Eight weeks may be enough to enter the legal profession. The University of Georgia Center for Continuing Education, in a partnership with the Center for Legal Studies, offers a short-term paralegal certificate program that prepares students for paralegal and legal assistant jobs. The 84-hour course, which is held on Friday nights and Saturdays at UGA’s Lawrenceville campus, uses curriculum created by the Center for Legal Studies. The next course starts Feb. 3 through March 24. The class meets on Fridays from 6-9:30 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Employment is projected to grow by 28 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Atlanta is considered a hotbed of legal activity with government offices and businesses headquartered there. Paralegals are trained to help attorneys gather evidence, do research, interview clients and witnesses, and prepare legal briefs and forms from private legal practice to law offices in the public sector. They can also work for corporations in human resources insurance and financial firms. Paralegals can specialize in criminal law, contracts, civil rights law, environmental law or entertainment law.

The tuition for the paralegal course will be $1,189. The course teaches students how to investigate complex fact patterns, interview witnesses, research the law, prepare legal documents and help prepare cases for courtroom litigation. It’s intense and includes extensive homework. Classes include lectures and hands-on practice of skills. At the end of the course there is a career outreach workshop which helps students in their job search.