Legal Assistant Course Listing
Use this course listing to view descriptions of the courses offered for the term indicated as well as other course information such as prerequisites (if applicable) dates, times and campus location when available. Some courses are offered only in specific terms.
To view all courses for this program, uncheck "Hide Courses Not Offered This Term." If a course you need is not offered this term, please contact the department to find out when it next will be offered.
This course is a study of law as it relates to the sources of law, courts and court procedures, torts, crimes and contracts.
This course is a study of law as it relates to the sources of law, courts and procedures, torts, crimes and contracts.
This course is a study of law as it pertains to agency, partnerships, corporations, real and personal property, wills and estates, insurance and negotiable instruments.
This course explores topics relevant in today's legal studies discipline. Course material is delivered in an individual setting and often will include a research paper/project based on a current legal topic.
This course will provide an understanding of the rationale of the laws that affect the student every day. This is a survey course in which the student will study a variety of substantive areas of the law and legal principles, utilizing critical thinking and examining challenging issues.
This is a course designed to provide students with an overview of the legal and paralegal professions, curriculum, required competencies, and ethics.
The student who successfully completes this course should have a knowledge of law sources and experience with their use. The student will learn the basics of legal research and perform research in the principle sources of law, including cases, statutes, constitutions, court rules and administrative regulations. The student will also accomplish research in secondary authorities, execute proper legal citations and participate in the high technology of legal research. Lab fee required.
This course provides students with the methods, techniques and procedures for the research and preparation of legal memoranda, trial and appellate briefs and other forms of legal documents. The student who successfully completes this course should have the ability to render argument in forceful, lucid prose and to understand the values of adversarial and objective writing. The student will understand the basics of the American legal system, appreciate that judicial decision-making is not always to be emulated and distinguish between legal traditions which are both valued links and hindrances to writing. Lab fee required.
This course is a study of the principles of litigation and the rules of procedure for federal and Florida courts, including pleadings and practice. The student who successfully completes this course will understand the organization and structure of the civil litigation system and appreciate the different judicial forums. The student will develop an understanding of the litigation process, its goals, the rules of procedure and the constitutional provisions which influence the litigation process. Lab fee required.
This course explores the rules and methods of discovery ranging from depositions to the evolving area of electronic discovery. The student who successfully completes this course will have the ability to obtain discovery that is relevant to the subject matter of a pending case. The course will provide the student with the ability to use the rules and methods of discovery to conduct the investigative stage of a case prior to trial. Techniques will be developed for obtaining discovery through written interrogatories, requests for production of documents or things, requests for admission, physical and mental examinations and depositions.
This course is a continuation of the study of the principles of litigation and the rules of procedure for federal and Florida courts, including pleadings, practice and discovery. The student who successfully completes this course will have hands-on experience in the gathering and preparation of evidentiary materials, drafting of legal documents and courtroom presentation and procedures. Students are divided into litigation teams and prepare for and participate in mock trial events. Lab fee required.
The course will require students to apply the rules of civil trial litigation as it is practiced in Florida with an emphasis on the practical aspects of litigation. Students will learn how to prepare for a trial and how to assist an attorney in handling a civil matter from initial interview through the trial. Class culminates with a staged trial.
This course is a study of the various classifications and functions of tort law, including intentional and negligent torts, causation, proximate cause and defenses. The student who successfully completes this course will develop an understanding of the elements of tort causes of action and the legal defenses to such causes of action. The student will examine the practical aspects and issues involved in personal injury law, understand the asserting of legal claims, recognize appropriate remedies and draft related documents.
This course includes a study of the definition and classification of criminal offenses, the principles of criminal responsibility and the legal procedures in a criminal prosecution. The student who successfully completes this course will have an understanding of the elements of crimes, have performed hands-on research, have drafted documents and have participated in oral trial presentations regarding a hypothetical criminal case.
Intellectual property, often known as IP, allows people to own their creativity and innovation in the same way that they can own physical property. The course is divided into the four areas of intellectual property law which include trademark, copyright, patent and trade secrets. For each area, the course will aim to cover the statutory bases, as well as discuss key doctrines and cases. Finally, the course will expose each student to the practical considerations faced by those working in related legal fields. The student will explain the filing process, filing systems, and the typical life cycle of a case for each area of intellectual property. Common litigation causes of action and remedies will also be discussed.
This course defines administrative law, explains the creation and structure of federal and state administrative agencies, explores agency discretion, scrutinizes rules and regulations and studies investigations. The student who successfully completes this course will understand the representation of citizens at agency hearings and proceedings, be able to research agency statutory and case law, be able to communicate agency procedures to clients and be able to articulate the concept of judicial review as applicable to agency decisions.
This course includes a detailed study of testacy and intestacy, preparation of wills and codicils, fundamentals of execution and probate administration. The student who successfully completes this course will understand and apply the legal requirements for the proper preparation, execution and probate of wills and trust instruments. Students will understand the types of estates under Florida Law/the Uniform Probate Code and how to complete the necessary forms to accomplish the probate goal of marshalling assets, identifying legal creditors and paying legal claims and distributing probate assets.
This course includes an overview of property law in general and Florida law in particular. Students who complete this course will demonstrate a knowledge of real property law and its application to real property transactions. Students will understand the mechanics of various commercial and private property transactions and mortgage foreclosures. Students will appreciate the theories/concepts of legal descriptions, ownership, title searches, acquiring and transferring, appraising, financing, closing, leasing, condominiums and cooperatives, environmental law, taxation, ethics and drafting appropriate legal documents.
This course includes an overview of intermediate real estate law topics with a specific emphasis on real property transactions in Florida. Students who complete this course will understand the fundamental concepts underlying a real estate closing, including the issuance of title insurance commitments, policies and endorsements and various federal and state regulations that affect real estate closings. Students will appreciate the concepts of title examination, encumbrances and adverse matters, title insurance, water rights, the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act (FIRPTA), Florida homestead and the Marketable Record Title Act.
This course is largely transaction and problem-oriented. This course will discuss problems involving real estate transactions under Florida law, including real estate contracts, parties to Florida transactions, financing, property descriptions and settlement statements. This course trains students in the use of the Attorneys' Title Insurance Database System for completing title examinations and updates and the E-Closing DT closing software program.
This course will provide the student with an opportunity to examine and evaluate the ethical obligations and professional responsibilities of a legal assistant. The student who successfully completes this course will have a basic understanding of ethical legal conduct, a thorough comprehension of the importance of ethics to the law, a solid understanding of the major issues in ethics and the rules governing those issues and the ability to apply that developing ethical sensitivity and knowledge to a variety of hypothetical and real-life situations.
This course prepare students to conduct online research using a variety of full-service, low-cost and free modalities and databases including, but not limited to, Lexis, Westlaw, Bloomberg Law, LoisLaw, Fastcase, Versuslaw, Casemaker, Casetext, Ravel, Google and Bing. Students should develop competencies with respect to natural language and searches using terms and connectors. Students who successfully complete this course will be able to search effectively using key numbers and headnotes, Shepherds and Keycite and their various equivalents. Students will learn to narrow and focus searches using subject matter and procedural terms, specific dates and time-frames, courts, attorneys and parties. In addition, students will learn to perform non-legal research (using business and academic databases) to support legal claims, defenses and typical law office activities. With frequent guests from the local legal community, this entry-level class offers hands-on experience working through basic real-world legal research challenges.
This course will prepare the student for responsibilities associated with the management of a law office. The student will examine the structure of a law office, time and records management, billing methods, technology and computers, administrative procedures, client relations, office operating procedures and professionalism in the workplace. The student who successfully completes this course will understand the practical and ethical issues of law office organization and functions through the visitation to a law firm/agency, interviewing of employees and preparation of oral and written reports.
This course includes an examination of general and Florida laws of marriage, divorce, annulment, separation, adoption, custody, legitimacy, support, guardianship and the juvenile. The student who successfully completes this course will have a basic knowledge of what family law is and the skills to use that knowledge to apply legal standards and draft documents used in the practice of family law.
This course will provide a basic grasp of the origins, meaning, and application of various laws prevalent in fields of entertainment. Students should acquire sufficient grasp to anticipate legal issues in preparing and evaluating contracts, and to recognize legal issues when they arise in the course of business. Successfully completing the class does not mean that one can dispense with a lawyer; rather, it is likely to make the student a more effective client, better able to ask meaningful questions and to make sense of the answers.
This course deals with the law of immigration within the United States. The course will focus on immigrants and the different categories of non-immigrants and the various laws that must be followed to visit the U.S. from abroad or gain permanent resident status. Immigration law is a form-based area of law. As such, we will identify and complete the various forms that are used in the immigration process. Students will identify the vocabulary often used in immigration cases, practice preparing various types of immigration forms and develop an understanding of how to deal with the immigration client.
In this course topics of current interest and other areas of law are presented in group instruction. This course may be taken four times for credit.
In this course topics of current interest and other areas of law are presented in group instruction. This course may be taken three times for credit.
In this course topics of current interest and other areas of law are presented in group instruction. This course may be taken four times for credit.
Students will perform duties for various real estate attorneys engaged in transactional practices. Typical duties will include providing legal and administrative support to the assigned attorney, coordinating communications and activities between the assigned attorney and clients, working with clients, the assigned attorney, title examiners, and underwriting counsel to coordinate, track, and follow-up on orders, assist with legal research, preparation of documents and other paralegal related activities required to support clients. Other duties may include preparing closing documents, ancillary documents, title-related affidavits, and policies and endorsements, attending to title curative matters and identifying requirements of survey exceptions. Additional duties may include preparing and issuing title policies, e-recordings, disbursements; providing reports as needed, providing specialized services and support to clients, tracking and maintaining client lists and overseeing and creating invoices.
This course is designed to provide students the opportunity to apply classroom theory to practical, work-related applications. Seminars may be a component of this course and regular contact with the assigned faculty advisor is required. Students may earn internship credits based on the completion of the required work experience and satisfactory completion of assignments including, but not limited to, seminars and a project. This course may be repeated based upon the student’s academic program.
This course is designed to provide students the opportunity to apply classroom theory to practical, work-related applications. Seminars may be a component of this course and regular contact with the assigned faculty advisor is required. Students may earn internship credits based on the completion of the required work experience and satisfactory completion of assignments including, but not limited to, seminars and a project. This course may be repeated based upon the student’s academic program.
This course is designed to provide students the opportunity to apply classroom theory to practical, work-related applications. Seminars may be a component of this course and regular contact with the assigned faculty advisor is required. Students may earn internship credits based on the completion of the required work experience and satisfactory completion of assignments including, but not limited to, seminars and a project. This course may be repeated based upon the student’s academic program.
This course is designed to provide students the opportunity to apply classroom theory to practical, work-related applications. Seminars may be a component of this course and regular contact with the assigned faculty advisor is required. Students may earn internship credits based on the completion of the required work experience and satisfactory completion of assignments including, but not limited to, seminars and a project. This course may be repeated based upon the student’s academic program.
This course prepares students for the NALA Certified Paralegal examination by providing a comprehensive review of the material included on the exam with emphasis on the areas currently tested. The course will include practice examinations designed to prepare students for the actual exam. The course is open to anyone preparing to take the Certified Paralegal Exam or interested in obtaining a general overview of various legal disciplines.