PLA 1003 - Introduction to Paralegalism

College of Policy, Ethics and Legal Studies

Credit(s): 3
Contact Hours: 47
Effective Term Fall 2015 (505)

Requisites

Prerequisite Dev Level 2 Writing Met and
Prerequisite Dev Level 2 Reading Met

Course Description

Students will be provided a general perspective of the legal system and the role of a paralegal within that system. Students will get a view of the typical daily paralegal duties and responsibilities. They will become familiar with the most common skills and competencies required of a paralegal such as: legal analysis; legal research and writing; and interview and investigation. Students will study the various operations and structures of the court systems, administrative agencies, private law firms and public sector offices. In addition, the student will understand the role a paralegal plays in various areas of the law and the diverse functions performed by paralegals within those distinctive fields. Students will examine the professional and ethical regulations lawyers and paralegals must follow. Students will demonstrate knowledge of specific legal terminology and the main principles of law office management. Students will be given an opportunity to develop the most important competencies and hands-on skills within the classroom setting and in a real-world context through participation in voluntary service within the legal profession.

Learning Outcomes and Objectives

  1. The student will demonstrate an understanding of law-related occupations in private and public law offices, administrative agencies, financial institutions, real estate and title companies and corporations by:
    1. explaining the specific functions of a paralegal.
    2. preparing for specific employment opportunities by drafting a resume and letter of inquiry related to one or more law related positions.
    3. selecting and actually or hypothetically applying for a law related position appropriate to one's qualifications to begin the student's professional orientation.
  2. The student will explain the relationships between law-related occupations and the American legal and court systems by:
    1. describing the state and federal court systems and the roles of judges, attorneys, legal support staff and law enforcement within each.
    2. applying the appropriate rules of procedure to pretrial and trial activities.
  3. The student will demonstrate an understanding of the ethical and occupational guidelines for paralegals and others working in law-related occupations by:
    1. explaining the ethical limitations and guidelines for paralegals and applying these to real life situations.
    2. discussing the historical and current trends in the development of paralegals.
  4. The student will demonstrate knowledge and practice of the primary skills needed by paralegals and others working in law-related occupations, such as abstracting, interviewing, reporting and legal research by:
    1. abstracting relevant information from a variety of sources.
    2. writing concise reports and summaries.
    3. using accurate legal terminology.
    4. conducting a simple interview.
    5. obtaining a statement from a witness.
    6. researching and examining the elements of statutes and administrative regulations and conducting preliminary legal research in Florida Statutes Annotated, Words and Phrases, the Reporter systems, and Shepard's Citations.
    7. cataloging and explaining the major categories of legal documents such as pleadings, contracts, wills, etc.

Criteria Performance Standard

Upon successful completion of the course the student will, with a minimum of 80% accuracy, demonstrate mastery of each of the above stated objectives through classroom measures developed by individual course instructors.

History of Changes

Revised 7/6/83 Revised 8/84 SCN Change 2/23/88 Effective Session 19891 Reviewed C&I 10/23/90 3 YR C&I Review 8/94 3 Yr Review 8/97 C&I 10/23/01, BOT 11/20/01 Effective yrtr 20012 (Sess II, 2001). Amended prerequisites effective 20112(0450). 3-Year Review 2010: Acceptable As Is C&I Approval: 09/12/2006, BOT Approval: 10/17/2006, Effective Term: Fall 2006 (370).
C&I Approval: 11/21/2014, BOT Approval: 02/17/2015, Effective Term: Fall 2015 (505)

Related Programs

  1. Paralegal Studies (LEGAL-CT) (580) (Active)
  2. Paralegal Studies (LEGAL-AS) (640) (Active)