Online legal assistant and paralegal courses
are available as part of certificate, associate's degree and bachelor's
degree programs. These courses train students to work in legal offices
assisting lawyers by preparing documents, gathering information and
performing other tasks.
Online Legal Assistant Courses Overview
Many schools offer online courses for a career as a legal assistant,
also called a paralegal. These courses are often provided as part of a
complete paralegal certificate or degree program. Potential degrees
include an Associate of Science in
Legal Assisting or a Bachelor of Science in
Paralegal Studies.
In addition to general paralegal duties, some courses cover specialty
topics such as real estate, contracts or criminal law. Online courses
can also provide preparation for licensure exams for the states that
require legal assistants to be licensed.
Course Requirements
Students need word processing software and Internet access to
complete online courses. Courses may include video lectures that require
a video player and documents that require a free PDF reader to view.
Some courses have weekly mandatory online discussions between the
instructor and students.
List of Online Legal Assistant Courses
Introduction to the Legal System and Legal Assistantship Course
This online course provides students with an overview of the American
legal system, court structure and litigation process. Legal
terminology, evidence rules, interviewing skills and legal analysis are
discussed. Students learn about the differences between substantive
laws, which apply to the people, and procedural laws which apply to the
courts. Law office administration may also be covered.
Legal Research and Writing Course
Students explore the various types of legal documents and learn to
draft them in this online class. Coursework covers pleadings, motions,
orders and depositions as well as an overview of court procedures and
timing. Students learn to use a variety of online and book-based legal
research tools. The course also offers guidance on the analysis of legal
precedents and documents.
Professional and Ethical Responsibility Course
This course discusses the ethical responsibilities and regulations
governing paralegals. Students examine confidentiality, attorney-client
privilege, advertising, malpractice and conflicts of interest. The
course highlights both theoretical and practical applications of ethical
and professional responsibilities.
Contracts Course
In this class, students learn how to form legally binding contracts.
They acquire contract drafting, analysis and litigation skills while
learning to identify potential contractual issues. Contract performance,
consideration, offer and acceptance, remedies and breach are covered.
Some courses include the study of laws governing the sale of goods and
the Uniform Commercial Code.
No comments:
Post a Comment