PAR 111 American Law/Legal System ------- 3
This course provides an overview of the major principles and functions
of our legal system and introduces students to various legal fields and
special topics. Legal aspects of current topics are discussed to assist
students in acquiring an appreciation of the dynamic role of law in our
changing society. Legal vocabulary is emphasized.
PAR 113 Legal Writing I ------- 3
This is a writing composition course to give extensive practice in rhetorical
strategies and techniques along with a review of appropriate grammatical
structures and verb tenses. This course will develop and refine writing
skills of students of varying degrees of experience and levels of writing
ability.
PAR 120 Legal Practice Management -------
3
This course will cover the fundamentals of law office management and organization.
Subjects covered include basic principles and structure of management;
employment opportunities for the paralegal; timekeeping and accounting
systems; marketing issues; administrative and substantive systems in the
law office; and law practice technology.
PAR 125 Introduction to Paralegal Studies ------3
The role, responsibilities and ethical standards of a paralegal are introduced.
This course gives an overview of ethical rules, law office administration
and systems, communication, evidence, legal research, legal analysis,
state and federal judicial systems, litigation and specialty areas of
law.
PAR 131 Microcomputer App.—Legal Office I ------3
This course will concentrate on the minimum basic computer skills and
programs needed for all paralegals or anyone who manages files and documents.
Concentration will be given to hands-on experience covering legal-specific
activities in WordPerfect and Microsoft Office.
PAR 151 Legal Document Processing -------
3
This course will provide students with an overview of a particular topic
or area of law, followed by an in-depth explanation of the production
of documents relevant to that subject. Preparation techniques, the efficient
processing of the documents using the computer and software program, and
a clarification of the required legal language and clauses for each document
are explored in detail.
PAR 162 Criminal Law and Procedure -------
3
The goal of this course is to provide paralegal students with an introduction
to both the practice and the theory of criminal law. This course will
offer the theoretical aspects of the criminal justice system, but will
stress the pragmatic aspects of criminal practice. An overview of the
entire criminal justice system will be stressed, and the course will focus
on substantive and procedural law. This will afford the paralegal students
to become familiar with a narrative account of the law by case summaries
to enhance the textual discussion of law.
PAR 170 Microcomputer App.—Legal Office II ------3
This course will concentrate on the minimum basic computer skills and
programs necessary, including spreadsheet, database and presentation software.
PAR 179 Business Organizations -------
3
This course is designed to provide the student with the necessary substantive
and procedural background to work effectively in the realm of corporate
law. This course will cover the formation, operation, and dissolution
of various kinds of business organizations. Subjects covered include sole
proprietorships, corporations, partnerships, and the law of agency and
employment agreements.
PAR 185 Introduction to Criminal Justice -------
3
This course will provide students with a logical approach to understanding
the operation of criminal justice in the United States. Students will
be introduced to the stages of the process from the commission of a crime
through the law enforcement response and the administration of justice
to corrections. Students will learn how the different parts of the process
fit together.
PAR 192 Professional Development -------
3
This is an elective course that provides students with supervised practical
experience in a legal environment with classroom instruction to support
the actual work experience.
Prerequisites: No necessary course work. Must show a grade point average
of 3.0 good standing in attendance and instructor's approval.
PAR 195 Legal Terminology/Transcription -------
3
This course is designed to give students a background in basic legal terminology.
Students who successfully complete this course will be able to spell,
pronounce, and define correctly the legal terms presented, as well as
transcribe them directly from taped dictation. The comprehensive course
covers 13 areas of law in addition to terms dealing with the courts, legal
systems, and litigation procedures. Several general and Latin terms are
also presented.
PAR 205 Litigation and Trial Practice -------
3
This course will teach students the principles of civil litigation in
federal and state courts. The students will learn causes of action and
defenses and will be introduced to rules of procedure and discovery, along
with ethical responsibilities. Pretrial practice and trial preparations
will be covered, together with the basics of a civil trial, post-trial
motions, and appeals. The principles learned will be applied to practical
exercises. This course will also introduce students to an in-depth study
of principles, methods and investigative techniques utilized to locate,
gather, document and disseminate information.
PAR 212 Legal Writing II ------- 3
This is an advanced legal writing course that the paralegal students’
analytical and writing abilities will be used to produce substantive legal
memoranda. Students will learn basic research techniques and become familiar
with a law library and primary and secondary resources.
PAR 215 Wills, Trusts, and Estates -------
3
This course is designed to provide a basic understanding of the legal
principles involved in estate work. This course will provide all the information
that a paralegal will need to know in order to assist in the preparation
and completion of all documents incident to an estate practice.
PAR 220 Family Law ------- 3
The purpose of the family law course is to give paralegals a better understanding
of domestic relations laws and to show students how those laws governing
family situations are applied. The content of the course covers such areas
as formation of the marital relationship, dissolution, child custody and
support, adoption, abortion, paternity, domestic violence, child neglect,
and surrogacy.
PAR 230 Legal Ethics ------- 3
This course will introduce students to the types of ethical dilemmas that
they will face in the work force. They will generally be introduced to
the ethical rules developed by the American Bar Association, and specifically,
to the rules adopted by this jurisdiction for the regulation of attorney
and paralegal conduct and the model codes of paralegal associations. Methods
for researching the answers to ethical dilemmas will also be discussed.
PAR 241 Criminal Law and the Constitution -------
3
Since a great deal of criminal procedure is of constitutional dimension,
this course will provide the students with a universal application. Significant
movements and changes have been seen in recent years regarding such things
as victims’ rights, stalking and hate crimes. State constitutions,
specifically, are being looked at regarding the establishment and expansion
of individual rights and liberties, i.e. searches and seizures, arrests,
interrogations, confessions and surveillance. Corporal punishment, boot
camps and other various forms of sentencing and incarceration will be
reviewed, as well as the applicability of not only state constitutions
but the U.S. Constitution and the interpretations of such.
PAR 251 Legal Research ------- 3
Students will apply their research techniques by using resources in a
law library and computer research through the Internet and Westlaw. Sheparadizing
will be introduced, thus reinforcing techniques previously acquired. Legal
research on the Internet will be included to familiarize students with
techniques in obtaining primary and secondary information electronically.
PAR 257 Civil Litigation II ------- 3
This course will continue the process of introducing the student to litigation
and trial practice. The emphasis of this course will be to provide students
with a more practical framework in which they can effectively function
as paralegals to a lawyer involved in the civil litigation process. The
course includes discussion of the substantive civil law, the rules of
civil procedure, and related matters, but will focus more upon the actual
preparation of documents, including pleadings, motions, interrogatories
and other matters in preparation for a mock trial. Students will be called
upon to make actual presentations.
PAR 271 Real Estate Law ------- 2
This course is an introduction to real estate law. Topics of study include
property rights, principles of land ownership, sale, financing and conveyance,
contracts, liens, mortgage financing, mortgages or deeds of trust, deeds,
recording, settlement concepts, condominiums and cooperatives, leasing
and other property concepts.
PAR 282 Alternative Dispute Resolution -------
3
This course is designed to provide students with a description and an
overview of dispute resolution mechanisms, including litigation, voluntary
arbitration, negotiation, and mediation, in order to demonstrate their
interrelationship and use in the American legal system. It will look at
new trends, such as med-art, “rent-a-judge,” and early neutral
evaluation. It will focus on evaluating client needs regarding the use
of ADR, and will explore the changing climate of litigation-oriented practices.
Paralegal participation and ethical concerns will be discussed in the
context of each of these alternatives.
PAR 287 Contract Law ------- 3
This course is designed to provide students with a practical approach
to contract law, drafting and analysis. It will help to clarify this very
complex area of law using numerous practical examples of how to draft
and interpret different types of contracts.
PAR 291 Tort Law ------- 3
This course will provide an introduction to the broad area of civil wrongs
and their appropriate remedies as well as Tort Law principles in the traditional
areas of intentional torts, negligence, absolute liability, product liability,
nuisance and commonly employed defenses.
PAR 292 Career Development ------- 2
This course covers career topics such as employer expectations, job market
trends, networking, goal-setting, and various aspects of the employment
search process. Students will develop resumes as well as identify and
use effective interviewing techniques.
PAR 295 Occupational Work Experience ------- 3
Occupational work experiences are available to students who have completed
or are registered for all required courses in the program, are in good
standing, and have instructor approval. This experience is designed to
provide the student with a purposeful occupational experience in the paralegal
field. Each internship is an individualized experience. A training plan
is created for each student in conjunction with the training site to provide
experience related to the skills and knowledge acquired in the program.
