Programs
Diploma in Paralegal Studies
Paralegal Programs | Paralegal Diploma | Paralegal Associate Degree | Paralegal Continuing Education
COURSE DESCRIPTIONS
| Paralegal Today | 3 Credit Hours |
| The course is the core of the paralegal program. Students will learn the past, present and future of the paralegal profession, including the paralegal defined, educational options, techniques for marketing skills and career opportunities. Instruction on ethics and professional responsibility, the organizational structure of the legal workplace and office culture and politics will prepare students for the challenges of today's paralegal. Students receive a formal introduction to law by examining sources of American law, the court system and alternative dispute resolution, substantive law in its various forms, as well as administrative law and government regulation. Legal procedures and advanced skills involving civil litigation and trial procedures, criminal law, conducting interviews and investigations, using primary and secondary sources to legal research, the emerging technology of computer-assisted legal research, in addition to legal analysis and writing provide valuable insight and a solid foundation for the future legal assistant. | |
| Legal Research | 3 Credit Hours |
| This course is designed to teach the fundamentals of Legal Research. The student will learn research tools and techniques necessary to find the actual law, but also how to use the various secondary materials, which assist in the research process. Some of the topics covered are: Case Reporters, Digests, Codes, Annotated Codes, Annotated Reporters, Citators, Loose-leaf Services, Legal Encyclopedias, Treatises and Computerized Research Services. As part of the course, students enrolled in Legal Research receive a subscription to Westlaw online legal library. Students have the opportunity to take a series of tutorials to learn effective online research skills. Upon successful completion, students receive a Paralegal Training Certificate from Thomson-West. | |
| Legal Analysis and Writing | 3 Credit Hours |
| A requisite for the capable legal assistant is the ability to prepare professional legal documents. This comprehensive course provides the student with in-depth knowledge of the fundamentals of legal analysis and writing. Students will first examine an overview of the legal system, including analytic principles and the legal process. They will learn the specifics of legal analysis, including statutory analysis, case law and briefing, identifying and stating the issue, case application and counter analysis. Emphasis on application of these key principles in legal writing will allow students to prepare interoffice memorandums, court briefs and general legal correspondence. Students enrolled in Legal Analysis and Writing receive a subscription to Westlaw online legal library. Students have the opportunity to take a series of tutorials to learn effective online research skills. Upon successful completion, students receive a Paralegal Training Certificate from Thomson-West. | |
| Litigation and Trial Practice | 3 Credit Hours |
| This course provides comprehensive coverage of the civil litigation practice for paralegals. It provides detailed information on the litigation process from the pre-suit investigation to the appeal. Special emphasis is made on the role of the lawyer and those responsibilities that may be delegated to the legal assistant. Attention is given to litigation principles, lawyer and client relationship and ethics, gathering evidence, deposition, preparation for a civil trial, structure of a civil trial, judgments, and appeals. | |
| Business Organizations | 3 Credit Hours |
| This course prepares paralegal students for the practical aspects of the law of business organi-zations. It covers all issues that are typically encountered in working with business clients. Top-ics include the types of business organizations, formation of a corporation, corporate financial structure, employment and compensation, operating and maintaining business entities. | |
| Criminal Law | 3 Credit Hours |
| This course explores the general principles of criminal liability, the defenses to criminal liability, and the elements of crimes against persons, property, and society, while it encourages critical thinking about these topics. Special emphasis is given to both the law and the procedural as-pects of criminal justice. | |
| Real Property | 3 Credit Hours |
| This course is directed toward the training and practice of legal assistants in the area of modern real estate transactions. Topics covered are property ownership, surveys and legal descriptions of real property, easements, contract forms and standard provisions found in real estate con-tracts, deeds, real estate finance, real estate lending, mortgages and foreclosures, title examina-tions and title insurance, real estate closings, condominiums, cooperatives and time-shares, and residential and commercial leases. | |
| Torts: Personal Injury Litigation | 3 Credit Hours |
| Torts: Personal Injury Litigation (3 Credit Hours) This course explores civil wrongs, and your studies will illustrate and explain the different types of tort recoveries that are allowed by law. Student learn the elements required to prove each tort, and defenses that may be posed, and a step-by-step strategy for the preparation and settlement for each type of action. Topics include tort theory based upon negligence, products liability, libel, slander and malpractice. | |
| Contracts | 3 Credit Hours |
| This course provides paralegal students with a well organized, functional approach to the law of contracts. Paralegal students learn an approach for analyzing contract problems that they will need for their professional assignments. Topics include the type of law to apply to contract transactions, when a contract is formed, when it is enforceable, a plaintiff’s allegation of breach, a defendant response to an allegation of breach, and the remedies available for a breach of contract. | |
| Domestic Relations | 3 Credit Hours |
| This course prepares paralegal students for the area of family law. Students are introduced to the legal principles and processes involved in the law of marriage, divorce, separation, support, custody and visitation, annulment and adoption, and tax consequences of separation and di-vorce. Students learn to draft common agreements, pleadings and other documents applicable to these topics. | |
