January 2018 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
    Oct 06, 2024  
January 2018 Undergraduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

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


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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:

  1. Describe the US legal system.
  2. Describe the changing functions of the paralegal as the delivery of legal services evolves.
  3. Demonstrate mastery of standard technology tools used in legal environments
  4. 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 62.00 semester credit hours is required for graduation.

Required Courses


All courses, 30.00 semester credit hours, are required.

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 24.00 semester credit hours in general education distributed among the following disciplines. Refer to the General Education section of the catalog for specific information about courses within each discipline.

9.00 Semester Credit Hours in Communications

6.00 Semester Credit Hours in Humanities

3.00 Semester Credit Hours in Mathematics

3.00 Semester Credit Hours in Science 

3.00 Semester Credit Hours in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Personal and Professional Development Courses


2.00 semester credit hours are required.

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