Certificate in Paralegal Studies

This course provides students with a basic knowledge of the law of contracts, personal property and real property.

This course is designed to educate students in the American legal system focusing on the origins and history of the American legal system, the meaning and application of important legal terminology, and attorney and paralegal ethics.

The substantive goal of this course is to cover the basic principles of criminal law, including the common law of crimes as well as the Maine Criminal Code and the Model Penal Code. The methodological role of the course is that of statutory construction - the techniques of applying legislative enactments to varying fact situations in light of text, history, purpose and structural context. All of this will proceed with the underlying assumption that it is always necessary to judge rules of law according to their effectiveness and desirability.

This course presents a systematic study of the basic principles of real property law through explanation, discussion and problem-solving techniques. The course provides a decision-oriented approach to legal concepts, featuring student completion of a complete abstract of title at the Penobscot County Registry of Deeds; real estate forms; and comprehension of relevant Maine statutes.

A survey of civil litigation issues covering the concepts and procedural rules designed to proceed from the initial client interview through trial. The student will gain a basic understanding of federal and Maine procedural rules and substantive law. In addition, the student will learn about the following: types of litigation, negligence cases, collection cases, commercial litigation, preparation of pleadings, discovery and settlements.

This course introduces manual legal research including understanding legal citations, primary and secondary authorities, federal and state reporters, Shepardizing, and other research tools. Use of the Penobscot County Law Library is mandatory. Finally, students will explore the basic of legal writing including legal correspondence and legal memoranda.

This course is intended to augment Ba 201 with in depth analysis of the law in Contracts, UCC, Corporations, Principal Agency Law, Advanced Tort Law, Environmental Law, Real Property Law, Securities Law and Employment Law.

This course examines the general theory and procedures, legal and administrative, employed in the preparation and handling of wills, trusts, and estates. This course will prepare students to understand the basic concepts in the field and be able to apply these concepts to perform the tasks of a probate paralegal.

Family law covers all major subjects from marriage, divorce, child procreation and support, and child abuse and neglect. Our study includes a look at the economics of marriage and divorce, as well as some of the most cutting edge social and even scientific issues in the news. The main purpose of this course is to introduce major terms, topics, and issues.

Torts: Topics may vary from year to year, but will generally include a detailed treatment of defamation and privacy, and the torts relating to the intentional infliction of purely economic loss. Contemporary issues in the law of negligence (i.e. liability in negligence for purely economic loss; actions for wrongful birth and wrongful life); and new applications of the law of trespass, with implications for civil liberties and privacy; for regulating non-consensual medical procedures; and for intervening in abusive domestic relationships.

Workers Compensation: Study of the nature, development and exclusive nature of worker compensation and concepts. Topics include: arising out of employment, personal injury by accident, disease, employment status, specific inclusions or exemptions, benefits, employee and employer misconduct, third party action, adjective law, conflict of laws, insurance, and relation to other kinds of wage-loss protection.

ELECTIVE - PARALEGAL STUDIES: Electives are non-specific courses available to complement the goals and interests of an individual student. Those electives preceded by two letters (for example "PL Elective") means that you may choose a course from the group of "PL" courses. Likewise, those courses with a numeric listing (for example "PL 3XX Elective") means you may choose a course from the group of "PL" courses with a number of 300 or above. Some electives may require that you take a prerequisite course before you can enroll in the course you want.: : :

Cultivating analytical research and writing skills through problem-based learning is the aim of this course. Actual factual situations will be used to hone skills such as : identification of legal issues; research strategy and methodology formulation; use of relevant secondary sources; integration of print sources with non-print sources (electronic databases, CD-ROMs and the Internet); analyzing and synthesizing primary sources that are applicable; critical thinking applications; and writing clearly, concisely, logically and effectively. Skill development in these areas will assist students in their academic course work and prepare them for their professional careers.

Paralegal Internship: In this experiential course, the student serves as an intern in a law-related work setting. This placement may be in the public or private sector and is governed by an agreement signed by the student and the internship director. The experience may be multidisciplinary, but should have a strong legal employment element. Students are expected to be sufficiently motivated to seek out their own placement site with some guidance from the internship director. *** This class can be repeated more than one time for additional credits.

Law Office Management: This course is directed at students who choose a legal career, whether as a manager, paralegal, secretary or attorney. The course will inform students of how a law office is managed, rather than how to manage a law office. Students learn: knowledge about the different legal industries/careers; law office functions; essential skills related to internships, job searches, client interviews, witness interviews, expert witness interviews and file preparation and indexing.: : : :