Certificate or Certified?
By Mary K. LaRue, CP
Certificate” and “Certified” sound similar, thereby causing a lot of confusion for some in the paralegal
profession and especially some new to the profession. While they may seem like the same thing, they are not the same
thing at all. Having a certificate and being certified are two entirely different things. This article tries to clear
up some of the confusion.
“Certified”
If a paralegal states that he or she “is certified,” then that means, if they are using the term correctly, that
they have made a passing grade on a comprehensive test administered by an organization such as the National
Association of Legal Assistants (“N.A.L.A.”) or the National Federation of Paralegal Associations (“N.F.P.A.”) or by
their state. And in addition to passing the test, it means that they have kept their certification current by
attending the correct minimum number of mandatory Continuing Legal Education classes each year. Note that the
paralegal must have met certain minimum standards of education and/or work experience before being allowed to take
the exam.
Passing the exam means the paralegal has objectively demonstrated at least minimum competency and proficiency
in the areas of knowledge and skill required of a paralegal. In other words, it is important to understand that being
certified is not something that can be obtained simply by paying a fee or showing up for some presentations. If a
paralegal is certified, he or she can use the designation of Certified Paralegal or Registered Paralegal after their
name, depending on which test they passed. In Texas, paralegals that pass the Texas Board of Legal Specialization
test can refer to themselves as Board Certified. Texas is one of the few states that allow paralegals to sit for
Board exams.
If someone states that they are certified, but have not passed an exam as described above, they are not
certified and should not be using that term to refer to themselves.
“Certificate”
Except as explained below, a certificate is something anyone can obtain by paying a fee and/or showing up for some
presentations. These presentations do not require anyone to meet any minimum standards of knowledge or skill.
To make things even more confusing, many academic institutions use the term “certificate” to apply to students
who graduate from their paralegal programs when those students already have a degree from one institution, such as a
university, then switch to another institution, such as a community college, to take their paralegal classes. For
example, a person could finish a bachelor’s degree, and then go to a community college to take paralegal classes that
are not offered at the institution where they got their bachelor’s degree. Thus, that person would have a bachelor’s
degree plus a paralegal certificate once they successfully pass all their paralegal classes. If these academic
institutions
could find some other term to use, it would be helpful, because this contributes to the confusion in the profession.
Also, many proprietary schools refer to what they give persons who complete classes at their schools as a
“certificate.”
It is important to note that the persons in the examples above who earned a bachelor’s degree plus a paralegal
certificate or who got a certificate from a proprietary school still cannot properly refer to themselves as
“certified” unless they have taken and passed an exam (or exams) as set forth at the beginning of this article.
For more detail on this subject, and for information about applying to take one or more of the certification
exams, go to nala.org, or paralegals.org, or to the Division website at www.txpd.org.
Mary K. LaRue is certified by NALA and is a paralegal with the El Paso firm of John M. Dickey & Associates.
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