Colorado Paralegal Schools

Colorado paralegal schools offer students the ability to either focus on legal writing and research if they have already done post-graduate coursework, or start with a high school education and complete a two-year paralegal degree program. Paralegals are working in a rapidly expanding field, one that may grow nearly 30 percent between 2008 and 2018, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Since their only restriction is that they cannot file motions or otherwise practice law, paralegal education is wide-ranging.

Much of the curriculum is similar to that of a first year J.D. Student, including introductions to torts and contract law, before moving on to property law and civil litigation. Colorado paralegal students can choose to focus on areas of the law that interest them after this initial course work, for example immigration law or intellectual property studies.

Featured Paralegal Schools in Colorado

There are three paralegal programs approved by the American Bar Association in Colorado. Each requires an internship, and requires at least 30-36 semester hours of course work. They include Arapahoe Community College, the Community College of Aurora as well as Kaplan College. All three are in the Denver metropolitan area, so paralegal aspirants west and south may want to consider online schooling options.

How to Become a Paralegal In Colorado

While there are no express requirements that applicants for paralegal positions to complete internships or coursework, many law firms value the additional training and experience because it saves them time in bringing new paralegals up-to-speed on current cases. More importantly, many Colorado paralegal programs, including the ABA-certified options, require internships that can increase opportunities for networking in addition to providing real world experience.

Colorado Paralegal Salary

The salary range for Colorado paralegal schools graduates can vary, but starts at around $30,000 and is on average close to $50,000 for the thousands of paralegals in the state, with higher salaries possible with increased work experience.

Online and Colorado Paralegal Schools