Legal Secretary Certificate Course – Live Lecture
About This Course
This intensive program is designed for both beginning and experienced secretaries who are interested in improving their skills and working more efficiently within the law office. Students will study such topics as: legal terminology; legal process; jurisdiction and venue; ethics; written communications including letters, pleadings, discovery, notices and motions; filing procedures, billing and accounting; time management; records management; an overview of commonly used word and data processing programs; legal research; memoranda preparation, and citation format.
Session 1: During this first session students will receive an introduction to the theory of law, the legal process, and the nature of the practice of law. Discussion will include the process of law as well as the specific legal terminology. Ethics are also covered.
Session 2: This session addresses the particulars of law office management. Also, this session studies technology in the law office. Students will be exposed to actual court documents and will prepare some of these documents as part of their homework.
Session 3: The final session will be spent examining the intricacies of the law office, including office procedure manuals, billing techniques, and overall management techniques of the law office. Students will also be introduced to the basics of legal research and proper citation format. Job search strategies and placement possibilities will also be discussed.
Course Objectives:
Participants will demonstrate the following skills through successful completion of all required coursework and assignments:
- Discuss the origins and history of the American legal system
- Define and apply important legal terminology
- Disucss ethics for the law office
- List the elements of tort law and contract law
- Explain the important rules of civil procedure
- Demonstrate how to conduct a legal interview and maintain good client relations
- Demonstrate how to use some of the common word processing features specifically for the law office
- Demonstrate how to prepare legal documents including letters, pleadings, discovery documents, motions and memos
- Apply the basic rules of citation format
- Define the elements of law office management
Expectations
Students will be expected to spend an average of 8 hours per lesson reading and completing writing assignments. Please note that extensions will not be granted for this course and students must attend 80% of the course to pass. 70% is the minimum passing score on all tests and assignments for this course.
Prerequisites
This course presumes a basic knowledge of word processing and a typing proficiency of at least 50 words per minute. Basic word processing and typing skills will not be covered in this course.
Course Books
Required textbook for this course:
- Legal Secretary Handbook, 2nd Edition, ISBN# 978-0-9637248-3-0, is available through CLS by BARBRI.
Highly Recommended Legal Resources:
- Oran’s Dictionary of the Law, 4th Edition, by Daniel Oran. Clifton Park: Delmar Cengage Learning
- A Uniform System of Citation, most recent edition, is available through CLS by BARBRI.
For more information, call CLS by BARBRI at 888-930-4047, or visit our Online Store to order.
Live Refund Policy
We understand that your schedule may change at the last minute and prevent you from attending this course. If you must cancel your registration, please call us at least one week in advance of the program and we will issue you a refund less a non-refundable $50 administrative fee. No refunds will be given after the first class meeting.