Paralegal Technology Program ‘growing and evolving’ to benefit students

Precious Vines-Harris finds herself at home on the Durham Tech campus overseeing the College’s Paralegal Technology Program.

As director of the program, in which she also serves as an instructor, Vines-Harris said she has seen many changes since she joined Durham Tech seven years ago.

“When I started [at Durham Tech], the paralegal program had an associate degree and three certificates. Our curriculum now focuses on an associate degree and diploma,” Vines-Harris said. “We are growing and evolving. We are offering what benefits our students the most as they work toward a career.”

The paralegal program keeps up with trends in the legal and paralegal fields. Vines-Harris, who earned both her undergraduate and law degrees at N.C. Central University, said that the program is doing things never done before at Durham Tech. In the vein of growth, the program received a planned gift from the Beulah M. Latta Trust to establish a $200,000 endowment to fund scholarships for paralegal technology students.  

“We were grateful for the philanthropic support and now are looking into how to capitalize on the endowment. We are looking at everything from AI and legal technology to other innovative teaching tools to draw students to the program,” Vines-Harris said.  

The spendable interest generated by the endowment provides for student scholarships in perpetuity, specifically, four scholarships at $2,000 per recipient, with $10,000 being put toward other program endeavors.  

“We are proud to help students pay for the program that will lead them toward doing great things in their community," Vines-Harris said. “With the $10,000, we are going into uncharted territory and building a mock courtroom and a law innovation computer lab along with a small law library, all of which will be housed at Durham Tech’s Northern Durham Center campus.  

“These program improvements and tangible assets will benefit other Durham Tech programs,” Vines-Harris said. “Basic Law Enforcement Training and Criminal Justice will use the new facilities, as will continuing education.”

Durham community partners will also be invited to use the mock courtroom and lab. With the field changing so rapidly, the facilities will give each entity using them one more experiential activity from which to learn.

“We are making Durham Tech’s paralegal program accessible while maintaining a prominent level of instruction and assets. We do both through an awareness of legal trends, a curriculum heavy in experiential activities and affordability,” Vines-Harris said. “The affordability is always there, but more so when you factor in the scholarships now available. We pride ourselves on putting students into careers where they make an impact.”  

To learn more about supporting people, programs, and places at Durham Tech, please contact the Durham Tech Foundation at foundation@durhamtech.edu or (919) 536-7251.