Associate of Science/Applied Science in Legal Studies (ASLS/AASLS)

Only the Herzing University paralegal programs at New Orleans and Atlanta are approved by the American Bar Association (ABA). The Herzing Legal Studies program offered online is not approved by the ABA.

(Please see the Undergraduate Program Offerings by Campus chart in the catalog or on the Herzing Website at www.herzing.edu/career-programs/downloads for a list of Herzing campuses offering this program.)

Program Description

The program prepares students with the skills and academic knowledge necessary for a career as a legal assistant/paralegal working under the supervision of a licensed attorney. The American Bar Association defines a paralegal as “a person qualified by education, training, or work experience who is employed or retained by a lawyer, law office, corporation, government agency, or other entity and who performs specifically delegated substantive legal work for which a lawyer is responsible.” These career opportunities may be in small or large firms working as a legal assistant/paralegal. The duties of a legal assistant/paralegal include assisting the lawyer with research, brief preparation, and other legal office administration. Duties do not include practicing law, advising clients, or setting fees since paralegals may not provide legal services directly to the public, except as permitted by law.

Admissions Limitation

Students at the Atlanta and New Orleans campuses may not enroll in this online program. All courses must be taken in an online format.

Program Outcomes

Upon completion of this program, the student should be able to:

Describe the US legal system.
Describe the changing functions of the paralegal as the delivery of legal services evolves.
Demonstrate mastery of standard technology tools used in legal environments
Evaluate ethical decision making practices in a legal environment.

Potential Occupational Titles

Potential occupational titles for this program include, but are not limited to, paralegal, legal assistant, title examiner, abstractor, legal researcher, and legal support worker.

Program Content

A minimum of 63.00 semester credit hours is required for graduation.

Required Courses

All courses, 30.00 semester credit hours, are required.

PL 100 - Introduction to Legal Assisting 3.00 semester credit hours
PL 106 - Legal Research 3.00 semester credit hours
PL 115 - Contract Law 3.00 semester credit hours
PL 131 - Torts 3.00 semester credit hours
PL 132 - Family Law 3.00 semester credit hours
PL 140 - Ethics and Paralegal Professionalism 3.00 semester credit hours
PL 180 - Law Office Procedures 3.00 semester credit hours
PL 215 - Civil Litigation 3.00 semester credit hours
PL 250 - Legal Writing 3.00 semester credit hours
PL 298 - NALA Certification Review 3.00 semester credit hours

Open Elective Courses

A minimum of 6.00 semester credit hours is required. Students may take any accounting (AC), business management (BU), information systems (IS), or paralegal (PL) course. At least 3.00 semester credit hours must be paralegal (PL) courses. Note: Online students in some states may not be allowed to take the PL 294 - Career Internship due to state restrictions.

General Education Requirements

Students enrolled in this associate’s degree must complete a minimum of 25.00 semester credit hours in general education distributed among the following disciplines. Refer to the General Education section of the catalog for Herzing University courses that would satisfy these requirements. *

4.00 Semester Credit Hours in Computer Applications ♦
3.00 Semester Credit Hours in English Composition
1.00 Semester Credit Hours in Information Literacy
4.00 Semester Credit Hours in Mathematics (College Algebra or Above)
4.00 Semester Credit Hours in Mathematics or Natural Science
3.00 Semester Credit Hours in Humanities With a Critical Thinking Focus ** ♦
3.00 Semester Credit Hours in Social or Behavioral Science
3.00 Semester Credit Hours in Speech

* Transfer students may transfer courses that are within 1.00 semester credit hour of the courses listed above to meet these discipline requirements. Any resulting deficiency in the total of 25.00 semester credit hours required in general education may be made up with general education electives from any of the listed disciplines.

** A course with a critical thinking focus would be a course that addresses the theories and application of critical analysis with an emphasis on developing sequential reasoning skills. Examples may be courses in critical thinking, philosophy, logic, or science.

♦ The state of Minnesota requires a minimum of 20.00 semester credit hours of general education for associate’s degrees, not counting computer applications. However, all Herzing University students in the AASLS program must complete a minimum of 25.00 semester credit hours in general education to complete the requirement for graduation from this associate’s degree program. Minnesota students must complete at least 2.00 semester credit hours of general education in the humanities.

Personal and Professional Development Courses

2.00 semester credit hours are required.

PD 121 - Professional Development I (Semester Credit Hour Course) 1.00 semester credit hour
PD 202 - Professional Development II (Semester Credit Hour Course) 1.00 semester credit hour

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