The Master of Studies in Law

The Master of Studies in Law (M.S.L.) is a degree program for non-lawyers who want to obtain basic familiarity with legal thought and to explore the relation of law to their disciplines.  Some M.S.L. programs offer a general background in law, with the ability to select elective courses in a particular area of the law, such as corporate, environmental, family, or intellectual property law.  Schools offering this curriculum are:

• University of Pittsburgh School of Law
• Ohio State University, Moritz College of Law
• Arizona State University College of Law
• Yale University Sterling College of Law

Other M.S.L. programs are designed to provide a legal foundation associated with a particular discipline, such as those offered by the following institutions:

• Albany Law School: Concentration in Technology Transfer
• Georgetown Law Center: Concentration in Journalism
• Vermont Law School: Concentration in Environmental Law & Policy

Please contact one of the pre-law advisors for more information on these programs.

Legal Assistants (Paralegals)

A legal assistant or paralegal is a person qualified by education, training or work experience who is employed or retained by a lawyer, law office, corporation, governmental agency or other entity who performs specifically delegated substantive legal work for which a lawyer is responsible. (Adopted by the ABA in 1997)

Legal assistants provide support attorneys and facilitate the practice of  law in the some of the following ways:

• Conduct client interviews and maintain general contact with the client, so long as the client is aware of the status and function of the legal assistant, and the legal assistant works under the supervision of the attorney.
• Locate and interview witnesses.
• Conduct investigations and statistical and documentary research.
• Conduct legal research.
• Draft legal documents, correspondence and pleadings.
• Summarize depositions, interrogatories and testimony.
• Attend executions of wills, real estate closings, depositions, court or administrative hearings and trials with the attorney.

According to the American Bar Association, a legal assistant should meet certain minimum qualifications. The following standards may be used to determine an individual's qualifications as a legal assistant:

1. Successful completion of the Certified Legal Assistant certifying (CLA) examination of the National Association of Legal Assistants;
2. Graduation from an ABA approved program of study for legal assistants;
3. Graduation from a course of study for legal assistants which is institutionally accredited but not ABA approved, and which requires not less than the equivalent of 60 semester hours of classroom study;
4. Graduation from a course of study for legal assistants, other than those set forth in (2) and (3) above, plus not less than six months of in-house training as a legal assistant.
5. A baccalaureate degree in any field, plus not less than six months in-house training as a legal assistant;
6. A minimum of three years of law-related experience under the supervision of an attorney, including at least six months of in-house training as a legal assistant; or
7. Two years of in-house training as a legal assistant.

(Source: National Association of Legal Assistants)

In the Pittsburgh area, the following institutions offer a course of study in paralegal training:

• Bradford School of Pittsburgh Paralegal Schools
• Duquesne University
• The American Association for Paralegal Education
  (The American Association for Paralegal Education offers the best overview of training and programs available nationally.)