Best Paralegal Certificate Programs In New York (2027)

The certificate is a set sequence of law courses, each taken in the order it is offered: Law Office Technology, Criminal Law and Procedure, Introduction to Paralegal Studies, Contract Law, Fact-finding Research, Legal Research and Writing, Civil Litigation, Personal Injury Law, Domestic Relations and Family Law, Bankruptcy Law, Corporate Law, Real Estate Law, Estate Planning and Probate, and Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility, ending with a three-credit Paralegal Internship. Course work covers national law but emphasizes New York law, and the curriculum was prepared in partnership with the Monroe County Bar Association and a local paralegal association. The program starts each fall, the catalog puts its length at 15 months, and the program page says students typically finish in four semesters of part-time study. Students must take at least nine semester credits of legal specialty courses through traditional classroom synchronous instruction.

The program is built for students who already have a degree. Admission requires a bachelor's degree, or an associate degree with 18 credit hours in broadly based liberal arts courses (an MCC Criminal Justice degree meets this), plus Program Director approval, and applicants without a bachelor's degree also need a departmental interview or recommendation. Introduction to Paralegal Studies must be passed with a grade of C or higher. MCC says the American Bar Association approved the certificate in February 2004.

The 30-credit certificate follows a suggested two-semester sequence: Introduction to Law, Legal Research and Writing, Civil Litigation, Introduction to the Court System, and Computer Concepts and Application or Management Information Systems, then Contract Law, Torts/Personal Injury Law, Criminal Law and Procedures and two electives chosen from criminal justice courses (Introduction to Criminal Justice, Juvenile Justice System, Criminal Investigation, Human Rights and Crime, Wrongful Convictions), Social and Ethical Issues in Computing, Diversity in American Society or any LGS course. The 63-credit Legal Studies A.S. spreads the same legal courses over a suggested four semesters alongside College Writing I and II, Introduction to Public Speaking and general education in math, social science, natural science, health and wellness, and diversity. The college lists the certificate among its 100% online certificate programs and the A.S. as 76% online, and both catalog pages require at least 9 credits of legal specialty courses through traditional classroom instruction or synchronous remote instruction.

Only students who have completed an Associate of Arts or Associate of Science degree or higher can enroll in the certificate, which the college describes as requiring an underlying degree. The catalog says 15 of the 18 paralegal credits must be taken at RCC, and the program page says 21 of the 30 Legal Studies and Paralegal Studies credits must be taken there. The program's learning outcomes cover law office technology and electronic filing, computerized and manual legal research, legal writing, drafting motions, discovery papers and pleadings, legal ethics, and client and witness interviews.

The Paralegal Certificate requires four courses, Introduction to Paralegal Studies, Legal Research and Writing, Civil Litigation and Computer Applications for Paralegals, plus two of eight law electives (Administrative Law; Wills, Trusts and Estates; Family Law; Real Estate Law for Paralegals; The Law of Business Enterprises for Paralegals; Criminal Law and Procedure; Immigration Law; and Bankruptcy Law), for 18 credits. LaGuardia's Fall 2026 degree map lays the AAS out over four semesters: a first-year seminar for business, required core English, mathematics and science courses, Flexible Core courses, Business Law, a one-credit unrestricted elective, and paralegal courses including Introduction to Paralegal Studies, Family Law, Civil Litigation, Immigration Law, Computer Applications for Paralegals, Criminal Law and Procedure and Legal Research and Writing as the capstone, with further paralegal electives and a paralegal or business internship.

A completed associate degree is required for the certificate. Transfer credit in the major is limited to nine credits for associate students and six for certificate students, needs a grade of C or above, cannot come from courses more than seven years old, and must leave students with at least nine semester credits of legal specialty courses through synchronous instruction. Students who complete Computer Applications for Paralegals earn a certificate from the National Society for Legal Technology, and students in Legal Research and Writing get access to Westlaw, which offers its own certificate course; Intellectual Property joins the elective list in fall 2026.

The 33-credit certificate is made up of law courses: Introduction to Law, Introduction to Paralegal Studies, Legal Research, Legal Writing, Business Law I and II, Civil Litigation, Estates, Trusts and Wills, Law of Property, Partnership and Corporation Law, and one area elective chosen from Evidence and Procedural Law, Law Office Management and Practices, Paralegal Internship and International Law. Full-time students may complete it in two semesters, and part-time students set their own pace. The 64-credit A.A.S. covers the same law courses plus Law Office Management and Practices, with general education that includes composition, literature, communication, Financial Accounting I, State and Local Politics and Government, Statistics I, a laboratory science and a College/Workplace Skills Seminar, and its area elective is Evidence and Procedural Law, Paralegal Internship or International Law. Both programs are listed at the Ammerman campus in Selden, New York and the Michael J. Grant campus with an online option, and the catalog says 100% of their credits are available online, but at least nine semester credits of legal specialty courses must be taken through traditional classroom or synchronous instruction. Not all paralegal courses are offered each semester, so students are urged to plan their program with the Paralegal Program Director.

The certificate serves students who already have an associate or bachelor's degree. A bachelor's degree is desirable, but the minimum requirement is an associate degree with at least 18 liberal arts credits; the Program Director may make exceptions for applicants with at least five years of paraprofessional experience in law firms, corporate legal departments or city or town corporation counsel offices and letters of recommendation from employers who are members of the Bar. Students are admitted on a rolling basis in fall and spring. Legal courses taken at another institution with an ABA-approved paralegal program may transfer with a grade of C or higher, up to six legal specialty credits beyond Business Law I and II, and students must complete at least half of the certificate credits, or at least 30 credit hours of the degree, at Suffolk. The program asks for skilled use of English and strongly recommends knowledge of word processing software.

The 30-credit certificate consists of required law courses: Introduction to Legal Studies, Legal Research and Writing, Litigation, Computer Applications for the Law Office, Family Law, Administrative Law, Torts and Investigation, Real Property Law, Criminal Law and Procedure, and Contracts and Contract Administration. The catalog's program map puts 15 credits in each of a fall and a spring semester, with one sequence for a fall start and another for a spring start. The 60-credit A.A.S. combines 22 credits of general education with 38 credits of degree courses: Speech Communication, Introduction to Legal Studies, Legal Research and Writing, Litigation, Computer Applications for the Law Office, a Law Internship, a financial elective, a free elective and five paralegal electives (15 credits) chosen from a list that includes Immigration Law, Estates, Wills and Trusts, Elder Law, Intellectual Property, Evidence Law and Bankruptcy Law. Its program map runs through a fourth semester and is described as a guide to finishing in two years.

Both programs are listed at the main campus in Valhalla, New York, and students work with Westlaw and legal office software. Students must complete at least nine semester credits of legal specialty courses through synchronous instruction, either in person or in live online classes. The program map is designed for full-time enrollment but the catalog says it adapts easily to part-time study, and students are directed to Degree Works and an Academic Counselor or Faculty Advisor for individual planning.