Paralegal

45 classroom hours

Learning Outcomes: Students will gain an overview of the legal system and the major substantive areas of the law. Students will become familiar with basic legal concepts and will be able to understand and use legal terminology. Students will be able to identify and explain the function of various legal documents and procedures. Topics include: The federal and state judicial systems; civil procedure; torts; contracts; real property; wills, trusts and estate administration; domestic law; criminal law; corporations, agency and partnership.

45 classroom hours

Learning Outcomes: Students will learn how to use the law library and Westlaw or Lexis to find legal authority that is on point. Students will learn the basic principles of legal analysis and writing, and will be able to brief a case and research and write an office memorandum of law. Students will be able to cite authorities correctly and to update and validate citations using Shepard’s citations. Topics include: Federal and state statutes, cases, and administrative regulations; reading and understanding caselaw and statutes; use of encyclopedias, annotations, legal periodicals, and other secondary authority; use of digests, indexes, and other finding aids; citation form; cite-checking and validation of authority; use of Shepard’s citations; research methods; legal resources available on the Internet.

45 classroom hours

Learning Outcomes: Students will gain an understanding of the role of the paralegal in the law office. Students will gain a thorough knowledge of the N.C. Rules of Professional Conduct and their applicability to attorneys and paralegals. Students will be able to identify ethical issues a paralegal may encounter and determine the appropriate response. Students will become familiar with a variety of law office procedures and management techniques. Topics include: definition, role and responsibilities of the paralegal; confidentiality; conflicts of interest; unauthorized practice of law; professional negligence; developing forms and systems; time keeping and billing; tickler systems; communications skills.

15 classroom hours

Learning Outcomes: Students will create a resume and cover letter and professional portfolio. Students will be able to identify several different types of legal employers and environments. Students will become familiar with employer expectations. Students will enhance their writing and oral communication skills. Topics include: Resume and cover letter writing, creating a professional portfolio, interviewing, the job search, employer expectations. Students will complete “Core Grammar for Lawyers” an interactive grammar program. 

105 classroom hours

Learning Outcomes: Students will gain a working knowledge of the NC and federal court systems, the stages of civil litigation and the rules of civil procedure. Students will learn how to gather information and evidence in a civil lawsuit. Students will gain a thorough understanding of the discovery process and will be able prepare appropriate discovery devices and respond to discovery requests. Students will be able to draft complaints, answers and motions and will be able to file and obtain service of court documents. Students will be able to prepare a trial notebook and a settlement brochure. Topics include: Stages of a civil action; organization of N.C. and Federal court systems; personal and subject matter jurisdiction; rules of procedure; basic principles of tort and contract; role of the paralegal in litigation; confidentiality and conflicts of interest. Investigation of facts; evidence; interviewing of clients and witnesses; ethical considerations in interviewing; preparation of diagrams and maps; location and review of public records; obtaining and reviewing medical records; expert witnesses. Commencement of action; parties and capacity; requirements and drafting of complaint, answer, counterclaim, reply; affirmative defenses; joinder of claims and parties; process and service of process; motions addressed to the pleadings; case intake and management; docket control. Purpose and scope of discovery under N.C. and Federal rules; preparing for and digesting depositions; drafting and responding to interrogatories; requests for production of documents; sanctions and protective orders. Preparation for trial; pretrial conference and order; preparation of settlement brochure and trial notebook; assisting at trial. Judgments and mechanisms for enforcement of judgments; appeals; notice of appeal and route of appeal. Electives: Within this specialty, students will enroll in five 4- week courses in substantive areas of the law. Students will receive one grade for the specialty course which will include the grades they have received in the short courses.

105 classroom hours

Learning Outcomes: Students will gain a thorough understanding of legal concepts and terminology pertaining to real property law, title examination, title insurance and transfer of interests in real property. Students will learn the techniques of title examination and will gain experience in conducting complete title searches. Students will become familiar with the procedures and documents used in a real estate closing. Students will gain a thorough understanding of the legal and ethical responsibilities of attorneys and paralegals in title examination and real estate transactions. Topics include: Principles of real property: estates in land, future interests, concurrent ownership, easements, fixtures; leases; recordation and priorities; title and title insurance. Types of deeds; legal descriptions, plats, and surveys; transfers by deed, will or inheritance; administration of estates; transfers by judicial sale, adverse possession, and operation of law. Purpose and methods of title examination; running a chain of title; abstracting deeds; estates; adverse conveyances; objections to title: restrictive covenants and zoning; city and county taxes; special assessments; U.C.C. filings; judgments, liens, lis pendens, and special proceedings. Preparation of exceptions sheet and report on title; organization of base title file. Contracts of sale; preparation for closing; closing checklists; preparation of notes, deeds, deeds of trust; closing statements; tax proration. Electives: Within this specialty, students will enroll in five 4-week courses in substantive areas of the law. Students will receive one grade for the specialty course which will include the grades they have received in the short courses.

105 classroom hours

Learning Outcomes: Students will gain a thorough understanding of the laws pertaining to the structure, formation and operation of corporations and partnerships. Students will be able to prepare and file articles of incorporation and to prepare bylaws, minutes, notices and other documents for corporate meetings. Students will learn to maintain corporate minute books and shareholder records. Students will be able to prepare documents relating to mergers, acquisitions and dissolutions. Students will become familiar with the basic principles of contract, employment and business regulatory law and will learn to draft contracts and other documents relating to corporate financing and other corporate transactions. Topics include: types of business organizations; sole proprietorships, partnerships, 15 corporations; considerations in selecting form of organization; nonprofit and professional corporations. Organizing the corporation; subscription agreements; articles of incorporation; bylaws; filing and formalities; shareholder agreements; foreign corporations; qualification in other jurisdictions. Financial structure of corporations; equity and debt securities; classes of stock; capital; dividends and distributions to shareholders; repurchase of shares; federal and state securities laws; registration requirements and exemptions. Corporate meetings: organizational meeting; directors’ regular and special meetings; annual meeting of shareholders; shareholder rights and duties; voting; minutes; action without meeting. Regulatory statutes and compliance: consumer protection; environmental protection; antitrust; employment laws. Agency; employment agreements; restrictive covenants and covenants not to compete; trade secret protection. Secured transactions; notes, security agreements and financing statements. Changes in corporate structure and dissolution; amendment of articles of incorporation; merger and consolidation; sale of assets; liquidation and dissolution; rights of dissenting shareholders. Litigation involving corporations. Electives: Within this specialty, students will enroll in five 4-week courses in substantive areas of the law. Students will receive one grade for the specialty course which will include the grades they have received in the short courses.

56 classroom hours

This course is a continuation of the semester-long Legal Research and Writing Course. This semester's portion of the course will advance students' efficiency in legal research and depth of legal analysis through research and writing assignments. Students will research, analyze and apply the law to various factual scenarios, and express their work through legal writing. Peer review of assignments will improve students' level of comfort their work being edited by others and will increase proficiency in editing the work of others. Like its predecessor, this course is designed to closely mimic the practice of a paralegal in order to prepare students to leave the Paralegal Program experienced, prepared and confident. To this end, course requirements are strict, deadlines are absolute and communication is critical to course success. Together, these two courses will challenge students to complete a case brief, components of an appellate brief and/or record, a series of legal memos with escalating complexity in research, analysis and application of the above sources of law, and an annotated bibliography.  In addition to the skills learned in the Advanced Legal Research and Writing course, students will also have the opportunity to learn two substantive areas of the law. These two seminar courses will include their own syllabi and the grades from those seminars will be incorporated into the grade for the course. 

An overview of the legal principles and procedures in major areas of the law, including civil procedure, torts, criminal law, contracts, real property, domestic law, wills and estates, and corporations.

Legal bibliography and research methods.  Included are court reports, statutes and digests; legal encyclopedias, treatises and periodicals; computer research; legal citation form; Shepard's citations; introduction to legal  writing.  

Students will gain an understanding of the role of the paralegal in the law office.  Students will gain a thorough knowledge of the N.C. Rules of Professional Conduct and their applicability to attorneys and paralegals.  Students will be able to identify ethical issues a paralegal may encounter and determine the appropriate response.  Students will become familiar with a variety of law office procedures and management techniques.  Topics include the definition, role and responsibilities of the paralegal; confidentiality; conflicts of interest; unauthorized practice of law; professional negligence; developing forms and systems; time keeping and billing; tickler  systems; communication skills.