The Paralegal Program was developed in cooperation with the San Mateo County Bar Association and the San Mateo County Legal Secretaries Association (now the San Mateo County Legal Professionals Association) to train personnel to assist attorneys in both civil and criminal matters. The Litigation Certificate is designed for students who want to specialize in litigation, pursue a higher education degree related to law and the legal system, prepare for law school, or prepare foreign attorneys for a Masters in Law (LLM) program, which must be completed in order to take the California Bar Exam. The Litigation Certificate is a unique offering that enables our students to be more competitive and be better prepared for current industry needs.

There are eight community colleges in the Bay Region issuing 236 awards annually (3-year average) on TOP 1402.00 – Paralegal.  There are three colleges in the Mid-Peninsula Sub-Region issuing 35 awards annually (3-year average) on this TOP code.

Table 7. Awards on TOP 1402.00 - Paralegal in the Bay Region

College	Sub-Region	Headcount	Associates	Certificates	Total
Cañada	Mid-Peninsula	40	6	9	15
De Anza	Silicon Valley	281	44	41	85
Evergreen Valley	Silicon Valley	131	12	14	26
Merritt	East Bay	149	12	24	36
San Francisco	Mid-Peninsula	320		8	8
Santa Rosa	North Bay	110	14		14
Skyline	Mid-Peninsula	84	5	7	12
West Valley	Silicon Valley	151	14	26	40
Total Bay Region		1,266	107	129	236
Total Mid-Peninsula Sub-Region		444	11	24	35

Source: IPEDS, DataMart and Launchboard 

Students who complete the Paralegal Certificate are entitled to be called paralegals under California law. The Litigation Certificate prepares students to be paralegals who focus their skills on litigation, prepares students for law school, and prepares foreign attorneys for a Master of Laws (LLM) program, which must be completed in order to take the California Bar Exam. The demand for skilled litigation paralegals is high, and employment opportunities exist in litigation law firms, trial technology companies, technology companies, biotech companies, consulting firms, insurance companies, or in state or federal courts. Graduates are prepared for positions including but not limited to paralegals, law clerks, trial clerks, legal assistants, legal secretaries, or trial technology paralegals.

Based on all available data, there appears to be an under supply of Paralegal workers compared to the demand for this cluster of occupations in the Bay region and in the Mid-Peninsula sub-region (San Francisco and San Mateo Counties.) There is a projected annual gap of about 1,323 students in the Bay region and 591 students in the Mid-Peninsula Sub-Region.

The LMI report also provides student out comes data on employment and earnings for programs on TOP 1402.00 - Paralegal in the state and region. It is recommended that these data be reviewed to better understand how outcomes for students taking courses on this TOP code compare to potentially similar programs at colleges in the state and region, as well as to outcomes across all CTE programs at Cañada College and in the region. 

Upon Completion of Certificate requirements, students will be able to:

• Use effectively both book and electronic legal research tools, and to identify and use primary and secondary law sources.

• Use California superior court judicial council forms, and at least one software program containing such forms.

• Understand, follow and apply ethical rules for attorneys and paralegals and to identify potential ethical issues in the legal environment.

Course	Title	Units	Year/Semester (Y1 or S1)
LEGL 250	Legal Research and Writing	3
LEGL 251	Torts	3
LEGL 252	Civil Litigation and Trial Preparation	3
LEGL 260	Advanced Legal Research and Writing	3
LEGL 276	Electronic Litigation and Investigation	3
Selective Courses:	Choose 3 units
LEGL 254	Family Law	3
LEGL 263	Intellectual Property
LEGL 264	Contracts	3
LEGL 267	Animal Law	3
LEGL 269	Elder Law	3

The Litigation Certificate is designed for students who want to specialize in litigation, pursue a higher education degree related to law and the legal system, prepare for law school, or prepare foreign attorneys for a Masters in Law (LLM) program, which must be completed in order to take the California Bar Exam. The Litigation Certificate is a unique offering that enables our students to be more competitive and be better prepared for current industry needs.

Skyline College, Paralegal, Dani Lapuz. Skyline College program is ABA certified; Cañada doesn't have a certified program. Therefore Skyline program not impacted.