Course Title: Legal Assistant

Course Objectives

Upon successful completion of this course, the student will obtain the necessary knowledge and practical skill to perform the daily tasks of a legal assistant. This includes becoming proficient in some common computer software used in the law office such as word processing, application of important legal terminology, basics of legal system, legal interview, legal research, legal documents preparation, basic rules of citation format, as well as elements of law office management.

Course Outline

Module 1: Introduction to a New Career in Legal Assistant

· The Paralegal Profession

· Paralegal Employment

· Assertiveness Training for Paralegals

Module 2: Overview of the Legal System

· Federalism, Checks and Balances, and Paralegals

· Common Law and Our Adversarial System

· Judicial Systems

· Administrative Agencies

· The Legislative Process

Module 3: The Use of Computers in the Law Office

· Computer Software in a Law Firm

· Computer-Assisted Legal Research

· Internet

· Intranet and Extranet

Module 4: The Law Office Administration

· The Practice of Law in the Private Sector

· The Legal Administrator and the Legal Assistant Manager

· Expenses and Timekeeping

· Kind of Fees and Billing

· Client Trust Accounts and Client File Management

· Administrative Report

Module 5: Legal Analysis, Legal Writing, and Legal Research

· The Structure of Legal Analysis

· The Element-Identification Skill, the Issue-Statement Skill, and the Definition Skill

· Factor Analysis

· Briefing Court Opinions and Applying Court Opinions

· Kinds of Legal Writing

· Letter Writing, Memorandum of Law, and Appellate Brief

· Terminology of Legal Research

· Finding Law Libraries

· Categories of Legal Research

· Formats of Legal Research

· Citation Form

· The CARTWHEEL Technique

· Three Levels of Legal Research: Background Research, Specific Fact Research, and Validation Research

Module 6: Legal Interviewing, Case Investigation, and Litigation Assistantship

· The Context of Interviewing in Litigation

· The Format of an Intake Memo

· Guides to the Formulation of Questions

· Communication Skills

· The Nature and Context of Investigation

· Fact Analysis: Organizing the Options

· Distortion in Investigation

· Sources of Evidence, Sources of Leads, and Gaining Access to Records

· Evaluating Evidence and Interviewing Witnesses

· Evidence and Investigation

· Overview of Litigation

· Alternative Dispute Resolution

· Pretrial Stage, Trial Stage, Appeal Stage, and Enforcement

Module 7: Contracts and Commercial Law

· Contract Formation

· Offer and Acceptance

· Capacity and Consideration

· Common Law Contracts

· Remedies for Breach

· Sales Contracts

· Negotiable Instruments

· Promissory Notes

· Drafts

· Checks

· Certificates of Deposit

· Dynamics of Commercial Transaction

Module 8: Business Organizations

· Introduction to the Business Organizational Law

· Comparisons of Sole Proprietorship, Partnership, Corporation, and Agency Made

· Creating, Operating, and Terminating a Corporation

· Employer/Employee Relationship and Statutes

· Regulations Affecting Employment

· Governmental Regulation of Business

Module 9: Paralegal Regulation and Ethics

· Kinds of Regulation

· Unauthorized and Authorized Practice of Law

· Licensing of Paralegals

· Introduction to Legal Ethics

· Enforcing Ethics

· Ethical Rules, and Ethical Codes of the Paralegal Associations

Module 10: Legal Internship

Supervised internship integrates coursework with practical experience. This includes classroom sessions, oral and written reports, and discussion of ethical workplace issues.