Introduction to Paralegal Studies
Syllabus

Instructor Information
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Course Information
Textbook Course Objectives
 Course Requirements Student Evaluation
Online Schedule Interactive Schedule
 Traditional
Schedule		 Work Delivery
Assignments Extra Credit
 Websites AACC Web
Late Work Quizzes Midterm Final 

General information

My AACC
 The following information is found on the aacc website.
Every student has access to this site.
It is the responsibility of each student to review the information on this website.
Every student is required to read the following policies.

College Policies
Services for Students with Disabilities

AACC is an equal opportunity, affirmative action, Title IX, ADA Title 504 compliant institution. Call Disability Support Services, 410-777-2306 or Maryland Relay 711, 72 hours in advance or e-mail dss@aacc.edu to request special accommodations. For information regarding Anne Arundel Community College's compliance and complaints concerning discrimination or harassment, call Karen Cook, Esq., AACC’s federal compliance manager at 410-777-7370 or Maryland Relay 711. 

Student Services
Academic Integrity
Classroom Behavior and Decorum
Drug & Alcohol
Student Complaint Procedure
Class Attendance and Visitors
Computer/email Usage
Spirit of Community
Student Conduct Code

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Textbooks

Required
West's Paralegal Today
The Legal Team at Work
West Educational Publishing Company
3rd Ed.,  2004
Roger LeRoy Miller
Mary Meinzinger Urisko

A Uniform System of Citation
(Bluebook)

Recommended
Study Guide to Accompany West's Paralegal Today
West Educational Publishing Company
3rd Ed.,  2003
Roger LeRoy Miller
Mary Meinzinger Urisko

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Course Objectives
1. To acquaint students with the areas of the law that are available for paralegals.
2. To introduce students to the sources of the law, and provide an overview of procedural law and various areas of substantive law.
3. To allow the students to perform in a simplified form many of the tasks performed by paralegals.
4. To familiarize the student with the Annotated Code of Maryland and Maryland Rules, including how to locate pertinent statutes and rules and their proper citation form.
5. To introduce students to locating, analyzing and briefing Maryland cases, including proper citation form. 
6. To develop critical thinking skills to enable students to analyze legal problems, conduct fundamental research into solving the problem and to draft a logical memorandum summarizing their findings.

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 Course Requirements

Read all assigned Chapters in the textbook.

Complete the Chapter Assignments and forward them to instructor.

Create and Complete Paralegal Reference Manual.

Take a Chapter Quiz for each assigned chapter.

Take a Midterm Examination.

Take a Final Examination.

Extra Credit
In addition to the required work the student has the option of completing 100 points of Extra Credit work.

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Online Course Meetings Recommended 
Class meetings are not mandatory, however, It is STRONGLY suggested that a student attend at least one Introduction to Law class and/or Legal Research class in the traditional format.  If a student has NO law background legal research can be extremely difficult.   A basic class will aid you in understanding the material and will make it seem more comprehensible.  I will post the dates on the Homepage in WebCT.  For your own benefit please make every effort to attend at least one of them.   

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Student Evaluation 
 Assignments
Click the word Assignments for the list of all of the assignments available, the assigned points,  and important details regarding assignments.		 300 points
There will be more than 300 points available.
Quizzes
Click the word Quizzes for a list of all of the quizzes and the assigned points for each quiz.
To take a Quiz go to WebCT.		 200 points
Midterm
Go to WebCT.		 100 points
Final
Go to WebCT.		 200 points
Paralegal Reference Manual
Click here for more details on the Paralegal Reference Manual.		 100 points
Extra Credit
Click here for the extra credit list and more details regarding extra credit.		 100 points

Student Evaluation Criteria
A = 810 - 900 points
B = 720 - 810 points
C = 630 - 719 points
D = 540 - 629 points
F = 0 - 539 points

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Online Schedule

Late Work
 It is imperative that you keep up with the class work.  In the past I have found that students who fall behind NEVER catch up.  In order to provide the students in the class with the greatest opportunity to succeed, I am holding firm to the deadlines established in the class.  Another important reason for this policy is that paralegals (and other employees) are always subject to deadlines and very often under extreme pressure.  It is necessary that you acquire the scheduling skills that will allow you to complete the work assigned by the supervising attorney (or other supervisor) on time allowing flexibility for the unexpected.
There are NO extensions so please do not ask me for one.

Release Date
Each new module will be released at least 7 days before the scheduled deadline for the current module.  This is to accommodate students who wish to proceed more quickly.  I reserve the right to change modules up to the release date.  If you begin working prior to the release date you may be completing assignments that will no longer be included or you may miss new assignments that have been added. Please do not begin the work until the release date.  There will be changes and updates until that time.
Due Date
All work will be due and must be delivered (See delivery instructions below) to instructor NO LATER than midnight on the Due Date.
The due date is always a Monday so that students will have a weekend to complete the work. 
Module 1
The Due Date is the last date the assignments and extra credit will be accepted. However, this Module should only take 2 weeks. In order to avoid an end-of-the-semester crunch assignments should be completed by February 3, 2005.  The longer time is allowed so that class members will have an additional weekend to complete the assignments. It is in your best interest to have them completed by February 3, 2005.
Chapter Weeks Covered Release Date Due Date
1 1 and 2 1/20/2005 2/6/2005
2 1 and 2 1/20/2005 2/6/2005
3 1 and 2 1/20/2005 2/6/2005
4 1 and 2 1/20/2005 2/6/2005
Module 2
This Module requires additional time and thought. Even though there are only two chapters they are far more substantive than the first Module chapters. This Module should take 3 weeks and should be completed by February 24, 2005.  The longer time is allowed so that class members will have an additional weekend to complete the assignments. It is in your best interest to have them completed by February 24, 2005.   
Chapter Weeks Covered Release Date Due Date
5 3, 4, and 5 2/5/2005 2/28/2005
6 3, 4, and 5 2/5/2005 2/28/2005
Module 3
This Module is extremely important.  You will be given three weeks to complete legal research and writing. I have also scheduled a class on legal research and writing. It is really important that you attend if at all possible.  It is NOT required but it will make the assignment far more difficult if you have not had an live instruction in a law library.

Class Date and Time:
Legal Research

Come right from work food will be served.
Chapter Weeks Covered Release Date Due Date
16 6,  7,  and 8  2/27/2005 3/28/2005
17 6,  7,  and 8  2/27/2005 3/28/2005
18 6,  7,  and 8  2/27/2005 3/28/2005
Midterm Examination
3/28/2005
Remember the midterm has some short answer questions. Thet will need to be graded by me so you will not get your full result immediately.
Module 4

Note: You are not expected to do all of the work in all of the chapters of this Module.  However, I would suggest that you complete the review sheets and take the Module Quizzes in order to obtain the points. Choose the work that interests you and complete the assignments related to those topics.  This is also a good place to make up points if you have fallen behind or to get extra points to ward off the last minute rush at the end of the semester.
Chapter Weeks Covered Release Date Due Date
7 9, 10, and 11   4/18/2005
8 9, 10, and 11   4/18/2005
9 9, 10, and 11   4/18/2005
10 9, 10, and 11   4/18/2005
11 9, 10, and 11   4/18/2005
15/1 9, 10, and 11    4/18/2005
Module 5

Note: This Module work will not be delivered as a Module.  In order that I can grade the work and return it to you so that it can become part of your Paralegal Reference Manual I am setting different deadlines.

Chapter Weeks Covered Release Date Due Date
12 12 and 13   5/2/2005
14 12 and 13   5/2/2005
15/2 14    5/2/2005
Other Course Requirements
Item Chapters Release Date Due Date
Paralegal
Reference
Manual		 1 - 18   5/6/2005
 
Midterm 1 - 6 and 16 - 18   3/28/2005
Final 1 - 18
(except 13)		 3/28/2005 5/9/2005

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 Work Delivery Instruction
 Please deliver all Assignments including Extra Credit at one time upon completion of each modules 1-4. See the note above relating to Module 5.
Please do not send individual chapters with the exception of Module 5.
Extra Credit WILL NOT be accepted unless all assigned work for an individual chapter is complete. It is more important that you complete the work for the class than that you do extra credit.  If you have completed all of the work for a chapter then you may do the extra credit for that chapter.

email WebCT
Please email as one file with multiple pages. Each answer should appear on a separate sheet of paper. Please include your last name in the file name. Each page must include your name and clearly indicate the assignment that is contained on that page. 
Fax 410-777-7054
*Keep Fax receipt.
Snail Mail  Professor Darlene Mallick
FLRS 202
101 College Parkway
Arnold, MD 21012
*Postmarked no later than the due date.
In Person  Beth Surgenor
FLRS 202
101 College Parkway
Arnold, MD 21012
Monday-Thursday 
9:30 a.m.- 6:00 p.m.
Friday
9:30 a.m.- 3:00 p.m.
* Students must call (410-777-7390) to confirm that Beth will be in the office at the time of delivery.  Papers may ONLY be left while she is present.

Professor Mallick
FLRS 106
**Papers may only be left during office hours.

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Testing

Quizzes
There will be a quiz for each assigned chapter.  Each quiz will have an assigned number of points.  See the Quiz page for the number of points for each quiz.
The total points for all quizzes will be 200.  
Quiz questions will all be objective.  There may be any combination of True or False, Multiple Choice and/or Matching on each quiz.
Quizzes must be taken by the date specified in the Online Schedule for completion of that Chapter/Module.  WebCT will automatically block out the access to a quiz on the deadline.  It will also not accept any answers after the time limit.
There will be NO extensions.
Go to WebCT to take a Quiz.

Midterm
There will be a Midterm Examination.
The Midterm Examination is worth 100 points.
The Midterm Examination will include any combination of True or False, Multiple Choice, Matching, and/or Short Answer Questions. This particular test includes short answers.
Many (not all) of the questions on the Midterm will be repeated from the quizzes.
The Midterm Examination must be taken by the date specified in the Online Schedule.  WebCT will automatically block out the access to a quiz on the deadline.  It will also not accept any answers after the time limit.
There will be NO extensions.
Go to WebCT to take the Midterm.

Final Examination
There will be a Final Examination.
The Final Examination is worth 200 points.
The Final Examination may include any combination of  True or False, Multiple Choice, Matching, and/or Short Answer Questions.
Many (not all) of the questions on the Final Examination will be repeated from the quizzes and the midterm.
The Final Examination must be taken by the date specified in the Online Schedule.  WebCT will automatically block out the access to a quiz on the deadline.  It will also not accept any answers after the time limit.
There will be NO extensions.
Go to WebCT to take the Final.

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Created and Maintained by: Darlene Mallick
©  Darlene Mallick 2000
©  Darlene Mallick 2001
©  Darlene Mallick 2002
©  Darlene Mallick 2003
©  Darlene Mallick 2004
©  Darlene Mallick 2005
 All Graphics Copyright Jelane K. Johnson, 1996-1998

03/31/09 12:11 PM

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