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Introduction

Among the thousands of professional credentialing programs administered by voluntary associations is the Certified Legal Assistant Program. Association professional credentialing programs have grown throughout the years to promote competence, to create an identity for a profession, and to allow a profession to establish a set of values and standards. Voluntary certification programs, conducted under strict administrative standards and based on verifiable research, have been endorsed by legislatures, courts and the federal government.

The Certified Legal Assistant program is administered by the Certifying Board for Legal Assistants of the National Association of Legal Assistants, Inc., headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma. This board is composed of legal assistants who have achieved a CLAS specialty designation, paralegal educators, and employers. For statistical and technical analysis the Board contracts with the consulting firm of Hanson Resources Systems. The CLA and CLA Specialty programs are administered in compliance with governmental regulations and voluntary occupational testing standards.

The National Association of Legal Assistants is a non-profit professional association representing over 15,0000 paralegals through individual members and 88 affiliated state and local associations. It is a leader in the growth and development of the paralegal profession.

Eligibility Requirements

The National Association of Legal Assistants has defined a legal assistant/paralegal as follows:

Legal assistants are a distinguishable group of persons who assist attorneys in the delivery of legal service. Through formal education, training, and experience, legal assistants have knowledge and expertise regarding the legal system, and substantive and procedural law, which qualify them to do work of a legal nature under the supervision of an attorney. Within this occupational category, individuals are also known as paralegals.

To be eligible for the CLA examination, a legal assistant must meet one of the following alternate requirements:

  1. Graduation from a legal assistant program that is:
  2. A bachelor's degree in any field plus one (1) year experience as a legal assistant. Successful completion of at least 15 semester hours of substantive legal assistant courses will be considered equivalent to one year experience as a legal assistant.
  3. A high school diploma or equivalent plus seven (7) years experience as a legal assistant under the supervision of a member of the Bar, plus evidence of a minimum of twenty (20) hours of continuing legal education credit to have been completed within a two (2) year period prior to the examination date.

The Examination

Certified legal assistants must complete a two-day written examination covering the following subject areas:

These examinations, based on twenty years of research and analysis, cover skills and knowledge required of all legal assistants. The subject areas and examination content are validated every two years through occupational research and input from legal assistant educators and employers.

The Certified Legal Assistant credential is valid for five years. To maintain the credential, Certified Legal Assistants must meet certain continuing legal education requirements.

Certified Legal Assistants may also seek advanced certification in specialty practice areas. Specialty certification is now available in the areas of civil litigation, probate and estate planning, corporate/business law, criminal law and procedure, real estate, bankruptcy, and intellectual property.

The CLA and CLA Specialty examinations are administered three times a year. As of the July 1995 examination, there are 7,480 Certified Legal Assistants in the United States, 1,646 from the State of Texas. Among the CLAs, 603 have achieved specialty certification, 167 in Texas.

Recognition

Established in 1975, the Certified Legal Assistant program is currently the only national professional credential for legal assistants. Statistically valid studies have shown a positive correlation between the CLA credential and compensation and billing rates of legal assistants. In fact, a 1993 study found this credential is more highly related to salary and compensation than the level of educational training. The CLA is recognized by many bar associations and supreme courts as a means of identifying legal assistants. It has been cited in many publications, including "Leveraging with Legal Assistants," a 1994 publication of the ABA Law Practice Management Section, which described the CLA as an important and useful credential for legal assistants in competing for career opportunities and advancement.

As early as 1983, the State Bar of Texas published a resolution of the Legal Assistants Committee which recognized the CLA program as a valid certification process which provides a means of measuring the qualifications and competence of persons holding themselves out as legal assistants. This was followed by Ethics Opinion 436, June 20, 1986, which allows law firms to list names of legal assistants on firm letterhead, and the fact that he or she is certified.

Finally, the national CLA credential is a standard for entry into advanced state certification programs in Florida, Louisiana, and California and also for the advanced CLA Specialist Examination program.

Summary

Knowing that career decisions are based on professional certification programs, NALA makes every effort to ensure the CLA and CLA Specialty programs are technically reliable, administratively sound and financially stable. These are ongoing processes of NALA and of the Certifying Board for Legal Assistants.

The Certified Legal Assistant program exists for the legal assistant profession. It is a valuable tool for use by legal assistants in developing their career path and direction.

To learn more about this program and the National Association of Legal Assistants, contact NALA Headquarters at 1516 S. Boston, Suite 200, Tulsa, OK 74114, (918) 587-6828 or fax (918) 482-6772. Upcoming CLA test dates are December 1-2, 1995, March 29-30, 1996, and July 12-13, 1996.

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