Community Paralegal Certificate: Handle Your First 5 Walk-In Cases
Train as a community paralegal — a non-lawyer who helps people know their rights and reach the right help. Learn the paralegal method and handle your first five walk-in cases within scope. Training and access-to-justice literacy, not legal advice.
by Sankofa Skills Studio · vetted expert author
What you'll gain
Most Nigerians with a legal problem — a landlord locking them out, unpaid wages, a maintenance dispute, a relative wrongly arrested — never reach a lawyer or a court. A community paralegal helps close that gap. This course trains you for that role — a trained non-lawyer who, close to where people live, helps them understand their rights, take first steps, settle simple disputes and reach the right help — organised around handling your first five common walk-in cases. It is honest from the first line: it is training and access-to-justice literacy, not legal advice, and it turns on one bright line repeated throughout — a paralegal is NOT a lawyer. You learn exactly what that means: you may explain general legal information and rights, help with letters, forms and documents, mediate a simple willing dispute, and refer people to the right door — but you may never call yourself a lawyer, represent someone in court, give the tailored legal advice reserved to lawyers, guarantee an outcome, or charge legal fees, because unauthorised practice of law is an offence. You learn the difference between legal information (allowed) and legal advice (reserved), and the repeatable method for every walk-in: intake, screen for the real issue and for safety and urgency, inform honestly, assist or mediate within scope, refer well, and follow up — all under confidentiality, consent and careful records. You get a practical justice map — the Magistrates’, small-claims, customary, Sharia and High Courts, the Multi-Door Courthouse, the Legal Aid Council, the Office of the Public Defender, FIDA, the NHRC and the Public Complaints Commission — and the basic rights of a person under arrest (silence, a reason, a lawyer, dignity, and that bail is free), because a criminal matter is a refer-now matter. Then you work the five cases — a self-help eviction, a family and maintenance dispute, unpaid wages, a small money claim, and a documents-and-police matter — each handled at the information, assist and refer level, safeguarding first and referring early. Finally, the ethics that make you trusted — confidentiality, no conflict, no false promises, do no harm — and the scams to avoid and warn clients about: the fake lawyer, the “pay-me-for-bail” fixer, and those who charge the poor for services that are free. Two Nigerians travel with you: Grace at a Lagos legal-aid desk and Ibrahim in a northern community. Where the law, forum or agency varies by state or changes, the course tells you to confirm it locally and, for a real matter, to see a lawyer or the Legal Aid Council rather than inventing it. This is training and a certificate of completion, not a government practising licence — and not legal advice.
Pass a real exam and earn a publicly verifiable certificate employers trust.
Unlimited practice mode + spaced-repetition flashcards, then unlimited exam retakes.
Keep the lessons and every future update to this course, forever.
What you'll cover
10 modules · 20 lessons · timed certification exam
1. Start here 2 lessons
What this course is (training for a community-paralegal role and access-to-justice literacy, not legal advice) and why the role matters.
- What this course is — and is not · 12 min
- The access-to-justice gap, and your value · 12 min
2. Paralegal is not a lawyer 2 lessons
The bright line at the heart of the role — what a paralegal may and may not do — and the crucial difference between legal information and legal advice.
- The bright line: what you may and may not do · 16 min
- Legal information vs legal advice · 14 min
3. The method: intake and screen 2 lessons
The repeatable paralegal method, and the two steps that start every case right — a careful intake and a screen for the real issue, safety and urgency.
- The paralegal method and the intake · 16 min
- Screening for the real issue, safety and urgency · 14 min
4. Inform, assist, mediate, refer 2 lessons
The working middle of the method — giving honest information, assisting within scope, mediating only where it fits, and referring like a professional.
- Inform and assist — within scope · 14 min
- Mediate where it fits, and refer well · 14 min
5. The justice map 2 lessons
The doors a paralegal refers people to — the courts, the free and low-cost lawyers, and the rights bodies — plus the basic rights of a person under arrest.
- Courts, legal aid and rights bodies · 16 min
- Rights on arrest and in custody · 14 min
6. First cases: home and family 2 lessons
Two of the most common walk-ins — a landlord-and-tenant dispute and a family and maintenance matter — handled within scope, at the information, assist and refer level.
- Case 1 — landlord and tenant · 16 min
- Case 2 — family and maintenance · 16 min
7. First cases: money and the state 2 lessons
Two more common walk-ins — unpaid wages and a small money claim — and the highest-risk one: a documents-and-police matter, which is refer-now.
- Case 3 & 4 — unpaid wages and small money claims · 16 min
- Case 5 — documents and police (refer-now) · 12 min
8. Handling any case well 2 lessons
The through-line that runs through all five cases, and the disciplines that protect both the client and you — records, confidentiality and consent.
- The five cases and the through-line · 12 min
- Records, confidentiality and consent · 12 min
9. Ethics, safety and scams 2 lessons
The ethical code that makes a paralegal trusted, how to keep people (and yourself) safe, and the scams to avoid and warn clients about.
- The paralegal ethical code · 14 min
- Safety, safeguarding and the scams to avoid · 16 min
10. The honest museum and your capstone 2 lessons
The hard truths that keep you effective and safe, and a personal plan for your first walk-in cases.
- The honest museum — hard truths · 12 min
- Your capstone — a first-cases plan · 14 min
Frequently asked
Is the certificate verifiable?
Yes. Every certificate carries a unique ID and a cryptographic signature. Anyone — an employer or a client — can confirm it instantly on our public verification page, with no login.
Who teaches this course?
A vetted expert author — Sankofa Skills Studio. Every expert course is reviewed and fact-checked before publication, and the author earns a revenue share on your enrolment.
How long do I have access?
Lifetime. Once you enrol you keep access to the lessons, practice mode and flashcards — including future updates to this course.
What happens if I don't pass the exam first time?
You can retake it — up to 5 attempts, with a 12-hour wait between attempts. Practice mode is unlimited, so rehearse with the same verified question bank until you're ready.
Can my team enrol together?
Yes. Talk to us about group and organisation rates — certifying a whole team is faster and cheaper than one at a time.
Continue your path
Learners taking this course often go on to: