Course overview
HACC's Paralegal Internship is designed to provide the paralegal studies student with on-the-job experience in the paralegal profession. It is our goal to help our students find an opportunity to apply what they have learned in the classroom to today's working world. Thus, during the fall, spring, or summer terms, paralegal studies students may intern in an approved law firm or law office to work a minimum of 200 hours and gain experience and develop legal skills as a paralegal while earning course credit as a paralegal studies elective course. Although the internship remains flexible to meet the needs of each student intern and the supervising attorney, the following course objectives are provided below.
Upon successful completion of the course the student will be able to:
• Assimilate practical experience and training in a law office environment
• Identify the need for confidentiality in a legal practice
• Identify and avoid situations that may constitute the unauthorized practice of law
• Identify conflicts of law that arise in legal practice
• Disclose conflicts of law to supervising attorneys appropriately
• Demonstrate improved written and oral communication skills
• Recognize the need to meet deadlines through the timely submission of assignments
The work experience as an intern must be at least 50% paralegal in nature. Specific experience will vary depending on the office in which the internship is served.
After receiving written approval from Career Services that the student's resume and cover letter are "job search ready," the student applies to potential internship sites and waits to be called for an interview. The work schedule is arranged between the supervising attorney and the student. At the completion of the internship, the supervisor evaluates the student based on the student's performance at the site. The student's grade is based on the evaluation, student logs, participation in the mandatory class meeting, submission of sample written work, and the completion of a student survey and other required paperwork.
A student can elect two semesters of a paralegal internship (PLGL 251 and 252). The internships can be in the same office/firm or they can be in two different practices, allowing the student to have maximum exposure while gaining vital skills.
If you have other questions not covered in this website, please contact Alexandra Makosky at amakosky@hacc.edu
Prerequisite Courses
For Internship I, PLGL 251: PLGL 102 Minimum “C" grade or better
PLGL 201 Minimum “C" grade or better
PLGL 202 Co-requisite
PLGL 104 Pre- or Co-requisite
PLGL 105 Pre-requisite
and
Permission of the Program Director or Internship Instructor
For Internship II, PLGL 252: PLGL 251 Minimum “C” grade or better
Types of Placements and Tasks
The paralegal intern should work in a legal setting, performing work which would normally be done by a paralegal. Most commonly the setting would be a law firm, legal aid office, a corporate legal department, or a government office. The work assigned to the paralegal should be substantive legal work and might include some of the following tasks:
Preparing pleadings
Preparing discovery or responding to discovery
Organizing documents
Preparing trial notebooks
Drafting motions
Contacting and responding to clients, witnesses, court staff
Drafting other legal documents
It is also acceptable for the intern to shadow the attorney and go to court or depositions, but this cannot be the majority of the internship. Students can also benefit by learning to answer phone calls, prepare files, and other clerical tasks, but these tasks too should not comprise the majority of the internship.