Legal Assistant Studies: Social Sciences, B.S.

Legal Assistant Studies

Associate Professor Karen McGuffee, Coordinator

Mission Statement:

The Legal Assistant Studies Program is committed to providing students with a well-rounded legal education focused on the knowledge of substantive and procedural law and the acquisition of the practical skills necessary for a career in the legal profession. Students will become ethically informed, culturally sensitive, engaged scholars and practitioners.

Learning Objectives:

• Students will complete a core curriculum emphasizing substantive and procedural law.
• Graduates of the program will report they have the practical skills necessary to prepare them for a career in this field.
• Graduates will report they have the ability to write clearly and effectively; have good computer and oral communication skills; and have experience integrating ideas from various sources and courses.
• Students will demonstrate they have the necessary legal research and writing skills to be employed in the field.
• Graduates will report they have an increased understanding of people from other racial and ethnic backgrounds.
• Students will experience a curriculum that requires them to think about ethics as it relates to legal assistant studies.

Continuation and Graduation Standards:

In view of the nature of legal assistance and the fact that individual rights may be affected by individuals providing legal assistance, the following standards will be applied by the Legal Assistant Studies faculty:

1. To progress in Legal Assistant Studies, students are required to:
   1. maintain a 2.5 (4.0 = A) grade point average in all legal assistant studies courses, and;
   2. maintain an active liability insurance policy for the legal assistant practicum
2. If in the judgment of the faculty there is a reason to question the academic, emotional, ethical, or professional fitness of a student, the faculty have the right to make recommendations regarding continuation in the program.
3. Students who fail legal assistant studies courses may not be allowed to progress in the program. Students may only repeat a Legal Assistant Studies course(s) one time.

Transfer Students

The program also welcomes students who hold a two-year degree or who have had some legal and/or college courses. Students in the program must complete the University General Education requirements or transfer the equivalent and 51 hours of Legal Assistant Studies course work and electives to total a minimum of 120 hours. Transfer students majoring in Legal Assistant Studies must take a minimum of 15 hours from approved Legal Assistant Studies courses at The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.