty course, which each student selects.

The specialty course is a 161 classroom hour course in one of three areas of law practice: Civil Litigation, Business Organizations or Real Estate.

To earn the certificate, students must earn a grade of C or better in each required course. The coursework is designed to be completed three evenings per week for two semesters. All coursework must be completed within two calendar years.

Unauthorized Practice of Law

In North Carolina, a paralegal cannot independently give legal advice to clients, represent clients in court, accept a case or set a fee.  The American Bar Association has defined a paralegal as “a person, qualified by education, training or work experience, who is employed or retained by a lawyer, law office, corporation, governmental agency or other entity and who performs specifically delegated substantive legal work for which a lawyer is responsible.”