Legal file clerk education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

There are several educational requirements to become a legal file clerk. Legal file clerks usually study legal support services, business, or criminal justice. 43% of legal file clerks hold a bachelor's degree, and 28% hold an associate degree. We analyzed 1,089 real legal file clerk resumes to see exactly what legal file clerk education sections show.

The most common colleges for legal file clerks are the University of Phoenix and the University of Phoenix.

There are also many online legal file clerk courses to help get the education required to be a legal file clerk.

There are certain legal file clerk certifications that you should consider. These legal file clerk certifications include Certified Paralegal (CP) and Certified Paralegal/Certified Legal Assistant (CP/CLA).

What education do you need to become a legal file clerk?

What degree do you need to be a legal file clerk?

The most common degree for legal file clerks is bachelor's degree, with 43% of legal file clerks earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are associate degree degree at 28% and associate degree degree at 17%.

Bachelor's, 43%

Associate, 28%

High School Diploma, 17%

Diploma, 5%

Other Degrees, 7%

What should I major in to become a legal file clerk?

You should major in legal support services to become a legal file clerk. 20% of legal file clerks major in legal support services. Other common majors for a legal file clerk include business and criminal justice.

Legal Support Services, 20%

Business, 14%

Criminal Justice, 11%

Political Science, 10%

Other Majors, 45%

Most common colleges for legal file clerks

Legal file clerks often get their degrees at University of Phoenix, Ashford University, and San Francisco State University. Here are the most common colleges for legal file clerks in the US based on their resumes.

Legal file clerk common college	Percentages
University of Phoenix	10.13%
Ashford University	7.59%
San Francisco State University	7.59%
Monroe College	7.59%
University of California, Irvine	6.33%

Show more common legal file clerk colleges

Best majors for legal file clerks

Rank	Major	Percentages
1	Legal Support Services	19.5%
2	Business	13.9%
3	Criminal Justice	11.1%
4	Political Science	9.8%
5	Liberal Arts	8.0%

Show more common legal file clerk majors

Best colleges for legal file clerks

The best colleges for legal file clerks are Boston University, Boston College, and George Washington University, The.

A legal file clerk with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for legal file clerks. We based this list on several metrics: admissions rate, retention rate, mean earnings of graduates, the ratio of working vs. non-working students ten years after admission, the average cost of attendance, and median debt for graduates who become legal file clerks.

1. Ball State University

Muncie, IN • Private

In-state tuition

$9,896

Enrollment

15,529

2. Boston University

Boston, MA • Private

In-state tuition

$53,948

Enrollment

17,238

3. Cedar Crest College

Allentown, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$39,216

Enrollment

1,303

4. Siena Heights University

Adrian, MI • Private

In-state tuition

$27,124

Enrollment

2,035

5. University of Akron

Akron, OH • Private

In-state tuition

$11,463

Enrollment

13,676

6. Western Carolina University

Cullowhee, NC • Private

In-state tuition

$3,926

Enrollment

9,835

7. SUNY College of Technology at Canton

Canton, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$8,389

Enrollment

3,127

8. University of Alaska Anchorage

Anchorage, AK • Private

In-state tuition

$8,580

Enrollment

10,482

9. George Washington University, The

Washington, DC • Private

In-state tuition

$55,230

Enrollment

12,161

10. California State University - Bakersfield

Bakersfield, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,309

Enrollment

9,142

20 best online courses for legal file clerks

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12. Cloud Security Course: Cloud Compliance, Audits,Legal issues

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13. Use C# streams to read and write file data

By the end of this project, you will Use C# streams to read and write file data in a C# program. The C# Stream class is used to process data from various sources including internet data, in-memory data, and file data. The File Stream class implements the Stream class to provide convenient access to file data...

14. IBM COBOL Data and File Management

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16. VMware vSphere 6.0 Part 3 - Storage, Resources, VM Migration

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17. Professional Certification in Akashic Records (Accredited)

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20. Computer Organization and How to Organize Computer Files

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Top 10 most affordable universities for legal file clerks

The most affordable schools for legal file clerks are SUNY Farmingdale, baruch college of the city university of new york, and california state university - bakersfield.

If the best universities for legal file clerks are out of your price range, check out these affordable schools. After factoring in in-state tuition and fees, the average cost of attendance, admissions rate, average net price, and mean earnings after six years, we found that these are the most affordable schools for legal file clerks.

1. SUNY Farmingdale

Farmingdale, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$8,306

Cost of attendance

16,091

2. Baruch College of the City University of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,262

Cost of attendance

14,046

3. California State University - Bakersfield

Bakersfield, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,309

Cost of attendance

16,714

4. USF Sarasota-Manatee

Sarasota, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$5,587

Cost of attendance

13,043

5. Minot State University

Minot, ND • Private

In-state tuition

$7,064

Cost of attendance

15,576

6. Clayton State University

Morrow, GA • Private

In-state tuition

$5,419

Cost of attendance

17,697

7. California State University - Dominguez Hills

Carson, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,942

Cost of attendance

14,469

8. University of Central Florida

Orlando, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,368

Cost of attendance

21,034

9. SUNY Polytechnic Institute

Utica, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$8,238

Cost of attendance

21,567

10. Brigham Young University

Provo, UT • Private

In-state tuition

$5,620

Cost of attendance

18,136

Top 10 hardest universities to get into for legal file clerks

The hardest universities for legal file clerks to get into are Boston University, Boston College, and George Washington University, The.

Some great schools for legal file clerks are hard to get into, but they also set your career up for greater success. The list below shows the most challenging universities to get into for legal file clerks based on an institution's admissions rates, average SAT scores accepted, median ACT scores accepted, and mean earnings of students six years after admission.

1. Boston University

Boston, MA • Private

Admissions rate

22%

SAT average

1,420

2. Boston College

Chestnut Hill, MA • Private

Admissions rate

28%

SAT average

1,429

3. George Washington University, The

Washington, DC • Private

Admissions rate

42%

SAT average

1,380

4. SUNY at Binghamton

Vestal, NY • Private

Admissions rate

40%

SAT average

1,376

5. Bentley University

Waltham, MA • Private

Admissions rate

43%

SAT average

1,338

6. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,497

7. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,508

8. University of Richmond

University of Richmond, VA • Private

Admissions rate

30%

SAT average

1,401

9. Syracuse University

Syracuse, NY • Private

Admissions rate

50%

SAT average

1,284

10. University of Denver

Denver, CO • Private

Admissions rate

56%

SAT average

1,300

Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for legal file clerks

The easiest schools for legal file clerks to get into are Manor College, notre dame college, and gwynedd mercy university.

Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a legal file clerk without much hassle, check out the list of schools where you will be accepted in no time. We compiled admissions rates, average SAT scores, average ACT scores, and average salary of students six years after graduation to uncover which were the easiest schools to get into for legal file clerks.

1. Manor College

Jenkintown, PA • Private

Admissions rate

94%

SAT average

898

2. Notre Dame College

Cleveland, OH • Private

Admissions rate

90%

SAT average

994

3. Gwynedd Mercy University

Gwynedd Valley, PA • Private

Admissions rate

92%

SAT average

1,031

4. Lewis-Clark State College

Lewiston, ID • Private

Admissions rate

100%

SAT average

1,009

5. Wayland Baptist University

Plainview, TX • Private

Admissions rate

98%

SAT average

1,003

6. Nyack College

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

98%

SAT average

999

7. Marymount University

Arlington, VA • Private

Admissions rate

91%

SAT average

1,065

8. Curry College

Milton, MA • Private

Admissions rate

93%

SAT average

1,026

9. Felician University

Lodi, NJ • Private

Admissions rate

81%

SAT average

999

10. Presentation College

Aberdeen, SD • Private

Admissions rate

97%

SAT average

1,050

Average legal file clerk salary by education level

Legal file clerks with a Bachelor's degree earn more than those without, at $33,603 annually. With a Associate degree, legal file clerks earn a median annual income of $31,995 compared to $31,249 for legal file clerks with an High School Diploma degree.

Legal file clerk education level	Legal file clerk salary
High School Diploma or Less	$31,249
Bachelor's Degree	$33,603
Some College/ Associate Degree	$31,995

Legal file clerk education FAQs

What is the best college for Legal File Clerks?

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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Updated January 8, 2025

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