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History
The California Advanced Specialty program was created in 1994, through an agreement between the National Association of Legal Assistants (NALA) and the California Alliance of Paralegal Associations (CAPA). Pursuant to the terms of the Original Agreement, CAPA established a separate entity, the Commission for Advanced California Paralegal Specialization, Inc. (“CACPS” or the “Commission”) to assist NALA in the development, verification, modification, and monitoring of the CAS Program. In 1995, NALA, CAPA, and CACPS entered into an addendum to the Original Agreement, wherein any references to the CAPA Certification Board were replaced by CACPS. CAPA remained jointly responsible with CACPS for the performance of its obligation under the Original Agreement. After the announcement of NALA’s new online assessment (Advanced Paralegal Certification program), NALA informed CACPS that the CAS would no longer be offered after the July 2005 testing date.
Professional certification is a critical and important step for career growth. For the legal professional, this process has proven itself as a means of identifying qualified law office personnel for over twenty years. The Commission adopted a mission statement in 1995 to provide a voluntary, uniform professional credential for those demonstrating an advanced knowledge of California law and procedures; and to enhance the quality of services available from California paralegals and/or legal assistants to the legal community and to the public which is served. /font>
CAS Trademark: The trademark approved by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for those certified by the California specialty exam is California Advanced Specialist (CAS). CAS is also a service mark duly registered with the state of California. Only those who achieve this distinction can use this prestigious title.
The Commission and the National Association of Legal Assistants are responsible for content, standards and administration of the CAS program. The Commission is comprised of legal assistants who have achieved the CAS credential and/or the Certified Legal Assistant credential, attorneys, and legal assistant educators. NALA pioneered the Certified Legal Assistant (CLA) program in 1976 and successful examinees are awarded the CLA/CP designation.
It is a well recognized mark of outstanding achievement and is the basis of qualification for advanced paralegal specialization testing. In the technical areas of statistical analyses, examination construction, reliability and validity tests, the Commission utilizes the expertise of NALA and professional consulting firms offering expertise in these areas as well as in occupational research. Technical analyses of the CAS specialty examinations are conducted on an ongoing basis to ensure the integrity of the examination. Content analyses of the test design, accuracy of questions, and topic/subject mix for each exam section are ongoing processes of the NALA Certifying Board and the Commission. The Commission also utilizes the occupational data available through surveys of legal assistants and other means, including review of textbooks and research within the field of legal assistant education. Thus, the Commission is assured that the examination reflects and responds to work-place realities and demands.
