Legal Studies (formerly Paralegal Studies)

Program Overview

Genesee Community College's Legal Studies Program prepares students to become qualified legal assistants under attorney supervision. The two-year program, approved by the American Bar Association, covers key legal duties and offers internships in various legal settings. Graduates are equipped with critical thinking, writing, research, and communication skills for careers in law offices, government agencies, and other legal environments.

Program Outline

Degree Overview:

• Prepares students to become qualified legal assistants working under attorney supervision.
• Delivers key legal duties like document preparation, legal research, public record searches, and trial preparation.
• Approved by the American Bar Association.

Outline:

• Program Structure: Two-year sequence of courses.
• Course Schedule: Available upon request.
• Modules:
• History of the American legal system
• Substantive and procedural law
• Ethical rules of the legal professions
• Legal reasoning and argument
• Legal research and communication skills
• Fact pattern analysis and legal analysis formulation
• Paralegal role in a law office
• Legal digests, citators, and online data banks
• Intake interviews and preliminary investigations

Teaching:

• Taught by attorneys.
• Utilizes 84 SMART classrooms, 11 distance learning labs, 26 computer labs, and the Alfred C. O’Connell Library.
• Offers coordinated internships and/or cooperative work experiences in private firms, district attorneys’ offices, and public interest organizations.

Careers:

• Paralegals can work in various environments, including law offices, insurance companies, banks, government agencies, private companies, court systems, abstracting firms, and their own businesses.
• The U.S. Department of Labor predicts continued growth in the need for trained paralegals.
• Potential positions include legal administrative assistant, court clerk, human resources assistant, investigator, legal/legislative analyst, parole/probation officer, trial court coordinator, and government specialist.

Other:

• GCC offers affordable, high-quality education close to home.
• Conveniently located between Rochester and Buffalo, New York.
• Graduates are leading careers locally and globally.
• The program helps students develop critical thinking, writing, research, and communication skills.
• Prepares students for career development and/or transfer to a baccalaureate degree program.