Curriculum: Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Law & Paralegal Studies

Exploring the Legal Profession is intended for students in the Law and Paralegal Studies certificate program, and will provide students a broad understanding of the American legal system. This course will provide an introduction to two key areas: 1) the role of paralegals in the legal profession, including ethical considerations arising from the practice of law as well as historical perspectives that have impacted the legal system. This will also include the impact of paralegals in the current legal climate in relation to political influence, community needs, access to justice, diversity and equality; and 2) the process of legal reasoning through studying the United States legal system and focusing on the substantive areas of contract and tort law.

This course provides an understanding of the law library, including computer assisted legal research. Students will learn to use a variety of primary and secondary research material, as well as their organization, and inter-relationships. Skill in researching various legal problems will be developed and students will learn basic legal writing skills.

This course will provide the student with an overview of computer technology applicable to law office management, document production, scheduling(including docket control), litigation support and case management software (relational databases). This course includes hands-on computer assignments utilizing various legal software packages commonly used in the legal and business community. It is designed to train paralegals with the theoretical and practical skills to enable them to work in legal environments that utilize computers.

This course will provide an introduction to the civil litigation process from the initial investigation through its completion. Students will be introduced to the functions of the federaland state court systems and to the concepts of jurisdiction and venue. Students will gain experience reading and understanding the Ohio and Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the local rules of several courts. Students will learn how, when, where, and why a civil lawsuit may be initiated. During the course, the role of paralegals in the civil litigation process and theskills needed by litigation paralegals will be discussed. Students will be introduced to pleadings and to motion practice, and will have the opportunity to draft pleadings used in civil litigation.

Students will learn the various components of the civil trial process, and the paralegal's role in that process, in a hands-on, skills-based approach. The course will focus on the traditional discovery process, electronic discovery, the evidentiary rules, trial preparation and process and the appellate process. The course will address the role of paralegals in the civil litigation process, the ethical considerations and skills needed by litigation paralegals.

This course is an in-depth study of principles, methods, and investigative and interviewing techniques utilized to locate, gather, document and disseminate information. The emphasis will be on developing interviewing and investigative skills intended to prepare paralegals to communicate effectively and ethically. Students will also study the rules of Evidence as it relates to preparation of a case for trial including exhibits; the trial process, preparing witnesses for testimony; and motions to exclude evidence.

Students will build upon practical legal research and writing skills learned in Legal Research & Writing I & II. They will develop their ability toput into written form results derived from identification/analysis of legal documents, pleadings, memorandums of law or briefs.

This is an advanced paralegal course to challenge the student to integrate their knowledge of theoretical concepts and practical application of legal research, litigation, property, torts. contracts and business law through case analysis and the completion of writing assignments.