Course Descriptions

PLA1013 Introduction to Law and the Legal System
40 hours, 4 credits

Students will examine the American legal system and related terminology from a paralegal’s perspective. They will explore the sources of law and structure and authority of government, including the court system and court procedures. In addition, students will examine the difference between civil and criminal cases. Students will explore different areas of law where paralegals may work. They will study the skills and knowledge required for success, including legal writing, legal research, interviewing, and case management duties. Students will study ethical and professional responsibilities associated with paralegal duties.

Prerequisite: This course should be taken in the student’s first quarter

PLA1108 Introduction to Legal Research
30 hours, 3 credits

This course introduces the legal research process for paralegals. 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. Students will learn the meaning and practice of Shepardizing™.

PLA1305 Criminal Law and Procedure
40 hours, 4 credits

This course introduces students to criminal laws including classification of crimes, theories of punishment, rules and procedures of the pretrial process, stages of the criminal process, defenses, sentencing, and other related offenses. Students will be able to analyze what crimes would be applicable to a specific set of fact scenarios.

PLA1330 Legal Ethics
30 hours, 3 credits

This course develops the ability of paralegals to recognize and handle professional responsibility and ethical issues that arise in the practice of law. In-depth analysis of attorney and paralegal ethical codes, as well as researching answers to ethical dilemmas. Topics include the Unlicensed Practice of Law (UPL), confidentiality, privilege, conflicts of interest, and professional conduct. Students will research and apply ethical rules and guidelines to specific situations, as well as identify issues where paralegals must choose which tasks can be done independently or those which must be done by or under the supervision of an attorney.

PLA1423 Contracts
40 hours, 4 credits

This course introduces students to contract law including legal requirements and methods used to make an agreement enforceable. It covers remedies for breach of oral, written, and electronic contracts. Students will research the law of contracts and related ethical rules and apply them to drafting and correcting contract clauses as they would in a law office.

PLA2203 Civil Litigation
40 hours, 4 credits

This course is the study of civil litigation. It places focus on the paralegal’s role through each stage of a civil case from the first point of contact with a client, through each stage of litigation. Topics covered include initiating a lawsuit including pleadings, the discovery stage of a lawsuit, legal motions, and documents in preparation for trial. This course prepares students to construct pleadings, interview clients, and to prepare discovery, trial, and post-trial documents.

PLA2273 Torts
40 hours, 4 credits

This course introduces students to intentional torts, unintentional torts, negligence, including the standard of care, causation, limitation of duty defenses, strict liability, and damages.

PLA2330 Legal Writing
40 hours, 4 credits

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.

PLA2435 Corporate Law
40 hours, 4 credits

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.

PLA2476 Employment Law
40 hours, 4 credits

Students will develop an understanding of selected legal issues involved in human resource management. Legal issues to be addressed include labor relations, employee rights, sexual harassment, diversity, and compensation and benefits law. The primary orientation of the course will be to enable learners to recognize the spirit and purpose of the legal framework of enterprise so that learners can embrace compatible strategies and avoid cutting corners in the short run, which can ultimately result in major disasters.

PLA2620 Property and Estate Planning
40 hours, 4 credits

This course provides basic concepts of the laws of property and probate. Students will apply laws and ethics to drafting real estate, probate, and estate planning documents. Students will use client interview answers to create several types of legal and financial documents needed in this field.

PLA2763 Law Office Management
30 hours, 3 credits

This course engages students in understanding how a law office operates. Topics covered include file management, law office billing, professional communication, the use of software in the law office, and how social media plays a role in the law office.

PLA2800 Family Law
40 hours, 4 credits

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 antenuptial and property settlement agreements.

PLA2820 Paralegal Associate Capstone
40 hours, 4 credits

This course prepares students for entry into the legal community through a simulated and meaningful law office experience in an online environment. Students will demonstrate their mastery of the content of their core curriculum and apply specialized theory, skills, and concepts. Students will engage in advanced analysis, research, and writing projects. Students will engage in practical work experience in the day-to-day operations of a law office work environment and will handle simulated client cases.

Prerequisite: This course should be taken in the student’s final quarter