Paralegal Certificate

This course is intended to help students develop their ability to write and express ideas in an organized, unified, coherent manner that reflects an appropriate awareness of purpose and audience. Through writing, reading, and discussion, students will learn to synthesize their thoughts as they communicate more effectively. Course concepts are applied to essays, research projects, and specialized writing. Regular writing and revision will improve students' grammar, punctuation and usage skills.

Prerequisite: Passing grade in Reading and Writing Strategies or placement determined by STEP assessment score.

Course ID: G124
Credits: 4

This course provides students with the skills to achieve mastery of algebraic terminology and applications including, but not limited to, real number operations, variables, polynomials, integer exponents, graphs, factoring, quadratic equations, and word problems.

Prerequisite: Passing grade in Foundations of Math or placement determined by STEP assessment score.

Course ID: G233
Credits: 4

Students will examine the American legal system from a variety of perspectives. They will survey topics including essential history, the working structure of government, issues of court procedure, and specific legal concepts. In addition, they will investigate the role of the paralegal in the legal system, and the impact of legal ethics on the paralegal. Paralegal students will gain a foundation for further paralegal study, and students from other disciplines will gain an appreciation of the legal system's impact on their disciplines. Students will prepare a resume as part of this course.

Prerequisite: none

Course ID: PL100
Credits: 4

Students will examine the lawyers and paralegals' roles in handling civil cases and the means by which the objectives of litigation may be achieved. Strategy and mechanics of civil procedure will be explored in depth, and students will be required to prepare complaints, motions, and answers.

Prerequisite: Introduction to Law and the Legal System

Course ID: PL121
Credits: 4

Students will continue to develop and refine litigation skills. The course will focus on discovery, pre-trial procedure, trial procedure, post-trial procedure, and initial appellate documents.

Prerequisite: Civil Litigation and Procedure I

Course ID: PL122
Credits: 4

This course will provide students with a practical approach to the law of contracts. The class discussions and assignments will include analyzing contracts, breach of contracts, and the remedies provided for a breach of contract.

Prerequisite: Introduction to Law and the Legal System or enrolled in Certificate

Course ID: PL142
Credits: 4

This course provides a strong theoretical and practical foundation for solving ethical dilemmas. Students will gain a realistic picture not only of what ethical questions arise in paralegal studies, but also how to resolve these issues with sound moral decisions and proper responses.

Prerequisite: Introduction to Law and the Legal System or enrolled in Certificate'

Course ID: PL145
Credits: 4

This course introduces students to the fundamentals of how to use computer technology to accomplish tasks performed by paralegals in a law office. Students will be introduced to and given the opportunity to utilize law oriented computer software applications. Students will be exposed to exercises designed to provide the skills utilized by paralegals in file management, time, and docket management and computer based legal research and document movement.

Prerequisite: Introduction to Law and the Legal System

Course ID: PL226
Credits: 4

This course examines the fundamentals of tort law and provides a basic understanding of the principles of tort litigation. Through classroom discussions, projects and supervised library research, students will develop an overview of causes of actions in torts and their relevancy to the paralegal.

Prerequisite: Introduction to Law and the Legal System

Course ID: PL228
Credits: 4

This course is designed to teach the student to handle client interviews, to draft necessary pleadings and supporting documents, and to perform research relative to the practice of family law and domestic relations matters. The student will develop an understanding of the law relating to marriage, cohabitation, divorce, annulment, custody and support, adoption, guardianship and paternity. Students will draft pleadings and documents including ante nuptial and property settlement agreements.

Prerequisite: Introduction to Law and the Legal System

Course ID: PL230
Credits: 4

This course introduces the Legal Research process for paralegals. An overview of legal source materials and how and when they are incorporated in the legal research process will be examined. Students will develop information literacy skills specific to the Paralegal field by working with primary sources, like state and federal enacted law and secondary sources, like legal encyclopedias, treatises, and state specific practice books. Students will develop skills such as legal application, analysis, and synthesis skills by identifying and classifying the best sources that apply to legal problems. Students will evaluate the relevance of sources for specific problems and critically evaluate the level of authority of various legal sources.

Prerequisite: Introduction to Law and the Legal System or enrolled in Certificate'

Course ID: PL235
Credits: 4

After examining the sources of law and the structure of the federal and state court systems, students will be introduced to case and statutory analysis and to an understanding of the role of the paralegal in performing substantive legal analysis and writing tasks. They will learn how to analyze and synthesize written opinions. Students will use the results of their research from the Legal Research course in connection with at least three (3) significant writing projects, including memoranda of law. High level communication skills will be developed to effectively communicate in writing to different potential readers, including clients, attorneys in an office, trial court judges, and appellate panel judges. Analysis and preparation of high level legal content as well as formatting, citation rules, and other items needed for writing in this field will be developed. Students will organize an appellate brief which requires specific, rule based, formatting and structural content. This content includes items such as tables of cases and other authorities, a table of contents, statement of the case, argument, and conclusion.

Prerequisites: Legal Research; English Composition

Course ID: PL240
Credits: 4

This course provides the basic concepts of the law of real property enabling the student to perform connected duties in a law office, title company, or financial institution. Upon completion of the course, the student will be able to prepare purchase and sales agreements, deeds, mortgages, closing statements with perorations and other real estate related documents. The student will have a working knowledge of title searches and a thorough understanding of closing procedures. The student will also become familiar with mortgage foreclosures, landlord/tenant law, and zoning regulations.

Prerequisite: Introduction to Law and the Legal System

Course ID: PL215
Credits: 4

This course will provide students an overview of the formation, operation, and dissolution of the corporate entity. Stockholders rights and remedies as corporate owners will be examined. Corporate documents and corporate formalities will be discussed.

Prerequisite: Introduction to Law and the Legal System

Course ID: PL216
Credits: 4

This course provides the student with the opportunity to gain practical work experience under the supervision of an attorney. The student must periodically submit written reports to the supervising instructor describing his/her experiences during the internship. The student is evaluated by his/her supervisor at the conclusion of the internship.

Prerequisite: Final-quarter status and consent of program coordinator.

Course ID: PL290
Credits: 5

This course will provide students with an opportunity to integrate learning, skills, and theoretical knowledge from the Paralegal program in the form of real-world paralegal activities simulated in the online environment. Interview videos will be reviewed and analyzed, paralegal files completed, and "electronic office" and "paperless office" methods will be practiced.

Prerequisite or co-requisite: Law Office Technology; Students must be in their last or second-to-last quarter.

Course ID: PL280
Credits: 5

This course develops students' reading and writing skills in preparation for college-level coursework. Through review of grammar, punctuation, and the writing process, students will enhance their ability to compose sentences, paragraphs, and short essays. The study of active reading strategies will provide students with the tools necessary for comprehending collegiate level texts.

Prerequisite: Placement determined by placement test score.

Course ID: B080
Credits: 4

This course is a study of the fundamentals of mathematics in the following areas: addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, fractions, decimals, and percentages.

Prerequisite: Placement determined by placement test score.

Course ID: B099
Credits: 4