Paralegal Studies

The Nashville State Paralegal Program is approved by the American Bar Association and is designed to prepare you for a career as a paralegal or legal assistant. Take the opportunity to join this lucrative field now and earn your technical certificate or associate degree in paralegal studies at Nashville State.

Technical Certificate

If you already have a bachelor's degree, the technical certificate is the right program for you! Prepare for a career as a paralegal or legal assistant with Nashville State's Paralegal Studies program. Gain the skills for a successful career with a foundation in ethics, critical thinking, and solid general knowledge. All students must first register for the Paralegal Studies A.A.S. degree and seek approval to be admitted to the technical certificate option from the Program Director.

Note: If you do not have a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university, you must complete the A.A.S. degree option.

Length

One year

COSTS

About $4,498 total in tuition and fees.

More About Costs

COURSE LIST

Catalog

Advising Sheet

Note: Students must take at least nine semester credits or the equivalent of legal specialty courses through synchronous instruction. Only three legal speciality credits may be transferred from another institution into the Paralegal Studies Technical Certificate.

After Nashville State

You are workforce ready! Work with our career services team to launch your career.

More About Careers

Campus Availability: Courses for this certificate are available at a variety of campus locations and virtually. To check current course offerings check class schedule.

Associate of Applied Science

aas

Prepare for a career as a paralegal or legal assistant with our associate degree in Paralegal Studies. Gain the skills for a successful carer with a foundation in ethics, critical thinking, and solid general legal knowledge.

Length

Two years

COSTS

About $9,490 total in tuition and fees

More About Costs

COURSE LIST

Catalog

Advising Sheet

Note: Students must take at least nine semester credits or the equivalent of legal specialty courses through synchronous instruction. Only nine legal speciality credits may be transferred from another institution into the Paralegal Studies A.A.S. degree.

After Nashville State

You will be ready for the workforce! Our Career services team is here to help you find the right firm or office to launch your career.

More About Careers

Campus Availability: Courses for this degree are available at a variety of campus locations and virtually. To check current course offerings check class schedule.

Ready to apply?

How to Apply

Paralegal Studies at Nashville State Community College

Jumpstart your career in the legal field with a technical certificate or associate degree in paralegal studies.

As defined by the American Bar Association, a paralegal is "a professional, qualified by education, training, and 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."

What you will be qualified to do:

Work under the direction of a supervising lawyer
Perform legal research using the most recent technology
Draft complicated legal documents
Assist in trial preparation, conduct client and witness interviews
Manage large qualities of electronically stored information
Analyze complex legal cases all while maintaining high ethical standards

Note: Paralegals may not provide legal services directly to the public, except as authorized by law.

Why Nashville State?

Approved by the American Bar Association (ABA), Standing Committee on Paralegals (Approved Commission)
Adheres to the highest standards for paralegal education and performance
Students receive comprehensive instruction in Legal Research, Legal Writing, Ethics and Professionalism, Technology in the Law Office, Civil Litigation, Criminal Law, Family Law, Torts, and Property Law, along with other legal specialty courses and general education
150 hours of a legal internship providing real-world paralegal experience
Certificates from Westlaw in Legal Research and NSLT in Technology in the Law Office
Option to receive certification in Relativity and eDiscovery
Small class sizes for individual attention
Legal specialty courses taught by licensed lawyers in that particular practice
The option to obtain a degree at night without any interruption to their work schedule
Program completion in two years or less

Prepared for Success

Anthony Hicks

Paralegal Studies, Class of 2020

The paralegal program at Nashville State has prepared me to be successful in any field of law. I did my internship with the Nashville Public Defender's Office and was amazed at how prepared I was…It was very motivating, knowing the school was committed to seeing me succeed.

Anthony Hicks is a U.S. Army Veteran. He continues his career as a legal assistant for the Nashville Public Defender’s Office.

Career Outlook

Credit for What You Know

You may be eligible to earn college credit based on the experience you already have. This experience could come from your job, the military, and more.

CREDIT FOR PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE