NALS of Orange County is dedicated to helping its members keep abreast of changes in the legal field. The most effective way to do that is to increase member education, thereby increasing their marketability and profitability. To that end, we encourage all our members to become certified. The following is important information about certification:

Why Should I Take A Certification Exam?

One way to demonstrate your preparedness for the demanding field of law is by becoming an ALS (the basic certification for legal professionals). This designation is awarded after passing a four-hour, three-part examination. Attaining this goal demonstrates your commitment and aptitude for succeeding in the ever-changing legal environment. To sit for the ALS examination, you must have completed one of the following: an accredited office curriculum course; the NALS Legal Training Course; or one year of general office experience. For more information about the ALS examination, click on http://www.nals.org/certification/ALS/index.html.

PLS (the advanced certification for legal professionals) is the designation for lawyer's assistants who want to be identified as exceptional. Certification is received after passing a one-day, four-part examination which demonstrates not only dedication to professionalism but acceptance of the challenge to be exceptional. Any person who has had three years of experience in the legal field may take the PLS examination, and a partial waiver of the three-year legal experience requirement may be granted for post-secondary degrees, successful completion of the ALS exam, or other certifications. The maximum waiver is one year. For more information on the PLS examination, click on http://www.nals.org/certification/PLS/index.html.

The Professional Paralegal (PP) designation is a way for you establish your credentials nationwide as a Professional Paralegal. Established in 2004 at our members' request, the Certified PP designation is an attainable goal for paralegals who wish to be identified as exceptional in all areas of law. The certificate is received after passing a one-day, four-part examination. To qualify to take this exam, you must have five years of experience performing paralegal/legal assistant duties. (A candidate may receive a partial waiver of one year if he or she has a post-secondary degree, other certification, or a paralegal certificate; a candidate with a paralegal degree may receive a two-year partial waiver.) All four parts of the PP examination must be taken on the first attempt, with the exception of current PLSes in which only Part 4 (Substantive Law) is needed. For more information on the PP examination, click on http://www.nals.org/certification/professionalparalegal/index.html.

Those passing each exam will receive a certificate which is valid for five years. For the ALS, certification may be extended through continuing education, based on NALS guidelines, for one year. For the PLS and PP certifications, recertification is required every five years and may be achieved through the accumulation of continuing legal education and activities.

Membership in NALS is not a requirement to sit for any of the above-described exams.

For More Information.

Information can be requested from Mae Galvez, PLS at MGalvez@tharpe-howell.com (telephone: 714.437.4900 ext. 125), or the NALS Certification/Education Manager, Diana Price, at cert-edu@nals.org (telephone: 918.582.5188)

And One More Thing...

NALS holds online study groups to assist those preparing to take a NALS certification exam. It is open to the public and offers helpful information for all legal professionals.  The certification examinations are held in March (First Saturday) and September (Last Saturday) of each year. The online study group for the September 2008 certification exam will start on August 5, 2008, and will meet once a week commencing at 6 p.m. Pacific Time. You may join the online study group at any time and do not need to be a member of NALS. If you are considering sitting for a future exam, why not visit the NALS Online Learning Center at http://nals.org/onlinelearning/index.html to see what the online study group is all about. NALS of Orange County and NALS want to help you pass the certification exams!