Legal Studies
4 Credit Hours
Students will be introduced to the United States legal system. The structure and administration of the state and federal courts are examined as well as the function of the trial and appellate courts. The sources of law will be discussed, and procedural and substantive law distinguished. Students will be introduced to the legal principles of torts, contracts, criminal, civil, and property law.
4 Credit Hours
The course will introduce students to the defining ethical issues that lawyers and the legal community face in various practice settings. Topics will include access to justice; issues in the attorney-client relationship such as competence, confidentiality, and conflict of interest; and ethics in particular context, such as criminal practice, government, and corporate law.
Prerequisite: LAW100
4 Credit Hours
Students will locate and identify primary and secondary sources of law using traditional and computer-assisted research techniques, including Lexis, Westlaw, and the Internet. Students will use the databases to formulate searches, retrieve and display documents, and validate findings.
Prerequisite: LAW100
4 Credit Hours
Students will structure and draft legal case briefs, opinion letters, and memoranda of law in a logical, clear concise manner. The course will stress proper grammar, organization, legal citation, and ethical considerations in legal writing. The students will learn appropriate writing style and tone, adapting the style/tone based on purpose of document and audience. The students will learn the use of outlines and charts in preparing to write legal documents.
Prerequisites: LAW210, ENG106
4 Credit Hours
Students will be introduced to the rules governing the civil litigation process in both the state and federal civil courts. Topics will include all aspects of civil litigation, including preparation of pleadings, discovery methods, motion practice, trial documents, and the appellate process.
Prerequisite: LAW100
4 Credit Hours
This course will explore the field of Family Law from both a theoretical and practical perspective by examining the requirements of family law practice. Topics covered will include planning for marriage and formation of the marriage through its dissolution, including divorce, separation, and annulment. Child matters including child support, visitation, and adoption will also be covered. Other topics will include domestic partnerships, domestic violence considerations including orders of protection, and non-dispute resolution and its role in Family Law.
Prerequisite: LAW100
4 Credit Hours
Involves planning, formation, and administration of property-interest transfer instruments; preparation and execution of estate and trust instruments; testate and intestate probates and estate administrations; handling an elective share and related disputes; and accounting for income or asset accumulation, administration, and distribution, including federal and state taxation issues.
Prerequisite: LAW100
4 Credit Hours
Designed to provide students with the knowledge and practical application of the different technologies and software packages used in the legal industry. Students develop the conceptual, technical and interpersonal skills required to manage information and personnel in an automated law office environment.
Prerequisites: LAW100, CIS115
4 Credit Hours
Allows students to work in a position related to their course of study. Students integrate the skills and knowledge learned through their academic experiences and participate in focused online discussions and special online projects.
Prerequisite: BUS226
4 Credit Hours
This course will explore the field of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) by exploring the various mechanisms utilized to resolve disputes, including mediation and arbitration, the advantages and disadvantages of utilizing ADR as opposed to litigation, as well as the types and subjects where ADR is commonly employed. Students will engage in role plays throughout the course to demonstrate their knowledge of the various ADR options.
Prerequisite: LAW100
4 Credit Hours
Addresses legal requirements and procedures, state and federal benefits systems, taxation issues and financial principles, ethics, end-of-life issues, and elder abuse issues related to aged and special needs populations. Case management techniques appropriate to aged and special needs populations will be addressed.
Prerequisite: LAW250
4 Credit Hours
Course covers the basic concepts in federal and state Employment Law. Topics include the hiring process, legal regulation, benefits, employee privacy, expression and association, health and safety, the organization and representation, union collective action, collective bargaining, termination of the employment, restrictive covenants, wrongful discharge, plant closings, and retirement.
Prerequisites: LAW100, BUS231
4 Credit Hours
Provides an overview of the legal industry, including the parameters and policies of the business of law. Topics include: principles of law firm management and supervision; the organizational structure of a law office; law firm hiring practices; human resources; client relations; office procedures; workforce ethics; facilities management; security; and confidentiality.
Prerequisites: LAW100, BUS100
4 Credit Hours
A survey of U.S. constitutional issues as primarily interpreted by the U.S. Supreme Court. Topics include: issues of government structure, including the powers of the three branches of government and checks and balances, separation of powers in the federal and state governments, as well as, individual liberties and civil rights, including First Amendment Freedom of Speech, Assembly and Religion and Equal Protection Clause.
Prerequisite: LAW100
4 Credit Hours
This course will allow students to learn and explore fundamental topics related to the petition, ownership, and transfer of real property interest. Topics will include closings of residential property real estate financing, including mortgages and insurance, foreclosure, and short sales. Through a simulated real estate closing exercise, students will relate theory to practice and demonstrate their knowledge of the topics studied.
Prerequisite: LAW100
4 Credit Hours
This course further develops and refines the research, analysis, citation, and writing skills introduced in Legal Research (LAW 210) and Writing for Legal Professionals (LAW 220) courses. Students will prepare either a complex trial brief or appellate brief and present oral argument.
Prerequisite: LAW220
4 Credit Hours
Involves reading and discussions organized around selected topics. Topics will vary each quarter and may include health policy, financial aspects of money management, housing issues, legal issues, and professional ethics related to special needs and geriatric populations.
Prerequisites: LAW250, HEA203
4 Credit Hours
Includes the study of each field of law that typically falls under the umbrella of intellectual property, including trademarks, copyrights, patents, trade secrets, and unfair competition. The methods by which each is created, procedures to register or protect each, duration of rights, protection from infringement, and new and international developments will be discussed for each of the intellectual property fields.
Prerequisites: LAW100, BUS231
4 Credit Hours
Students learn the principles and practical applications of law firm financial management, the maintenance of attorney trust accounts and ethical rules governing financial transactions. Topics include: basics of accounting and bookkeeping, management of attorney trust accounts and business accounts; billing, collections and accounts payable; attorney record keeping and time management and budgeting.
Prerequisites: LAW100, ACC110
4 Credit Hours
Allows students to work in a position related to their course of study. Students integrate the skills and knowledge learned through their academic experiences and participate in focused online discussions and special online projects.
Prerequisite: BUS226
