Paralegals
For 50 years, the ABA has accredited and supported paralegal teaching programs
September 4, 2025, 10:07 am CDT
Andrew Falcon (left) and Amirah White-Keene take part in August in a summer time camp mock trial program designed to show incoming first-year college students and returning college students written and oral presentation expertise. (Photograph courtesy of Melanie Snyder/Authorized Research Program at Stevenson College in Owings Mills, Maryland)
When Hryhorii Solomon resettled in the US, he needed to study not solely a brand new language and the customs of a brand new nation but in addition a brand new authorized system.
Solomon, who goes by Gregory, started his authorized profession as a court docket session secretary in Ukraine in 2010. He grew to become an assistant choose and later went into personal observe, the place he was the managing associate of his personal agency.
He and his household had been heading to the US for trip when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. They determined to remain in Myrtle Seashore, South Carolina, the place Solomon took English language programs and enrolled in close by Horry-Georgetown Technical School’s Paralegal Program.
“I wish to construct my profession right here, and I completely perceive I want to start out from the start,” says Solomon, who graduated along with his affiliate in utilized science diploma in paralegal research in 2024. “So the start for me, step one, was a paralegal program.”
Horry-Georgetown Technical School’s Paralegal Program is one among 223 paralegal packages which are accredited by the ABA. For the previous 50 years, the affiliation, by way of its Standing Committee on Paralegals, has each set requirements for paralegal schooling and ensured that increased schooling establishments meet them.
Hryhorii “Gregory” Solomon
“Whereas there are lots of committees below the ABA umbrella that serve attorneys and the wants of the attorneys, we’re the committee that helps paralegals,” says Robyn Ice, the chair of the standing committee and director of the overall authorized research program in Tulane College’s Faculty of Skilled Development.
“Paralegals are an integral a part of any authorized staff, whether or not it’s litigation, transactional, administrative legislation,” she provides. “They’re on the frontlines and doing a large amount of the work. So, given their vital place within the judicial system, I believe the work we do is actually vital.”
In August 1975, the ABA Home of Delegates formally established the Standing Committee on Paralegals and accredited the primary eight authorized assistant teaching programs. Members of the group already had labored for a number of years to encourage and enhance the coaching and use of nonlawyer assistants. Additionally they created the Pointers for the Approval of Authorized Assistant Training Packages, which outlines the requirements that packages should adjust to to be accredited by the ABA. Amongst them, packages should be not less than 60 semester hours and embrace normal schooling and authorized specialty programs.
As a part of the evaluate course of, an Approval Fee—which the Home established in 1982—conducts website visits and writes complete stories on paralegal packages that search approval or reapproval. The fee makes a suggestion to the standing committee, which then makes its closing suggestion to the Home at every midyear and annual assembly.
The ABA-approved paralegal packages, which should search reapproval each seven years, are housed in group schools, private and non-private universities and different increased schooling establishments in 43 states. These packages provide a number of credentials, together with affiliate’s, bachelor’s and grasp’s levels. Many additionally provide on-line lessons.
Robyn Ice
“We help paralegal teaching programs in offering a topnotch schooling for paralegal college students to allow them to exit into the world after commencement and supply authorized providers that assist not solely the legislation corporations the place they work but in addition the shoppers that depend on attorneys and their groups,” says Ice, who beforehand chaired the Approval Fee.
Aymara Zielina is this system director of the College of California Los Angeles Extension Paralegal Coaching Program, which has been accredited by the ABA for 50 years. She determined to hitch the Approval Fee after taking part in its evaluate of her program.
“I noticed what a helpful expertise that was, not solely when it comes to having the ability to guarantee that we meet the requirements however having the ability to acquire details about finest practices and share details about how college students study finest,” Zielina says.
In Zielina’s expertise, paralegals now tackle extra diversified duties, which incorporates work that historically could have been dealt with by attorneys. She says additionally they have extra profession pathways and alternatives for development. They might turn out to be senior paralegals or paralegal managers, safe jobs in authorized know-how and even transfer on to work as attorneys or judges.
“What I like concerning the ABA pointers is that they supply flexibility,” Zielina says. “They acknowledge there are totally different packages everywhere in the nation, and that we now have totally different audiences and other people with totally different objectives.”
“It’s actually thrilling that this generally is a very fulfilling profession for somebody in many various methods, and for some, it’s one thing that retains on evolving,” she provides.
Peonca Grier
Peonca Grier, who graduated with an affiliate in science diploma in paralegal research from Valencia School in Orlando in 2009, has regularly sought new alternatives all through her profession.
She works as a paralegal within the staff’ compensation group at Dean, Ringers, Morgan & Lawton, the place she has been for greater than twenty years. She is the vice chairman of NALA, the Paralegal Affiliation. She additionally serves as an adjunct professor within the paralegal research program at Valencia School, which is an ABA-approved program.
“I wish to produce the kind of paralegal that I wish to work with,” says Grier, who additionally earned a bachelor’s diploma in authorized research from the College of Central Florida in 2015. “The easiest way to try this is to offer enter on the curriculum, what’s out there, what individuals are in search of and the type of people that can be profitable.”
Lately, the Standing Committee on Paralegals has sought extra methods to help paralegals. A big focus is on guaranteeing the identical medical and psychological well being advantages which are out there to attorneys can be found to paralegals, Ice says. One other is making ready paralegals for alternatives to observe in sure areas of the legislation in sure states, like Arizona and Utah.
“We try to study as a lot as attainable about licensing paralegals to allow them to do particular work, characterize shoppers and guarantee everybody has entry to justice,” Ice says. “We’re very a lot in favor of this course of, however we additionally understand it requires that the paralegals searching for licensing have nice educations and are effectively ready to do the work that they’re now being permitted to do.”
Solomon’s objective all the time has been to observe as an lawyer in the US. He’s working remotely as a paralegal at Murray Legislation Group in Myrtle Seashore, whereas additionally pursuing his LLM diploma at Loyola Legislation Faculty in Los Angeles.
His recommendation for worldwide attorneys in conditions like his? Don’t hand over.
“I keep in mind the way it was laborious for me two years in the past, simply beginning, once I had hundreds of questions and ideas that this wasn’t for me,” Solomon says. “However as of proper now, I imagine I handed step one. I’ve this second step, after which I’ll take the bar examination.”
In celebration of its fiftieth anniversary, the Standing Committee on Paralegals is highlighting Solomon, Grier and lots of different graduates of ABA-approved paralegal teaching programs.
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