This course explores the legal system including basic legal terminology, sources of law, legal reasoning, federalism, court structure, the rules of procedure, and ethical standards for lawyers and legal assistants. This course includes substantive introduction to the law of contracts, torts, crimes, common law, and the U.S. Constitution.

This course introduces the student to the variety of software packages specifically designed for the law office, including law related word processing, time billing, case management, electronic discovery, court presentation and timeline creation. The student will become sufficiently proficient in these software packages to be productive in the law office on each.

This course covers two subjects of importance to the paralegal. First, this course seeks to impart knowledge of general psychological principles and skills in applying that knowledge to social and organizational situations. In addition, these skills will be developed through exercises involving real world scenarios that will be common to the experience of the paralegal in their profession. Second, this course seeks to inform students how a law office is managed in its many aspects from maintaining client confidences to ethically and legally accounting for client trust funds. This information will be crucial to the paralegal to inform them about how law practices differ from the conduct of other businesses.

This course will introduce the student to print research in a law library and computer-based legal research methods, focusing on Federal and California constitutional, statutory and common law in encyclopedia, restatements, model statutes, legislative materials, articles, and other secondary sources of exposition and analysis. The course will also cover critical reading, principles of legal construction and interpretation, and drafting basic legal documents.

The student will expand research and writing skills using law library, computerized or online resources, and by preparing memoranda, pleadings, transactional documents, or similar legal writings.

This course is designed to equip the student with the learning needed to understand the principles of criminal law and criminal procedure as well as those skills needed in the daily practice in a law office. The course will cover crimes, defenses, punishment, search and seizure law and pre-trial, trial and review procedures.

This course studies the legal concepts of duty, breach, causation, and damages. Students will explore traditional torts, such as negligence and fraud, and newer torts, such as “wrongful life.” Students will be drafting “complaints” and instructed on investigative techniques.

This course studies the formation, interpretation and breach of contracts, both written and oral. Students will be drafting complaints for breach of contract lawsuits. The class will explore investigative techniques commonly used.

Students will learn the rules of civil and criminal evidence. Theory and principles of evidence as utilized and applied to the civil discovery process will be emphasized. Students will examine and analyze the Federal Rules of Evidence, the California Evidence Code, and applicable court decisions.

Students will learn, analyze, and examine the basic principles of civil procedures and court rules as applicable to civil practice and litigation including jurisdiction, venue, and preparation of pleadings in a civil action by both parties in the California Court system.

This course examines the field of real property law and prepares the student to assist in real estate transactions. Topics include: ownership rules, determination of title, acquisition, and transfer of property, financing, and taxation.

This course examines the law governing the definition of family and the rights and duties of family members to each other. It concentrates on marriage and dissolution, domestic violence, family law orders, paternity, pre-marital, post-marital, cohabitation agreements, spousal, child support and child custody, and adoptions.

This course surveys immigration in the United States and how the paralegal supports the attorney. Topics covered include: visitors for business and pleasure, temporary visas, employment based preferences, asylum, and citizenship. Also covered will be representation before Department of Homeland Security agencies.

This course covers federal law and California state law governing employment relationships, job discrimination, sexual harassment, workplace privacy, labor standards, human resource management, American with Disabilities Act, and other matters involved with employment law.

This course will cover the various types of documents a paralegal might be involved in drafting in a typical probate and estate planning practice. Such documents include, but are not limited to, wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and advance health care directives. Paralegal students will become familiar with the various forms of complex estate planning, such as revocable and irrevocable trusts, and many documents that accompany such estate planning techniques. The paralegal student will also become familiar with the various mechanisms for transferring property upon debt with and without probate administration. Further, the paralegal student will learn about the areas of guardianship and conservatorship. Course content will be based in California law.

This course examines ethics, advanced paralegal communication skills, law office management, problem solving, and analysis skills. It also includes a component on employment, networking and job search.

Work Experience Education provides supervised employment extending classroom occupational learning at an on-the-job learning station relating to the students’ educational or occupational goals. Each unit of credit requires 54 hours of employment during the semester. Work Experience Education is available to all students.