Department Head Elizabeth Mann | (864) 250-8491 | Elizabeth.Mann@gvltec.edu
The American Bar Association defines a 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.
Lawyers are busy and delegate many tasks to the paralegals who assist them with their work. In this profession you may help prepare for real estate closings, interviews, hearings, mediation, trials and corporate meetings, and you may also draft discovery, correspondence, and pleadings.
The Greenville Tech Paralegal program is approved by the American Bar Association (ABA) and taught by licensed attorneys in good standing in South Carolina and by certified paralegals. Many of our courses are project-oriented and offer hands-on experience, including litigation, title examination, and legal research.
The department is an institutional member of the American Association for Paralegal Education (AAfPE) and is a sustaining member of the South Carolina Upstate Paralegal Association (SCUPA).
To learn more about our program, please view this presentation.
Department Mission
The mission of this American Bar Association approved Paralegal Program is to provide quality education for students to become competent paralegals so that they can assist attorneys in the effective delivery of legal services. The Department educates students in order to provide them tools to advance the paralegal profession and to maintain high ethical standards in the classroom and in their professional careers.
- This program is approved by the American Bar Association (ABA), is an institutional member of the American Association for Paralegal Education (AAfPE) and is a sustaining member of the South Carolina Upstate Paralegal Association (SCUPA).
- Unauthorized Practice of Law (UPL) Statement: Paralegals work under the supervision of a licensed attorney and are not authorized to practice law in South Carolina (S.C. Code § 40-5-310).
Paralegal Associate Degree
The Associate Degree in Public Service, Paralegal Studies, (AAS.LEG) requires 64 credit hours and takes about 5 semesters. The Associate Degree is also available to students with a bachelor's degree (AAS.LEG.APLA) on a fast-track which requires about 43 credit hours and can be completed in 12 months.
- Law firms
- Corporate legal departments
- State Government
- Federal Government
- Insurance Companies
- Mortgage Departments
Find out more about the Paralegal career field.
Certified Paralegal Testing Site
Greenville Tech’s Paralegal Department has been approved by the National Association of Legal Assistants to be a testing site for the Certified Paralegal exam beginning in May. Testers now take the CP exam electronically, and it will be administered in the Paralegal Lab (room 205 of the Administration building) on May 20th and 21st . The exam, which is available during the months of January, May and September, will be given at GTC for two days each of those months. The paralegal faculty are acting as volunteer proctors in order to save students and graduates the expense of paying a testing site fee.
For more information about the Certified Paralegal Exam, go to www.nala.org and click on certification.
Professional Organizations
American Bar Association
American Association for Paralegal Education (AAfPE)
South Carolina Upstate Paralegal Association (SCUPA)
South Carolina Bar Association
Greenville County Bar Association
National Association of Legal Assistants (NALA)
Honor Societies
Phi Theta Kappa (PTK), the national two-year college honor society
Lambda Epsilon Chi (LEX), the national paralegal honor society