Legal Studies

This course is designed to offer the learners a basic understanding of the various functions of the legal assistant and his/her engagement in the American legal system and to build a foundation of basic knowledge and skill development which is necessary for someone seeking a career in the paralegal/legal assistant field.

An introductory course in the substantive law governing compensation for injuries to property and the person. Intentional wrongs, negligence, malpractice, product liability, and strict liability; invasions of personal integrity and emotional well-being; injury to tangible and intangible rights in property; liability insurance and alternatives; and damages. Other risk-bearing alternatives are considered and contrasted with the traditional common law theories (May substitute for PALE 320)

Approaches to the organization with focus on the efficient operation of the law office, management problems in the law office, hiring, scheduling, office structures and systems, accounting and billing procedures, the management of non-attorney personnel, forms libraries, information storage, and retrieval systems, office equipment, management of the law office library, purchasing of law office supplies, client relations.

This course provides an introduction to international commercial arbitration and dispute resolution. Learners will gain an understanding of contract grievances and arbitration procedures. Additional topics include the recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards; the international conventions, national laws, and institutional arbitration rules that govern the arbitral process and the enforcement of arbitration agreements and awards; and the strategic issues that arise in the course of international arbitration proceedings. Other areas considered include discipline and discharge, wage and benefit issues, subcontracting and work preservation disputes, seniority rights, and the role of past practice in establishing binding conditions of employment and in interpreting contract language. Emphasis will be given to the principles arbitrators have developed and applied to resolve disputes involving provisions commonly found in contracts. 

This course will examine the fiduciary responsibilities that govern the trustee's duties in carrying out the trust provisions' provisions dictated by the trust instrument. The course will survey the myriad of situations the trustee may encounter in balancing the various beneficiaries' often competing interests. The course will intentionally examine some of the recent cases, state statutes, and instructive legal trends in this area. The course will also review the regulatory authority in this area. The course will also review the regulatory authority that governs the unique investment considerations that impact trustees in managing trust assets.

This course is intended to cover many of the basic legal concepts relevant to, and inherent in, the real estate business. While many traditional real property law concepts will be covered in the course, the course is intended to introduce the student to the transactional legal aspects of the real estate business, including acquisition, disposition, development, investment, management, leasing and workouts, including tax implications. At the conclusion of the course, the student is expected to have acquired a basic understanding of these principles so that the student will have the ability to function with respect to these matters in many of the various aspects of the real estate business. In order to facilitate this process, examples and cases will be utilized in order to illustrate the principles being covered. 

This introductory course examines the civil litigation process from start to finish. Students discuss litigation stages, including inception, pleadings, discovery, trial, judgment, and appeal. Participants explore topics such as venue, jurisdiction, and jury selection. This course also explores common problems in civil litigation and the use of alternative dispute resolution systems.

Students review writing basics, including punctuation, capitalization, grammar, correct correspondence, and formatting legal documents. The course incorporates fundamentals of legal writing and analysis of cases. Students learn to prepare professional legal correspondence, legal case briefs, and other written legal documents.

This course introduces the learner to laws relating to estate planning, estates' administration (both testate and intestate), and the establishment and administration of trusts. Emphasis will be placed on estate law's practicalities, including interview techniques, preparation of wills, trusts and administrative documents, and filing requirements and procedures.

Examines legal aspects of investigative and arrest as well as rules governing the admissibility of evidence in court. It focuses primarily on police and disciplinary due process, applying the law, and civil liability concerns. Topics include search and seizure, arrest and interrogation, revocation and probation and parole, probable cause, and other timely issues.

In this course, learners will gain familiarity of the judicial system and the nature and sources of law affecting business. Examines legal aspects of property proprietorship, structures of business ownership, and agency relationships. Learners will be introduced and explore various aspects of contracts, sales contracts  with an emphasis on Uniform Commercial Code Applications, remedies for breach of contract, criminal and tort liabilities (This course is cross-listed with BUSI 302).

Learners in this course explore the methods and policies for allocating losses from harm to one's person, property, relations, medical malpractice, misrepresentation, defamation, and economic and other interests. Learners examine the three main theories of tort liability: intent, product liability, negligence,  and analyze the theoretical and practical aspects of tort liability. Learners in this course extend their learning to include a study on substantive principles of tort claims and their defenses (Course may be substituted for PALE 221). 

This course provides paralegals with the skills necessary to assist lawyers who practice in the healthcare field. Healthcare law and compliance cover diverse areas: contracts, tax, antitrust, civil litigation, criminal law, and administrative law.

The Learner is introduced to the legal process and environment in which businesses operate. The course covers various sources of law and the application of law to business. Areas examined include antitrust law, business crimes, contracts (under common law and the Uniform Commercial Code), sales torts (including product liability), administrative, environmental, and consumer protection laws, among others.

This course is a continuation of Legal Research & Writing I with an emphasis on clear and effective legal writing. In this course, the student is exposed to more complicated legal research problems requiring careful research and detailed legal analysis. Students will also be instructed in computer assisted legal research. Assignments include various pleadings and court.

This course is designed to introduce the student to the federal and state court system while offering instruction in civil litigation procedures commencing from the initial client interview through file organization to the trial any subsequent appeals. The course will also include instruction on procedures authorized under the civil procedure code. Emphasis will be placed on the content and preparation of documents prepared for civil lawsuits.

The Learner is introduced to commercial law and bankruptcy principles and concepts and their interplay. It is intended to provide a solid conceptual and practical grounding in all of the primary commercial and bankruptcy law issues you will likely encounter in your practice. The nature of topics explored in the course will expose students to real-life commercial transactions, including problem-solving and strategy decisions practitioners must make in litigating and structuring these business arrangements.

After exploring competing views of the place of free expression in a Western democracy, students are exposed to major case law in such areas as libel, invasion of privacy, copyright, trademark, broadcast, and cable regulation, advertising, access to information, obscenity, and source confidentiality.

In this course, learners will survey family law, including the marital relationship, divorce, cohabitation support, distribution of property,  child custody, and "surrogate" parents. Other significant focus areas include legislation affecting children, equitable distribution and adoption, and family privacy and divorce litigation. Upon completing this course, learners gain coverage of topics including interrelationship and conflicts between the traditional concepts of marriage, legal concepts of financial independence, sexual freedom, legitimacy, and status, the rights of unmarried parents, "palimony," and no-fault divorce.

A study of the various devices used to plan an estate, including wills, trusts, joint ownership, and insurance governing the disposition of property upon death. The course considers multiple plans in light of family situations and estate objectives. Other topics explored in the study include principles of law governing other legal issues associated with aging, death, and dying. The focus will be given to practices involving the administration of an estate, including taxes and preparation of forms.

This course examines critical areas in arbitration practice, the responsibilities of an arbitrator, and the variety of contexts in which arbitration plays a role. The law related to arbitration, such as judicial review, the role of contract law, and enforcement of arbitral awards, arbitrability, is an important topic of study.

Students are introduced to the Law of Contracts to understand the interrelationships among concepts and the tools required in drafting good contracts. Students learn to choose and organize business organizations such as sole proprietorships, partnerships, limited liability entities, and corporations.

This course will give the student a comprehensive overview of employment law's most important facets. The course will cover a broad range of issues relating to employment. Students will review the historical background of employment law that provides the legal and conceptual basis for the modern statutory approach to regulating employment relationships. Specific attention will be given to the concept of discrimination in the workplace and the two statutes that form the basis of much of the current litigation in the field of employment law: the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, and the Age Discrimination Act.

A 160- 320 clock hours on-site internship where the student will work in a law office or other legal environment on a supervised special project which relates directly to the student’s career goals. The internship experience is critical to preparing students for law-related work, and benefits the internship partner by both easing workload and introducing an excellent, entry-level paralegal candidate (Alternatively, student may fulfill credit hour requirements by enrolling in two additional upper level courses - 6 credit hours).