Local Community College Gets Bar Association OK For Legal Assistant Program
When Phillip Smith finished coursework at San Diego City College, he wasn’t sure what he wanted to do.
But after a yearlong internship in San Diego Superior Court working with Judicial Services Manager Linda Abercrombie, Smith knew he wanted to pursue a legal career. Now a senior at Stanford University, Smith is on his way to law school and plans to be a prosecutor.
Smith shared his story at the launch ceremony for the Legal Employment Awareness Program, LEAP , a program that intends to steer the way for students like Smith.
Martin Kruming, an attorney in private practice, said the program came to life after a group discussion among several legal professionals.
“We wanted to put together an umbrella program that would bring the legal community together,” Kruming said.
Through the LEAP program students interested in a law career will be able to intern, job shadow and simply pick the brains of professionals in a variety of legal careers. An informational video, put together by AJL Litigation video service, will be distributed to various schools to “get kids excited about entering legal careers.”
The program doesn’t limit its focus on becoming an attorney, but it showcases all facets of the industry from receptionists to paralegals to marketing directors.
Kruming said the program has received financial and in-kind support from numerous law firms, both large and small. The first internship program is expected to begin next summer.
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Raising The Bar:
Miramar College recently became the first and only local community college to receive American Bar Association approval for its legal assistant program.
That means students pursuing paralegal training can do so for $11 per credit , compared to a typical $4,000 annual fee for a certificate program.
Miramar College was granted the approval after a nearly two-year examination process by the ABA. The final step in the process included an on-site review by a three-person ABA team charged with evaluating the school’s curriculum, campus, instructors, advisory board, library facilities and student outcomes.
UC San Diego and the University of San Diego are said to be the only other local schools to have ABA approval for their paralegal certificate programs.
“With the ABA approval, Miramar College becomes the first higher-learning institution in San Diego County to offer students an associate’s degree concurrent with their paralegal studies with credits that are fully transferable and applicable,” said P. Darrel Harrison, a professor and program director for Miramar’s legal assistant program. “This gives our graduates a tremendous advantage.”
Looking Glass:
San Diego County’s Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse’s new campaign has a pretty clear message. The organization used pocket mirrors to alert consumers that costs for lawsuit abuse is a shared cost.
CALA distributed hundreds of mirrors with the message: “Object in mirror is closer to being sued than appears.”
According to the organization, the message is that no one is immune to lawsuit abuse.
“Even if you aren’t the direct target of a frivolous suit, lawsuit abuse affects you in the way it impacts your neighborhood and your community,” said Andy Kotner, president of the legal watchdog group. “Frivolous suits against your city or the state drain resources that could be used toward parks, education or other services. Your tax dollars must to go to fighting these suits.”
According to the latest statistics from the National Center for State Courts, more than 15 million civil lawsuits were filed in 1999 , or one lawsuit filed for every 18 people in the United States.
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On Staff:
Stephen LaSala joined Procopio, Cory, Hargreaves & Savitch LLP as an associate on the firm’s business and technology team Gayle Blatt and Robert Francavilla, both partners with the firm of Casey, Gerry, Reed & Schenk, were recognized as outstanding trial lawyers by the Consumer Attorneys of San Diego.
The deadline for the next Law Column is Thursday, Nov. 8. Send related items to dward@sdbj.com.
