YOUR INSTRUCTOR
see information on your instructor including website, office hours, phone no. etc. http://lamission.edu/law/lawfaculty.htm

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Catalog: CSU 3 units. Law 10 is an introductory course which formalizes the career of the legal assistant. It is an introduction into the law, social forces and the law, a comparison of the role of the lawyer and the legal assistant, and an introduction to legal terminology, legal research and writing.

Law 10 introduces the student to the law, in general. It is the first, and introductory class to the world of law, and the paralegal program. The student will receive a general overview of law, the court system, and court procedures, cases, codes, litigation and the like.

The student will learn how to read and brief law cases, the court rules, how to locate California and Federal Codes, how to use the internet to do legal research, how to do a simple pleading, how to locate and use law on the internet, how to use search engines, and the student will learn how to use the paralegal webpage to locate other areas of the law.
                                                  

COURSE TEXT    

West's Business Law by Clarkson, Miller, Jentz, and Cross - 10th edition - see http://lamission.edu/law/textbooks - you can obtain the book from our College Bookstore or online.
                                       

COURSE OBJECTIVES

1. The student will learn an overview of law and the legal system, , including the courts, the court system, how to read, understand and brief court cases, how to read, and understand California and Federal Codes, and a general overview of substantive laws which a paralegal must be familiar with to do their job properly.

2. The student will learn to "think critically" in law, This will be accomplished through the multiple-choice quizzes, postings to hypothetical legal questions in a threaded discussion format and written assignments. The assignments require the student to read and brief court cases, anaylyze code sections, prepare a pleading, and other relevant legal tasks related to the subject materials.

3. The student will learn how to do legal research in general, how to phrase a legal question or issue, and how to search for the correct "legal" answer.

4. The student will improve their writing skills and learn basic skills in legal drafting and writing.

5. The student will improve their study skills and will improve how they study law.                                    

GRADING & EVALUATION

The class will be composed of quizzes, postings to an "electronic bulletin board" - threaded discussions, and written projects.The student should work off of the duedates for each class". The deadlines are clearly posted on the schedule. Quizzes will be posted and students are expected to fill in their answers to the multiple choice questions during a deadline period. After the time period has expired, the quiz link will no longer be available, and the student will NOT be allowed to take the quiz (certain exceptions might be made if the student emails his/her online instructor regarding exceptional family circumstances or situtations - not just "not enough time", or "late", and the instructor will decide and determine each request on the facts of the circumstances).

The "letter grade" scale is as follows.

A =  90-100 percent of total points
B =  80-89
C =  70-79
D =  60-69
F =  Below 60

Office Hours: see Faculty page at http://lamission.edu/law/lawfaculty.htm - Office Hours, Mon. - Friday 9-5 pm at the Office Telephone number of each Faculty member, or upon special appointment - email the faculty member for your appointment date and time.

Course Structure: This course will be offered under a course management system. For the online class and its course management system check the online portal for Mission College at http://lamission.edu/online.

LATE ASSIGNMENTS: ASSIGNMENTS SUBMITTED LATE WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED UNLESS PRIOR APPROVAL IS REQUESTED AND GRANTED BY THE INSTRUCTOR.

EXTRA CREDIT: Since the law is in constant change, along with the advent of the Internet, issues may arise that are timely and germane to our class. Therefore, opportunities may arise during the term that allow for extra credit, although no extra credit is presently offered.

INCOMPLETE: If you require a grade of "incomplete," you must advise me as soon as possible and discuss the terms of its removal.

ACADEMIC HONESTY: Academic honesty is highly valued at Mission College, just as it is at all colleges and universities. A student must always submit work that represents his or her original words or ideas. If any words or ideas are used that do not represent the student's original words or ideas, the student must cite all relevant sources. The student should also make it clear to what extent such sources were used. Words or ideas that require citations include, but are not limited to, all hard copy or electronic publications, whether copyrighted or not, and all verbal or visual communications when the content of such communications clearly originates from an identifiable source. All submissions to any public meeting or private mailbox fall within the scope of words and ideas that require citations if used by someone other than the original author.

Course Assignments: see links at duedates - http://duedates.pbwiki.com.

Course Evaluation:

The final grade will be determined by: averaging quizzes, discussion questions and written assignments, each assigned 100 or more points.

Required Resources (for internet/online work)

System requirements: IBM or compatible (486/33 CPU minimum) with Windows or Mac or compatible with 6.05 operating system or higher, 8 megs of RAM, 20 megs free hard disc space, modem with a 9600 baud rate minimum.

* This syllabus is subject to change. Please note revision dates ("updated") below. . Students are responsible for the most recent updated version of this syllabus.

updated: 3/07/07