ABA approval
The Legal Assistant Career Pathway certificate is not approved by the ABA. The ABA does not approve programs that do not prepare students to work as paralegals. Since the Legal Assistant Career Pathway certificate does not prepare students to work as paralegals, it is not the sort of program that the ABA will evaluate.
The Paralegal program at PCC Cascade has been granted formal approval of its program by the American Bar Association (ABA) effective February 8, 2010. PCC is the first Paralegal program in the State of Oregon to achieve ABA-approved status, The Legal Assistant Career Pathway certificate is not approved by the ABA. The ABA does not approve programs that do not prepare students to work as paralegals. Since the Legal Assistant Career Pathway certificate does not prepare students to work as paralegals, it is not the sort of program that the ABA will evaluate. ABA approval provides students and the legal community assurance that PCC’s program is providing an excellent educational experience grounded in practical paralegal preparation. The ABA approval process took over two years to complete and is an intensive process examining all aspects of the paralegal program. Every three years, the program must demonstrate its continued compatibility with the ABA approval process and report on its activities.
Since 1973, the PCC Paralegal program has had an Advisory Council of lawyers, paralegals, educators, and other members of the community who provide input into the operation of the program. The PCC Paralegal program has a law library for use by students on campus and is also supported by students in the student club, who help sponsor various educational and social events.
Paralegals may not practice law and may not provide legal services directly to the public except as permitted by law.
Paralegal program students must complete 14 quarter credit hours of synchronous instruction. Synchronous instruction means students must attend a scheduled class meeting time each week. This restriction is not applicable to Legal Assistant students.