Best Paralegal Certificate Programs In Illinois (2027)

Harper's AAS program plan spreads 60 credit hours over 15-hour semesters, First through Fourth, combining Composition I, Technical and Report Writing, Introduction to Psychology, mathematics, a general education elective, American Politics and Government and Introduction to Sociology with Introduction to Legal Studies, Litigation, Legal Research and Writing, Real Property Law, Tort Law, Family Law, Contract Law, The Law of Business Organizations, Law Office Technology, Ethics, Legal Writing and the Law Office and electives such as Criminal Law, Criminal Procedures, Environmental Law, Bankruptcy Law and Immigration Law; students without legal experience must also take Today's Law Office or the Internship in Legal Studies. The 24-credit certificate requires Introduction to Legal Studies, Litigation, Legal Research and Writing, Ethics, Legal Writing and the Law Office and either the internship or Today's Law Office, plus at least nine credit hours of approved electives such as Family Law, Real Property Law, Contract Law, Bankruptcy Law, Intellectual Property, Commercial Real Estate Law and Immigration Law. The internship course combines one lecture hour with ten clinical or other contact hours and ends with a journal and a portfolio of the student's work, and Harper notes that the ABA requires at least nine credit hours to be completed face-to-face or in a synchronous, live online format.

To receive the certificate, students must have earned an Associate in Applied Science, an Associate in Arts or Science, or a bachelor's degree with general education equivalent to Harper's Legal Studies AAS, and the degree must be verified before the certificate is awarded; an Associate in General Studies does not qualify. Harper designed the certificate for people employed or employable in the legal field or with legal experience, and certificate credits can be applied toward the AAS.

The certificate is 23 semester hours: Introduction to Law, Civil Litigation, Legal Research, Law Office Technology, Legal Writing, a one-credit internship and a Paralegal Capstone, plus six credits of electives chosen from Family Law, Real Property Law, Wills, Trusts and Probate, Criminal Law Procedure, Business Entity Formation and Paralegal Special Topics. Law Office Technology students earn a Legal Technology Certificate from the National Society for Legal Technology, and each student presents a portfolio of work samples in the capstone. All core paralegal courses are offered synchronously online in the evening on Zoom, six credit hours of daytime face-to-face courses are offered each semester as enrollment allows, and at least nine credit hours must be taken in a classroom or through synchronous online instruction.

There is no entrance requirement to take paralegal courses, but ECC awards the certificate only after a student provides official transcripts of a completed bachelor's, Associate in Arts or Associate in Science degree; students with an A.A.S. or at least 40 semester credit hours may request a degree waiver from the program coordinator. With a degree on file, a full-time student can finish in a calendar year, and students without a degree can use the elective credits in an A.A. or A.S. to complete both credentials in two years of full-time study. The internship is required (students already working in a legal position may request work credit instead), and no more than nine semester credits of paralegal coursework, only from ABA-approved programs, can transfer in.

Both credentials start with Introduction to Legal Studies and Legal Research and Writing I, then cover litigation, law office technology and e-discovery, contract law and drafting legal documents, and finish with a Legal Studies Capstone (fieldwork, networking and interview skills training) and a Legal Studies Assessment Seminar. The 63-credit A.A.S. adds tort law, real property law, administrative agency law, immigration law and wills, trusts and estates, plus general education courses. Legal studies classes are offered virtually via Zoom and online; the certificate can be completed 100% online, while CLC says most A.A.S. classes can be completed online. No degree or certificate is issued unless at least 9 credit hours of legal studies coursework are completed in a synchronous format.

The certificate is a post-degree credential: applicants need an associate or bachelor's degree and submit a screening form with an official transcript, and holders of an A.A.S. or a degree from outside the United States may need extra general education courses to meet the ABA's 18-credit requirement. The A.A.S. takes 4 to 5 semesters full-time, and CLC lists transfer agreements with schools including Loyola University, Roosevelt University and Dominican University. CLC sponsors all qualified graduating students to take the Paralegal Core Competency Exam, and auditing legal studies courses is not permitted.

The certificate's 24 semester credit hours are all paralegal courses: Introduction to Paralegal Studies, Legal Research I, Litigation and Legal Research II, plus at least twelve credit hours of electives chosen from a list that includes Law of Family Relations, Real Property Law, Corporate and Securities Law, Probate, Tort and Insurance Law, Estate Planning, Contract Law, Bankruptcy Law, Intellectual Property, Commercial Real Estate Law, Criminal Law, Law of Evidence and a Practicum. The 60-credit A.A.S. pairs 18 hours of general education (Composition I and a second writing or speech course, mathematics or science, a social or behavioral science and a humanities or fine arts course) with 42 major hours that add a computer course, Law Office Management, the Practicum and 21 elective credit hours to the same four core courses. The Practicum is supervised work in a legal setting with a one-hour weekly seminar. Oakton offers the program's courses in person and online, online sections may be synchronous or asynchronous, and students must take at least nine semester credits of legal specialty courses through synchronous instruction.

Oakton says the certificate is intended for students who have already completed an associate or bachelor's degree, and the catalog requires at least an associate degree, from Oakton or another accredited college or university, before the certificate is completed. Students can transfer no more than three courses from another institution toward the paralegal major or certificate, and a course is evaluated only if it was taken at an ABA-approved paralegal program within the last seven years, earned a C or better and comes with its syllabus; the department reviews transfer credit against the ABA's paralegal education guidelines.

Both credentials share the required Legal Studies courses (Introduction to Law and Paralegal Studies, Drafting Legal Documents, Civil Litigation, Legal Ethics/Law Office Organization, Introduction to Legal Research and Writing, Advanced Legal Research and Writing, Law Office Technology, Personal Injury, Tort and Insurance Law, and a Paralegal Practicum) plus Microsoft 365 for Business Professionals. The 36-credit certificate adds six elective credits of Legal Studies courses. The associate degree adds English Composition I, a mathematics option, an office technology course, Ethics or Business Ethics, American Politics, Fundamentals of Speech Communication, a four-credit lab science and 12 elective credits from Legal Studies courses or the criminal justice courses Constitutional Law and Courts, Evidence, and Mock Trial, for 64 to 67 credits. Electives cover areas such as contracts, e-discovery, criminal law, estate planning, family law, immigration, intellectual property, bankruptcy, real estate, labor and employment, and environmental law. Every student completes a 120-hour internship, about eight hours a week during a fall or spring semester, under an attorney's supervision. Courses run in person, online and hybrid, with live virtual class meetings (VCM), and at least nine semester credits of legal specialty coursework must be taken in a traditional classroom or through real-time synchronous online learning. COD lists the associate degree at four semesters and the certificate at three to four.

The associate degree is meant for students without a college degree and the certificate for students who already hold an associate in arts, associate in science or higher degree from a regionally accredited college or university; associate degree graduates also qualify for the certificate with no additional courses. Both tracks require acceptance into the program: associate degree students first complete English Composition I, Introduction to Law and Paralegal Studies and Drafting Legal Documents with a C or better and a 2.66 GPA across the three, and certificate students complete Introduction to Law and Paralegal Studies and Drafting Legal Documents with a C or better and a 2.5 GPA, then submit a program application. Students may keep taking paralegal classes before admission, but the practicum requires acceptance. Up to 9 credit hours of legal specialty coursework can transfer from ABA-approved programs (3 from programs that are not ABA-approved) if taken within seven years and pre-approved by the program chair, and no credit by examination is awarded for legal specialty classes. COD has articulation agreements that lead from the associate degree to bachelor's programs in paralegal studies at Lewis University and Roosevelt University.

The Law and Paralegal Studies program offers a 60-credit Associate of Applied Science degree and a 36-credit certificate, and both can be completed entirely online, with at least nine semester credits of legal specialty courses taken through live (synchronous) instruction. Coursework includes Fundamentals of Paralegalism, Legal Research and Writing I and II, Evidence and Investigation, Litigation and Law Office Technology, and the final semester includes an internship of at least 210 hours in a legal or law-related setting.

The AAS is open to students with a high school diploma or High School Equivalency, while the certificate is for people who already hold a bachelor's or AAS degree. Formal admission comes after completing LAW 101 and BLW 201 (plus ENG 101 for the AAS) with a combined GPA of 2.66, submitting a program application and interviewing with the coordinator. All instructors are lawyers or judges, and classes are offered online at night for working students.