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Career Outlook
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Jobs: Paralegal or legal assistant for a law firm, corporate legal team or government agency.
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Opportunities: Employers look for paralegals with the right training and experience to perform many tasks that don't require the same level of education as a lawyer. Colorado is expected to have an increase in opportunities for paralegals over the next 10 years.
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Salary: The average wages for paralegals is $20 per hour or about $43,000 per year.
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What CCCOnline offers: Online courses toward both a certificate and an Associate of Applied Science degree in Paralegal.
Degree and Certificate Offerings
- Certificate: Degree:
- * Check with Home College for their requirements
Courses
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Important Note: Current paralegal students at Community College of Aurora, Arapahoe Community College and Pikes Peak Community College must check with an advisor at your college BEFORE registering for PAR courses online.
- PAR 115 Intro to Law
- PAR 116 Torts
- PAR 117 Family Law
- PAR 118 Contracts
- PAR 125 Property Law
- PAR 127 Legal Ethics
- PAR 201 Civil Litigation
- PAR 202 Evidence
- PAR 205 Criminal Law
- PAR 213 Legal Research & Writing I
- PAR 214 Legal Research & Writing II
- PAR 216 Employment Law
- PAR 217 Environmental Law
- PAR 218 Bankruptcy Law
- PAR 228 Intellectual Property Law
- CRJ 210 Constitutional Law
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Most schools offer online PAR courses. The following schools award paralegal degrees or certificates: ACC, CCA, CCD, FRCC, NJC (pre-law), PPCC.
Program Chair
Diane Van Os 
Program Chair
Paralegal Instructordvanos@ronos.net
303-216-0013
Paralegal Faculty
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- Lynn Chase
- Robin Rossenfeld
- Diane Van Os
- Marcus Zarlengo
More Resources
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For more information on what paralegals do or to look for jobs, visit the National Federation of Paralegal Associations.
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For information on becoming a paralegal in Colorado or to locate job opportunities, visit the Rocky Mountain Paralegal Association.
Paralegal
While lawyers assume ultimate responsibility for legal work, they often delegate many of their tasks to paralegals. In fact, paralegals are continuing to assume a growing range of tasks in legal offices and perform many of the same tasks as lawyers. They do not need a law degree to do these tasks when they are under an attorney’s supervision.
Paralegals aid in preparing for trials, hearings, closings, and various legal meetings. Paralegals typically conduct legal research and prepare a case for an attorney by identifying applicable law, and even drafting a memorandum of their opinion the case. Paralegals also aid in drafting various legal documents such as wills, tax returns, contracts, and completing electronic filing tasks in jurisdictions that allow e-filing. Paralegals must be familiar with legal forms and have the ability to do online research as well.
Paralegals work in all types of organizations, but most are employed by law firms, corporate legal departments, and various government offices. Paralegals can work in several areas of law, or specialize in a particular area. Areas of the law include litigation, personal injury, corporate law, criminal law, employee benefits, intellectual property, labor law, bankruptcy, immigration, family law, and real estate.
Depending on your ambition, you can take online classes towards earning a certificate or an Associate of Applied Science Degree in our Paralegal program through one of our selective partner Home Colleges; please contact the advising staff at one of these colleges for details about their degree and certificate requirements for the Paralegal courses at CCCOnline. ABA approved programs have certain on-campus requirements, and presently the 3 ABA schools in our consortium are ACC, CCA, and PPCC. The other 10 schools are not ABA programs so you can take most of your courses online. The degree requirements may vary, however, so be sure to check with the school’s advisors to see what your online options are regarding degrees, certificates, and possible on-campus requirements.