Paralegal Studies Certificate Program

Our fully online format allows us to be accessible to students all over the country and world. Courses are taught both synchronously and asynchronously by faculty with extensive professional backgrounds and real-life experiences working in the legal field.

ABA-Approved Certificate 

If you are ready to be a paralegal our ABA-approved certificate program is for you. It's offered full time over the summer or part time in the evenings during fall, winter and spring terms. Classes are delivered in a fully online format using both synchronous and asynchronous learning. 

Career Outlook

Diverse Opportunities: As a graduate, you’ll have the flexibility to work in a wide range of settings, including law firms, corporate legal departments, government agencies, and non-profit organizations. Your career can be as varied and exciting as you choose!

Program Information

Our fully online format allows us to be accessible to students all over the country and world. Courses are taught both synchronously and asynchronously by faculty with extensive professional backgrounds and real-life experiences working in the legal field.

Degree

Certificate

School

Thomas R. Kline School of Law

Duration

11 weeks (full time in summer) or 12-18 months (part time in fall, winter and spring terms)

Required Credit Hours

30

More in this Program

From Our Alumni

Jonmarie Maines

The credentials that I earned from this program have allowed me to begin the process of becoming a Legal Administrator Warrant Officer.

Jonmarie Maines Paralegal Certificate '25, United States Army Private First Class (PFC)

Program Learning Objectives

  • Teach students the fundamentals of foundational legal theories and principles in various areas of the law.
  • Require students to develop critical thinking and analytical skills necessary to adapt in a variety of legal environments and to generate, support and complete intended client outcomes
  • Introduce students to the ethical standards and obligations imposed on all legal professionals, with specific emphasis on the standards and obligations imposed on paralegals and legal assistants. 
  • Familiarize students with information about the most current legal resources and law-related technology available to legal professionals.
  • Prepare students to professionally communicate with strong written and verbal skills necessary to effectively convey to or obtain information from a host of audiences including attorneys, clients, and courts.
  • Enhance professional development opportunities for students during the program through networking events, workshops, and individual career-planning sessions.

Application Process

Letter of Interest

Write a letter of interest that describes your background and educational/career goals.

Complete and Submit Application

Complete and submit the application. Upload a letter of interest describing your academic and professional goals and discussing why you wish to enroll in the Certificate in Paralegal Studies.

Request Transcripts

Request your official* college or university transcript be mailed to:

Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University 
Paralegal Institute
600 Forbes Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15282
*Note:  transcripts marked 'Issued to Student' are not official. 

Schedule an Interview

Schedule an admissions interview with the program director. Call (412) 396-6313 or email%20paralegalFREEDUQUESNE.

Core Course Descriptions

Students must successfully complete ten (10) courses to earn their Paralegal Certificate. Five (5) of those courses are required, core courses.

This introductory course will provide students with an understanding of the language of the law, important legal concepts, the workings of the American legal system and most significantly, the role of the paralegal in this system. Students will be introduced to the major substantive areas of the law as well as the procedural aspects of the practice of law and professional ethics. Although students will receive a national perspective on the law, there will be coverage of Pennsylvania practice.
The aim of this course is to introduce students to the ethical dimensions of paralegal practice: the rules by which lawyers practice law and the standards of conduct for non-lawyer personnel working in the legal profession. The course will also examine law office management principles so that students will understand the context in which their skills will be applied. This course provides a forum in which paralegal skills will be combined with the organizational, administrative and professional skills essential to paralegal success.
This course is an introduction to computer technology and its applications. Knowledge of Microsoft Office is assumed. The primary objective is to provide students with practical computer skills as applied to the law office and other legal entities based on evidentiary, ethical and substantive considerations. Technology and legal principles are explained as students gain hands on instruction in several software programs. Upon completion, students will be able to utilize various applications commonly used in the legal environment, such as calendaring and communication systems, time and document management software, and litigation support systems and trial presentation software. It is recommended students take the (510) Civil Litigation course  before or in conjunction with this course.
This course will provide an introduction to legal research methods utilizing print, online databases (i.e., WestlawNext and LexisNexis), and fee and free Internet sites. The course will cover primary sources (constitutions, statutes, regulations and case law) and secondary sources (encyclopedias, periodicals, ALR, treatises, etc.).
Using real-world fact scenarios, this course teaches students the skills needed to understand legal fact patterns, analyze the law as it applies to those fact patterns, and write the various legal documents that often are generated when law firms are presented with similar situations. The course will emphasize the process model of writing where the students will work closely with their peers and instructor on creating numerous drafts of a document before producing an end product. Students will learn to think and write using the conventions of the legal profession.

Elective Course Descriptions

Students may choose to take any five (5) electives.

Students will learn the basic aspects of civil litigation, which include jurisdiction, venue, identification of local courts, initiation of civil proceedings, motions practice, e-discovery and discovery procedures, trial procedures, and basic evidentiary problems. The course emphasizes those areas in which a paralegal may assist counsel in preparation for litigation, such as identification of factual and legal issues, drafting pleadings, interviewing witnesses, preparation of witnesses for trial, obtaining evidence through discovery, organizing documentary evidence, and the use of demonstrative evidence. References will be made to administrative law and appellate procedures.

This course provides a student an overview of the business and legal issues within the areas of professional and amateur sports. Specifically, but not limited to, the following: professional clubs, professional leagues, sports marketing contracts, negotiation techniques, television, sponsorship, insurance and athletic associations. All such issues covered shall have a relationship to basic principles of law: contract, antitrust, tort, corporate, and other areas.

This advanced-level course regarding civil litigation in federal and state courts focuses on e-discovery which has become a substantial component of most civil suits filed in the United States. Students will learn how the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and analogous state rules address the discover of electronically store information (ESI), and will examine a number of key court decisions relate to e-discovery. Students will also study analyses prepared by the Sedona Conference, the leading organization studying the escalating effects of e-discovery on civil litigation. The course will provide practical instruction about the administrative and mechanical aspects of obtaining and providing e-discovery in litigation, as well as common issues related to using ESI as evidence at trial.

This course will give students a comprehensive practical health law text relevant to students seeking the basic management skills required to work in health care organizations, as well as student currently working in health care organizations. This text is also relevant to those general health care consumers who are simply attempting to navigate the complex American health care system. Every attempt is made within the text to support health law and management theory with practical applications to current issues. Health Care Law involves many facets of U.S. law, including torts, contracts, antitrust, and insurance.
Students will be introduced to the various forms of ownership of property. Students will also learn about the distinction between probate and non-probate assets, the difference between the probate estate and taxable estate, Pennsylvania law of intestate succession and formal requirements for drafting Wills and Trusts. Students will learn how to complete all forms required by the Register of Wills. The importance of establishing tickler dates for various date-driven tasks will be emphasized. Students will also take part in the preparation of Pennsylvania Inheritance Tax and Federal Estate Tax Returns. Practicing paralegals may provide presentations.
Students will be introduced to family law, its court system and procedures. The areas discussed will range from requirements for a valid marriage to dissolution of marriage, via annulment and divorce. In addition, spousal and child support, alimony, alimony pendence lite, paternity, custody, adoption and the very volatile area of domestic violence will be explored.
This course will be a survey of the language, concepts and transactions used in that area of the law called “real estate” or “real property.” The objective of this course - is to provide the paralegal with the skills necessary to comprehend the documents, follow the procedure, and understand the theory necessary when a law office is retained to represent buyers, sellers, mortgage lenders, builders, developers, landlords, tenants, or any other interested parties to a real estate matter.
Students will be introduced to criminal law, definitions, penalties, realities of criminal practice, and federal, state and local rules of procedure. The student will learn about search and seizure, bail hearings, pretrial discovery, indictment, arraignment, pleas, and trial procedures. Motions and other related documents may be prepared.
Students will be introduced to the substantive law of torts. Students will learn the basic elements of negligence/medical malpractice claims, intentional torts, claims of strict and products liability, defamation and related privacy torts as well as automobile insurance claims. Students will learn all viable defenses to each tort. The course will also examine issues surrounding the legal concepts of causation, damages, remedies and vicarious liability. Students will learn how to analyze facts and recognize a potential tort/personal injury cause of action, as well as how to assist in the preparation and adjudication of a tort/ personal injury trial.

Students may be placed in a paralegal position with a private law firm, government agency, court office, corporation, insurance company, bank, real estate company, community service agency, health care facility or other appropriate office. The term of the internship is 10 hours per week for 11 weeks. Internships are offered during daytime hours. Students must create a project portfolio and submit to the Program Director. The student will learn the practical daily operation of the assigned office. Supervised by a licensed, practicing attorney and usually by a practicing paralegal, the student will be both an observer and a participant in the operation of the assigned office. Internship hosts are not required to compensate interns. An internship at a student’s place of employment will be allowed only under restricted circumstances. (Prerequisites: 501, 505, 550, 551, 542)

Students will be introduced to corporate and business law concepts. There will be a general discussion of various types of business organizations such as sole proprietorships, general partnerships and limited partnerships. The emphasis of this course, however, will be centered on various types of corporations such as nonprofit, professional, close and business corporations. Regulation of public companies will also be reviewed. Students will learn how to prepare minutes and resolutions of shareholder’s and director’s meetings and other related documents.
The Immigration Nationality Act of 1952, as amended, is examined and emphasis will be placed on the most commonly used non-immigrant working visas, permanent residency (both family and employment related) and alien labor certifications. This is a hands-on course in which students learn how to prepare various applications and petitions particular to this field.
Intellectual property (patents, trademarks, and copyrights) is a rapidly increasing area of law wherein paralegals are an integral part. This course will focus on the law of the procurement and protection of intellectual property rights. Emphasis will be placed on the application of intellectual property law principles and preparation of the commonly used forms and submissions in practice. Students will gain a basic understanding of intellectual property law and a strong understanding of the application of the law. In-class projects, assignments and computer research will provide hands-on experience with finding the answers often posed to intellectual property paralegals.
This course will enhance the legal research skills that students developed in their introductory legal research course. It will cover the use of primary and secondary legal resources, developing an appropriate research strategy, and advanced searching skills. Students will learn how to gather information through effective and efficient research strategies and will apply information effectively to resolve a specific issue or need. This course will build on what was learned in the Legal Research Methods class to gain a more in-depth understanding of both primary and secondary legal research materials. (Prerequisite: 550 Legal Research Methods)
Students will be asked to build upon the skills learned in 551 Legal Writing and Case Analysis I and taught to research, draft and edit complex legal documents. Emphasis will be placed on the writer’s audience and critical legal analysis skills to translate pertinent ideas into cogent and successful legal documents using, where appropriate, classical rhetorical devices to dispute, explain, and convince an audience of the legal merits of their argument. (Prerequisite: 551 Legal Writing I)
Constitutional law is a body of law based on a ratified constitution or similar formative charter dealing with the fundamental principles by which a government exercises its authority.  These principles typically define the roles and powers of the various branches of the government and basic rights of the people.

Contact Us

Mary Olson

Program Director, Paralegal Institute