Legal Office Administration

About the Program

Program Goal: Career

GE Pattern(s): Butte Local

Program Code: 01314.01AS

The Legal Office Administration (LOA) program is a two-tiered, structured career pathway for students who are interested in entering into the challenging and highly specialized field of legal office support. Employers in the law field are looking for support personnel who have knowledge in the area of legal office procedures, processes, and research, as well as general knowledge of office administration. The LOA program is designed to meet the demands of employers and the needs of an increasingly global and technologically advancing legal industry.

As a career, the highly specialized legal field offers employment in areas such as criminal, family, probate, civil, real estate, environmental, corporate, public interest, and intellectual property law. The legal office professional's job duties may include preparing legal forms such as complaints, motions, subpoenas, affidavits, and briefs; processing legal documents; assisting with legal research; filing court papers; preparing legal communications; utilizing various office technologies; auditing financial records; scheduling meetings and calendaring court dates; handling confidential information; and taking notes on proceedings. Students graduating from the LOA program gain proficiency in beginning and advanced legal office procedures, legal research, the legal environment of business, business communication, professional development, records management, and the technology tools used to support businesses to achieve goals, such as Microsoft Office applications, collaboration tools, and Adobe Acrobat. Throughout the program, students are exposed to a wide variety of hands-on practical applications with an emphasis on organizational, critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

Career related fields for the LOA include Legal Administrative Assistant, Legal Assistant, Legal Staff Assistant, and Legal Office Assistant.

Students interested in earning an AS degree in LOA will have successfully completed the LOA Certificate and the LOA Certificate of Achievement along with general education requirements and any electives required. Taken full-time, this program can be completed in two years.

Program Learning Outcome(s): Upon successful completion of the program, the student will be able to:

1. Identify and explain the difference among the six areas law.
2. Demonstrate workflow processes of a legal environment.
3. Analyze and assess legal clients' needs to determine appropriate solutions.
4. Apply computer skills to legal office activities.
5. Utilize proper legal writing skills in all client and colleague communication.