API PCCE Review

The National Federation of Paralegal Associations (NFPA®) and the Advanced Paralegal Institute (API) are jointly offering the online review course for the Paralegal CORE Competency Exam™ (PCCE).

The PCCE is targeted to paralegals who have recently graduated from a paralegal education or training program or are within their first two years of practice. The exam was launched in November of 2011 and focuses on those essential aspects of practice in which an entry level paralegal would be expected to be competent. Exam questions are based on information from course work in various paralegal programs and basic knowledge all paralegals should possess.

The online review course runs for seven weeks, plus a brief pre-course orientation to familiarize students with the API website and utilizing the Moodle network.  API courses are not webinars, nor do they contain pre-recorded lectures.  The classes are taught by paralegal instructors through computer-mediated distance learning who have earned both the Core Registered Paralegal (CRP) and Registered Paralegal (RP) credentials.  Students may communicate with instructors or classmates around the clock from their home or office computer.  The textbook for this course is the PCCE Study Manual. (Please order at least THREE weeks in advance of the course start date to allow for processing and shipping as there are delays due to the Covid-19 pandemic.)

The review course will help paralegals prepare to take the PCCE by covering the two domains tested: Paralegal Practice and Substantive Areas of Law. Each unit will begin with a pre-test, which will allow students to assess their strengths and weaknesses in the area being studied. Readings will be assigned, and discussion questions included in each unit, which will focus on problem areas revealed in the pre-test results as well as the new material introduced in the unit. At the end of each unit a post-test will be given, which will allow students to assess where additional independent study may be helpful. There is a required textbook for the course and an exit exam will be administered at the conclusion of the course.

Unit One:
•    Pre-test
•    Introduction to PCCE
    o    Development, eligibility requirements, structure, format, and application
    o    Overview of skills tested in each domain
•    Ethical considerations, including:
    o    Conflicts of interest
    o    Attorney-client privilege
    o    Confidentiality
    o    Handling client funds
    o    Unauthorized Practice of Law (UPL)
    o    Competence
•    Post test

Unit Two:
•    Pre-test
•    Review of the U.S. Legal System
o    Who works in the courts
o    How they are organized
o    Sources of law
o    Differences between Criminal and Civil law.
•    Review of Legal Research
•    Post test

Unit Three:
•    Pre-test
•    Skills and Tools necessary to perform Critical Analysis and to communicate in writing:
    o    Identify different types of legal writing:
        §    Pleadings
        §    Briefs
        §    Memoranda of law
    o    Review different steps in critical analysis
    o    Legal Citation basics
•    Post test

Unit Four:
•    Pre-test
•    Administrative and Office Skills
    o    Time management
    o    Billing system
    o    Form and other legal resource maintenance
•    Overview of civil litigation process from filing petition to closing statements at trial.
•    Post test

Unit Five:
•    Pre-test
•    Substantive law review of:
    o    Business Organizations and Contracts
•    Post test

Unit Six:
•    Pre-test
•    Continue substantive law review of:
    o    Criminal
    o    Family
    o    Torts
    o    Post test

Unit Seven:
•    Pre-test
•    Substantive law review of:
    o    Estates, Wills & Trusts
    o    Real Estate
•    Mock PCC Exam, with scoring and analysis of strengths and weaknesses from the instructor

Start Dates:

• October 17, 2022
• November 14, 2022
• January 9, 2023
• February 6, 2023
• March 6, 2023
• April 10, 2023
• May 15, 2023
• June 19, 2023
• July 17, 2023
• August 14, 2023
• September 11, 2023
• October 16, 2023
• November 13, 2023

Please note if you want to join a class already in progress, you may do so during the first week.

Additional courses may be added if sufficient interest is expressed.

Tuition for the PCCE Review Course is $395. Please note there is no refund once the course begins. If you wish to withdraw or drop the class after it begins, you may take it again within one year at 1/2 the current tuition cost. The PCCE Study Manual must be purchased by the student on NFPA's web site prior to the start of the class. NFPA members who are/were in the military can contact API directly at renee.sova@advancedparalegalinstitute.com to discuss the discounted military rate.

Students who take the PCCE Review Course are not necessarily eligible to take the PCCE. Please review the PCCE eligibility requirements to see if you qualify. Students who have taken the PCCE Review Course and fail the PCCE exam may retake the API Review Course for a second time, within a one-year period, for 1/2 price of current tuition rate.

Registration for this Review Course does not automatically register you to take the PCCE. You must submit a separate application to take the PCCE.

API PCCE Review Course Registration

PCCE Review Course Registration Form. (API Review materials are not hosted on the NFPA website. You will receive access instructions from an API representative.)

The PCCE Review Course is administered by API.

If anyone has any questions, they can contact Renee Sova, the Director of the Advanced Paralegal Institute by phone at 678-777-9655, via fax at 1-419-791-7802 or via e-mail at renee.sova@advancedparalegalinstitute.com.