Paralegal Studies courses are designed for students seeking professional knowledge and skills necessary to perform substantive legal work under the direction and supervision of an attorney. Only licensed attorneys are permitted to practice law; however, qualified paralegals working under attorney supervision can contribute significantly to the efficient delivery of legal services in an expanding variety of private law office, corporate, and government agency settings.

University College’s Paralegal Studies Program offers the B.P.S. degree with a concentration in Paralegal Services.  The paralegal professional core courses emphasize (1) theoretical and practical applications of legal and ethical principles; (2) collection, organization, and critical analysis of legal materials; (3) effective communications and computer skills; (4) initiative, flexibility, and cooperation in the workplace; and (5) preparation to meet the challenges of a demanding profession while avoiding the unauthorized practice of law by lay persons.

The Paralegal Studies Program is approved by the American Bar Association.

Legal Specialty Transfer Policy
A legal specialty course is one that (1) covers substantive law or legal procedures or process, (2) has been developed for paralegals, and (3) emphasizes practical paralegal skills. Each legal specialty course submitted for consideration of transfer into the Paralegal Studies Program is evaluated by the program director. Determination of transferability is based upon course content, hours of instruction, and the grade earned in the course by the student. Review of college transcripts, course materials, and an oral examination may be required in order to determine whether the student is competent in the area of study and whether the courses considered are deemed appropriate for transfer. Credits from non-regionally-accredited and non-ABA-approved programs or institutions will not be considered for transfer to the Paralegal Studies Program.

The maximum number of legal specialty credits allowed for transfer to the program shall not exceed nine semester-hours.

Credit by Examination Policy
A student seeking to earn legal specialty credit by examination must consult with the program director regarding the depth of experience or training the student has accrued in the area(s) of law in which the student seeks credit. The student will earn credit by making a grade of “C-“ or better on the most recently administered comprehensive examination(s) given in the discipline(s) tested. Students may not take an examination for credit in a course previously taken for credit in which the student was unsuccessful.

The maximum number of legal specialty credits allowed by examination shall not exceed nine semester-hours.

Reconciliation of the Legal Specialty Transfer and Credit by Examination Policies
The maximum number of legal specialty credits allowed by either or both processes shall not exceed nine semester-hours.

Paralegal Services Advising Guidelines
Students pursuing the B.P.S. degree with a concentration in Paralegal Services must complete all University College degree and graduation requirements including the Coordinated Study degree component according to the following guidelines:

Program Summary

A. General Education (35-41 hours)
See Graduation from the University for the University General Education Program requirements. Students who have completed one year of American History in high school are exempted from the six credit-hour History General Education Program requirement; otherwise, students will have to meet the History requirement.

B. Paralegal Professional Core (39 hours)
(At least 21 hours of the following core courses must be completed at the University of Memphis with a minimum grade of "C-" in each course).

Paralegal Requirements** [30 hours]
LEGL 2400 Legal Ethics
LEGL 2410 Introduction to Law
LEGL 2420 Legal Research and Writing I
LEGL 3410 Contracts and Commercial Law
LEGL 3420 Torts
LEGL 3430 Business Associations
LEGL 3440 Civil Procedure
LEGL 3450 Legal Research and Writing II
LEGL 3483 Computers in the Law
LEGL 4410 Paralegal Internship

Paralegal/Law-Related Electives [9 hours]
CJUS 3510 Law and Society
CJUS 3521 Constitutional Criminal Procedure
CJUS 4530 Principles of Evidence and Proof
COMM 4812 Communications Law in Performing Arts
FIR 3310 Real Estate Principles
FIR 4011 Estate Planning and Law of Taxation
JOUR 4700 Mass Communications Law
LEGL 3481 Family Law
LEGL 3482 Labor Law
LEGL 3484 Bankruptcy Practices
LEGL 3485 Real Estate Practices
LEGL 3486 Criminal Law and Procedure
LEGL 3487 Administrative Law and Procedure
LEGL 4450 Legal Research and Writing III
POLS 4200 Environmental Law, Policy, and Regulation
POLS 4222 Urban Politics

Written Communications Requirements [6 hours]
(A minimum grade of “C-” is required)
ENGL 3500 Practical English Grammar
ENGL 3604 Persuasive Writing

Interdisciplinary Requirements [12 hours]
(Select one course from each of the groups listed below; a minimum grade of “C” is required)
Group 1: Business and Administrative Applications
ACCT 3011 Business Law
CJUS 4180 Corporate and White Collar Crime
FIR 3130 The Legal, Social, and Political Environment of Business
FIR 4011 Estate Planning and Law of Taxation
FIR 4310 Real Estate Law
MGMT 3215 Management of Human Resources
PADM 3601 Public Administration
POLS 4221 Urban Administration
Group 2: Philosophical and Constitutional Perspectives
CJUS 4531 Issues in Constitutional Rights
HIST 3275 History of the Jewish People
HIST 3840 United States Constitutional History
HIST 3881 African-American History
HIST 4851 History of Women in America
HIST 4941 History of the American Indian
PHIL 3741 African-American Philosophy
PHIL 4551 Social and Political Philosophy
POLS 4211 Constitutional Law: National Powers
POLS 4212 Constitutional Law: Civil Liberty
POLS 4405 Origin and Development of American Political Thought
Group 3: Law in Society
CJUS 3426 Corrections in America
CJUS 3510 Law and Society
CJUS 3521 Constitutional Criminal Procedure
CJUS 4170 Prevention and Deterrence to Crime
CJUS 4520 Substantive Criminal Law
PADM 4208 Mental Health Policy and Law
PADM 4209 Aging Policy and Law
POLS 4416 African-American Political Thought
POLS 4504 International Law
SOCI 3420 Sociology of the South
SOCI 3541 Criminology
Group 4: Ethical/Moral/Social Issues
ANTH 3242 Peoples of Africa
CJUS 3152 Drug Addiction and Alcoholism
CJUS 4130 Ethical Dilemmas in Criminal Justice
PHIL 3411 Contemporary Moral Problems
PHIL 3511 Ethics
PHIL 3514 Biomedical Ethics
POLS 3402 Legal/Political Thought: Modern
SOCI 3422 Racial and Ethnic Minorities
SOCI 3432 Sociology of Gender
SOCI 4420 Racial Inequality
SOCI 4442 Sociology of Poverty
SOCI 4460 Black and White Women in the South
SOCI 4631 Cities in Change

C . Thematic Studies (6 hours)

D. Senior Project (3 hours)
UNIV 4995 Senior Project (completed during the final semester])

E. Electives may be chosen to bring the total number of hours to 120 with a minimum of 42 upper-division hours.