Course Description 

PREREQUISITES: Completion of CAOT 110 and CAOT 400 or equivalent skills

An overview study of the Role of the Professional Lawyer's Assistant, Ethics, Litigation (personal injury), Corporations, Family Law, Calendaring and an introduction to Law Office Management. Emphasis is placed on legal terminology, court procedures for preparing and filing documents, and the use of word processing, Judicial Council, and case management software in the preparation and management of legal documents and cases.

ATTENDANCE

Roll will be taken at each class meeting. A student will automatically be dropped from the class roster after four absences unless personal arrangements have been made with the instructor. It is the student's responsibility to officially drop the class with the Office of Admissions and Records by the deadline. It is important that students attend class regularly because learning and understanding the legal community is a building process. Each student is expected to read the designated chapters assigned for each class.

METHODS-CLASS FORMAT

Class meetings will be used for lecture, group discussions, and guest speakers. You should arrange time to complete the work required for each contract outside of class. Approximately 2-3 hours per week of typing time will be required outside of class which greatly depends on how many units the student decides to complete. It is recommended that you use a microcomputer with a word processing application to complete your transcription assignments and Judicial Council software for completion of standardized legal forms. At Skyline College, microcomputer stations and transcribers will be available to students for one hour on Saturdays to complete contract assignments. Moreover, the microcomputer lab is available to students in the afternoon during the week. The three software programs available for use in the lab are Microsoft Word, WordPerfect and Judicial Council software.

OPTIONAL REFERENCE MATERIALS

Optional, but highly recommended that students utilize these reference materials throughout the course.

1. The Legal Assistant's Notebook, Northern California Edition. Published by ASAP Publications.
2. Law Office Procedures Manual, 3rd Edition, Legal Secretaries, Incorporated, The Rutter Group, 2003.
3. The Gregg Reference Manual, 2000 Edition, William A. Sabin, Gregg/McGraw Hill.
4. The California Style Manual, Current Edition, Robert E. Formichi, Department of General Services.
5. Black's Law Dictionary, 67th Edition, Henry C. Black. West Publishing Co. 2003.
6. The Recorder, a legal newspaper (www.callaw.com)
7. The Daily Journal, a legal newspaper
8. Legal Secretary's Handbook, Volume 3. Published by The Rutter Group, 2003.

INSTRUCTOR AND CONFERENCES

Conferences by appointment on Mondays before class and by mutual convenience. For missed assignments or routine information, try to establish contact with some other student in class.

PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATION: (OPTIONAL)

San Mateo County Legal Secretaries Association is a professional organization that you might be interested in joining. You can become a student member of the San Mateo branch of the association and attend two meetings during the semester(s) you are enrolled in the legal course.

Ethics Policy

A breach of the rules of professional ethics for the paralegal profession is very serious and exposes the violator to severe consequences. Likewise, the same standard will apply in class and the policies of Skyline College regarding such violations will be enforced. Students who copy or plagiarize homework assignments will receive "0" points on the assignment and there is a strong possibility they will also fail the course. Do not copy from formbooks or cases unless you use quotation marks and acknowledge your source. The college provides a detailed written explanation of this policy on their website at http://www.smccd.net/accounts/skyline/sts/handbook/acapol2.html#top

Evaluation and Homework Assignments

Students begin the semester with 100 percent; however, points will be deducted from the total points of assignments. Submission of homework assignments by the stated deadline on the assignment checklist is expected of all students. I will take roll at 9:00 p.m. on Mondays and if you are not physically in the classroom it will count as an official absence.

Homework assignments can change or adjust based on the instructor's judgment of student performance and/or comprehension of course content.

STUDENT EVALUATION

Standards for completed class assignments simulate the law office environment. All work must be "error free". Each student is responsible for completing the assigned projects in a timely manner. It is also the responsibility of the student and future lawyer's assistants to identify, to correct, and to produce final legal documents that reflect the professional standards expected in the Bay Area legal community.

Syllabus

SYLLABUS: The syllabus is located on the Internet at http://www.smccd.net/accounts/prater

Materials

TEXT AND MATERIALS REQUIRED

1. Law Office Procedures Manual, Legal Secretaries, Incorporated by The Rutter Group, 2003;
2. Photocopied Materials (to be supplied by instructor);
3. One three ring binder ("2 inch");
4. 10 manila file folders and labels (8-1/2 x 11);
5. One Zip Disk or three high density diskettes;

Evaluation

GRADING

Your grade will be determined as follows:
Contracts 45%
Midterm 15%
Vocabulary 15%
Final 25%

Total Grade 100%

POINTS/PERCENTAGES

Each contract coincides with a particular area of law (i.e., law office management, litigation, family law, probate, corporate law, real estate, and criminal law) and is worth 100 percent. Points are subtracted from assignments in the following manner:

1. completed assignments with typographical, spelling or punctuation error (2 points for each error);
2. completed assignments with the improper fonts except when due to printer limitations (1 point for each error);
3. late assignments (one grade level will be deducted weekly)
4. late assignments will not be accepted after the Contract period has expired;
5. missing assignments (0 points);
6. students who are guilty of copying assignments or cheating on contracts will receive (0 points) and can also receive a Course Grade of F;

Final grades will be based on the following:

- The total number of completed contracts (based on a point system of 100 - 1500 points per contract);
- Midterm and Final (2 grades of 100 to 150 points);
- Total points divided by number of contracts completed = Final grade
- Students completing 3 units are required to take a final examination.

Important Dates

Assignments are due on Mondays at the beginning of the class session.