The American Bar Association is a national professional association for lawyers and carries a strong voice in matters affecting the laws, the judiciary and the administration of justice. All attorneys recognize the significance and impact of the ABA, Peterson said. The approval for the paralegal program will help our students and graduates obtain employment. The program is housed in ECU s Political Science Department and offers classes or course work for students interested in becoming lawyers or paralegals. The course work includes more than 30 hours of legal specialty classes and 24 hours of law-related classes.
Graduates can become paralegals with law firms, private businesses or governmental units.
The legal studies major also provides solid academic preparation for students interested in graduate and law school. The Legal Studies curriculum at ECU put me ahead of the class in law school, said Sara Murphy, a recent ECU graduate and current University of Oklahoma law student. When other students were simply trying to learn the relevant legal terms in each class, I was able to start researching the cases and applicable laws. Needless to say, this saved valuable time and effort which is priceless to a first-year law student. Attorney utilization of paralegals saves the consumer of legal services money, Peterson said.