Mar 29, 2024  
2021-2022 College Catalog 
    
2021-2022 College Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

PAR 101 - Introduction to Paralegal Careers

3 Credits, 3 Contact Hours
3 lecture periods 0 lab periods

Role, responsibilities and ethical standards of the paralegal. Includes paralegal employment and regulation, ethical rules of the legal profession, law office administration and systems, communication, introduction to legal research and legal analysis, state and federal judicial systems, and overview of litigation and specialty areas of law.

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Course Learning Outcomes
  1. Define the boundaries of the paralegal career field.
  2. Describe the confidential nature of the legal profession and its ethical standards.
  3. Discuss law office procedures.
  4. Demonstrate effective use of verbal and written communication skills.
  5. Describe effective techniques of client interviewing.
  6. Demonstrate limited use of the law library and describe the purposes of various sources of  legal materials
  7. Explain the methodology used to perform simple problems involving legal analysis.
  8. Describe the structure and jurisdiction of the state and federal court systems.
  9. Describe an overview of the terms, processes and procedures used in litigation

Outline:
  1. Paralegal Employment and Regulation
    1. Unauthorized practice of law
    2. Paralegal definition
    3. Licensure and certification issues
    4. Career expectations
    5. Profitability of use of paralegals
  2. Ethical Rules of the Legal Profession
    1. ABA guidelines for the utilization of paralegals
    2. Paralegal ethics
    3. Confidentiality
    4. Conflict of interest
    5. Tort liability and respondent superior
  3. Law Office Administration and Systems
    1. Timekeeping function and billing procedures
    2. Docketing procedures
    3. Functions of various law office personnel
    4. Other law office procedures
      1. New matter opening
      2. File organization
      3. Incoming/outgoing mail
      4. Copying
  4. Communication
    1. Verbal skills
    2. Notetaking skills
    3. Writing Skills
    4. Types of law office correspondence
    5. Legal interviewing

 

  1. Purpose
  2. Methods of phrasing questions
  3. Effective fact gathering in client interviews
  1. Introduction to Legal Research
    1. Limited use of library materials
    2. Sources of law and legal authority
    3. Research materials and their purposes
    4. Introduction to citation
  2. Introduction to Legal Analysis
    1. Introduction to application of rules of law to facts
    2. Simple hypothetical situations and basic problem solving techniques
  3. State and Federal Judicial Systems
    1. Structural hierarchy of the courts and their functions
    2. Introduction to jurisdiction
  4. Overview of Litigation
    1. Vocabulary terms - definitions and proper use
    2. Overview of process from commencement of lawsuit through discovery, trial, and appeal
    3. Pleadings and their purposes
    4. Functions of paralegals in litigation
  5. Overview of Specialty Areas of Law (such as Real Estate, Bankruptcy, Administrative Law,
    1. Probate, and Criminal)
    2. Functions of paralegals in various specialties
    3. Introduction to terms and procedures in specialties
    4. Useful skills in various specialties
    5. Places of employment and related fields
    6. Employment strategies


Effective Term:
Full Academic Year 2019/2020