Online Associate's Paralegal Degree Programs

Paralegals are employed by lawyers, the government, universities, and corporations to conduct legal research and to prepare documents for use in civil and criminal proceedings. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), jobs for graduates of accredited paralegal training programs are expected to grow by an outstanding 22 percent during the 2006-2016 decade. Approximately seven out of 10 paralegals work for law firms, where employment will be the greatest as attorneys, burdened by heavy caseloads, turn to paralegals to handle more responsibilities.

An online university associate's degree program in paralegal studies provides a flexible schedule of classes in legal terminology, ethics, law research, document preparation, and court filing procedures. The U.S. Department of Justice is the single-largest federal employer of paralegals. The BLS reports that the median annual wage for paralegals and legal assistants in 2007 was $44,990, with the top ten percent earning $71,480.