WOL-101: Introduction
to the World of Law (4 weeks)
This
four-week introductory paralegal
course is designed to acquaint
the new student with the
basic realities of law practice.
Areas explored include: different
types of paralegal employment,
regulation of paralegals,
basic ethics, introduction
to the legal system, legal
analysis, interviewing, investigation,
use of computers in a law
office, and law office management.
Objectives:
- Understand
the responsibilities of
a paralegal in the workplace
- Describe
the career options available
for paralegals
- Read
and understand cases and
identify holdings
- Resolve
basic legal issues posed
by hypothetical problems
in the substantive areas
- Reason
by comparison and contrast
to differentiate or support
hypothetical fact patterns
from the governing rule
of law.
WOL-501: Ethics (4 weeks)
Paralegals,
like attorneys, must be knowledgeable
of the rules of ethics. This
course covers the basic principles
governing the ethical practice
of law for both lawyers and
paralegals. Subjects explored
include the unauthorized
practice of law, conflicts
of interest, confidentiality,
paralegal-client relations,
disciplinary procedures,
fee splitting, billing, advertising,
and misconduct in the law
office.
Objectives:
- Recognize
common ethical problems
confronting paralegals
- Understand
the universal concepts
of professional responsibility
- Explain
the differences between
the roles of paralegals
and attorneys
- Recognize
activities which, when
performed by a paralegal,
constitute the unauthorized
practice of law.
- Discuss
possible solutions to ethical
dilemmas
WOL-P02: Investigation and Legal Reasoning
(4 weeks)
As a practicing paralegal, you will be involved daily with clients who have come to your firm for legal representation and guidance. You will be involved in real-life cases throughout your career. This course is dedicated to developing the skills you will need to work with clients and investigating and analyze their situations.
Objectives:
- The fundamentals of working with clients and attorneys in "real life" cases.
- How to analyze fact patterns, identify elements, present issues, and apply legal principles to the facts of the case.
- How to interview clients, "selling" the firm, and drafting intake memos.
- How to take a witness statement and how to "read" your witnesses and clients.
- The importance of evidence, the concept of admissibility, and the distinction between direct evidence and circumstantial evidence.
Other subjects covered include: The nature and context of investigation, sources of evidence, sources of leads, gaining access to records, evaluating evidence, interviewing witnesses, taking witness statement and settlement workups.
In short, this very important course will prepare you to become an indispensable part of your law firm's case investigation team.
WOL-P03: Litigation and Advocacy (4 weeks)
Paralegals in the modern law office provide crucial litigation support to attorneys. This course examines the different stages of both civil and criminal court cases, from the inception of the law suit or prosecution, through trial and post-trial (appellate) phases.
Objectives:
- Administrative proceedings, in which paralegals represent clients before administrative agencies.
- Elements of a typical lawsuit, beginning, in a civil matter, with the filing of the complaint and answer, through discovery, summary judgment and trial.
- The major types of discovery devices, which can include interrogatories, depositions, and requests for admission.
- The elements of a trial and the role of the paralegal during trial.
- Post-trial procedures, the filing of a Notice of Appeal, and the drafting of an appellate brief.
This is a fascinating and eye-opening course that will prepare paralegals for careers in litigation and trial practice.
WOL-P05: Law Office Administration; Using Computers in the Law Office
(4 weeks)
In this course, you will gain a basic background in law office administration. You will learn how law is practiced in the private sector, the role of the legal administrator and legal assistant manager, how a law office manages its expenses, timekeeping, and how a lawyer sets and collects fees. You will learn about billing, client trust accounts, administrative reports, and client file management.
The course also covers the use of computers in a law office. This knowledge is especially valuable since computers play a major role in the modern law practice. In this age of electronic discovery and online legal research, computer knowledge is extremely important.
Objectives:
- Learning about the differences between computer applications (software) and computer systems (hardware).
- Computer terminology, and the technologies that are most commonly used, including operating systems, software applications, and hardware devices.
- Input devices, speech recognition programs, and scanners, and word-processing programs.
- Law-related uses of the Internet, including the main fee-based sources of computer-assisted legal research, such as Westlaw? and Lexis?, as well as the use of listervs, intranets and extranets.
Apply
Online
