B.S. in Legal Studies

The Legal Studies Program offered on the main campus in Montgomery, Alabama is approved by the American Bar Association. Students graduating with a Legal Studies degree from the Montgomery campus will receive an ABA-approved paralegal certificate along with their Legal Studies degree.

Students at our Huntsville, Birmingham and Mobile campuses now may complete this program through our new synchronous classroom. Students who take legal specialty classes at a Faulkner University campus other than the Montgomery campus and attempt to transfer legal specialty credit to the Montgomery campus will be considered to have transferred from a non-ABA approved school and will be subject to the transfer policy stated below.

The American Bar Association defines a legal assistant or paralegal as “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 and who performs specifically delegated substantive legal work for which a lawyer is responsible.” Paralegals may not provide legal services directly to the public, except as permitted by law.

Mission of the Legal Studies Program

The mission of the Faulkner University Legal Studies Program is to glorify God through education of the whole person and the preparation of highly competent, socially and ethically committed legal professionals, emphasizing integrity of character, an appreciation for the pursuit of equal justice for every person, and a lifelong dedication to critical inquiry and investigative thinking.

Vision of the Legal Studies Program

It is the vision of the Faulkner University Legal Studies Program to be the foremost provider of undergraduate Christian legal education and the preferred partner for the legal community in producing occupationally competent and socially responsible graduates with the highest moral and ethical values.

Goals and Objectives of the Legal Studies Program

The Faulkner University Legal Studies Program seeks to provide a program that supports its students during their academic and professional careers and advances the paralegal profession. Upon graduation from the Legal Studies Program, students will be well-prepared to begin a career as a paralegal or continue studies towards an advanced degree. Students who already work in the legal field will be able to perform more effectively and efficiently in their positions. The objectives of the Legal Studies Program will prepare students in enter the legal profession as set forth below:

1. To offer a curriculum in which Legal Studies’ students demonstrate a broad understanding of substantive law and procedural law.
2. To prepare Legal Studies’ students to apply non-complex legal concepts to factual situations, composing basic legal arguments and in producing basic legal documents like pleadings, contracts, discovery, briefs, motions, settlement and closing forms, and wills.
3. To prepare Legal Studies’ students to demonstrate the ability to conduct basic legal research of primary and secondary sources, validate research results, and cite primary and secondary sources using Bluebook citation form and use appropriate legal terminology that is common in written and oral legal communication.
4. To prepare Legal Studies’ students to demonstrate the personal and professional ethics that are expected in the workplace; identify appropriate work ethics for a law office or other legal environment and demonstrate application of these ethics.
5. To prepare Legal Studies’ students to demonstrate interpersonal and soft skills that are expected in the workplace;
6. To graduate Legal Studies’ students who have an understanding of the paralegal career, skills needed, and employment opportunities available in private practice, government agencies, and corporate legal departments.

Transfer of Legal Specialty Courses

Generally, legal specialty courses are those courses that cover a specific area of law or procedure. It is the policy of the Legal Studies Program to accept no more than the equivalent of fifty-percent of legal specialty courses. Legal specialty transfer credits may be considered from regionally accredited institutions provided the student completes the following procedure:

1. The student must meet with the Legal Studies Director and provide the Director with a copy of the transcript listing the particular legal specialty course with a grade of “C” or better, the date the course was taken, and the number of credits earned for the course.
2. The student must also provide a course syllabus or other acceptable documentation (course assignments, student work product) and be able to discuss specific paralegal skills acquired throughout the course. The Legal Studies Director may accept transfer credit for the course if it is determined that the course in question is sufficiently similar to one offered as part of the ABA-approved Faulkner University Legal Studies curriculum.

Strong preference is given to those courses taken from an ABA-approved paralegal program. The Faulkner University Legal Studies Program does not accept professional work experience, CLEP credit, paralegal or legal assistant certifications, CEUs, or the equivalent as transfer credit for legal specialty courses. Additionally, all Legal Studies students must complete a minimum of 109 semester hours of legal specialty course work in the traditional classroom environment; therefore, the number of online legal specialty courses subject to transfer may be limited in order to satisfy this requirement.

This transfer policy includes any and all legal specialty courses taken at any institution including any Faulkner University campus offering a non-ABA approved program.

To receive the A.S. or B.S. degree in Legal Studies, a student must demonstrate competency by successfully completing a comprehensive final exam and the Paralegal Portfolio (LS 2190/LS 4190 ) with a grade of C or better during his or her senior year.

Legal Studies courses are offered during the day, evenings, weekends and online. The schedule of courses typically accommodates the students who work full or part-time, may have family responsibilities, and want to attend school on a full or part-time basis.

For more information on the Legal Studies program, please contact:

Cathy Davis, chair

cdavis@faulkner.edu

(334)386-7304