I wish to become a lawyer and I was wondering what the difference between paralegal and legal studies Are?

You don't need paralegal studies to go to law school. On the other hand, law school doesn't teach you how to practice law, only how to think like a lawyer, and knowing that can make it easier if you want to set up your own practice. To go to law school in the US, you can study whatever you want to undergraduate. You need to learn how to write well and how to think logically, so classes in writing and logical will be useful. Other than that, you can major in whatever you want, but make sure you take the classes and get the grades your law school requires. You also may have to, depending on the school, be involved in school leadership - like student body offices or club president. You also should do volunteer work. A free legal clinic is a good choice. You don't have to do legal studies, undergraduate. Paralegal studies focus on paperwork, research, and processes. It doesn't really teach you the law, other than the law related to filing paperwork with the court. You also learn to do routine forms. You don't have to do paralegal studies to be a paralegal. You don't have to be certified by anyone. The requirements pretty much are up to the lawyer who hires you. Law focuses on what the law is, both case law and statutory law, and other legal sources. The focus is on thinking like a lawyer. How courts interpret the law and how to analyze all sides of a case and how to apply laws to your set of facts. To be a lawyer, you don't have to go to law school (but it's really tough to pass the bar if you don't). You do have to take and pass a bar exam for each state where you practice (although some states will let you in if you pass another state's exam). You also have to pass a background check. Paralegals make reasonable money and generally don't work ridiculous hours. Lawyers make a lot more money, but also, at least at the beginning, don't have time for any social life. Of course that depends on where you work and the kind of law that you practice. There are more paralegal jobs than law jobs, depending on where you are. E-mail me if you have more questions. As a paralegal, I've never lied for my lawyer or had someone checking up on a spouse, or any of the other nonsense someone else mentioned. It seems like someone hasn't done a good job of drawing lines.

In the bigger law firms, paralegals help the attorneys with research, drafting of legal documents, client interviews, etc. In some of the smaller law firms, paralegals do everything from answering phones to writing the pleadings to ordering the office birthday cakes to writing down every single message the attorney has in voice mail to answering emails from the attorney's wife about whether or not her husband is cheating on her to lying to a judge on the phone about the whereabouts of the attorney who was supposed to be in court but was being a bigshot on a radio interview instead. In other words, unless you like doing all the work, learning to lie without batting an eyelash, being a gopher, and listening to clients gush on and on about how great the attorney is when you did all the work, skip the paralegal studies and take a look at the legal studies.

Legal studies is most likely what you would choose; Political Science, Public Administration, History, or Economics are also acceptable pre-law majors. The key thing with pre-law is to tailor your classes to the law schools you wish to apply to down the road. Talk to your current academic adviser or an admissions officer at your law school prospects to find out what they expect. For now, I'd say major in PA or Econ because they are both great back-up majors if you decide against being a lawyer for whatever reason.

Paralegal are the ones that take the papers from office to office and also have a desk in an office. Legal are the rights study, they have more to do with lawyers.