Legal
Studies
APPROVED BY THE AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION |
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Contact: Dr. Stephen
P. Parsons, Head of Legal Studies Program
Office: Tech 268
Phone: (423) 585-2645
E-mail: steve.parsons@ws.edu |
| Course
Description
Student Testimony
Career Options
Faculty in Program
Curriculum Outline
Policy Regarding the Award of Credit for Law Courses by
Examination or Transfer from another Institution
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 Associate of Applied Science
Emphasis: Management
Concentration:
Paralegal Studies
Statement of Purpose
The American Bar
Association defines a paralegal (or legal assistant) as a
person qualified by education, training or work experience who is
employed or retained by a lawyer, law office, corporation, governmental
agency or other entity who performs specifically delegated substantive
legal work for which a lawyer is responsible. Paralegals may not
provide legal services directly to the public except as permitted by
law.
Paralegals perform various
tasks delegated to them by the supervising attorney including legal
research, document preparation, client and witness interviewing, fact
investigation, and litigation case management.
The paralegal field has been one of the fastest growing career
fields for some time and that trend is projected to continue into the
foreseeable future.
At Walters State our ABA
approved degree program prepares students for entry-level positions as
paralegals by providing them with a working knowledge of the basic areas
of the law, the law-related skills necessary to competently assist the
supervising attorney, a practical foundation in the ethical and
professional principles that govern attorneys and paralegals, and
training in modern technology systems including computer assisted legal
research, word processing and law office management systems.
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"I enrolled at Walters State after years of raising kids and doing odd
jobs for low pay. I am a paralegal studies major and have found the program to be both challenging
and fun. It demands the best I have to offer, and I love it. I feel that I am
preparing not just for the rest of my life, but for the best part of my life."
Felicia Collins - Paralegal Studies |
 Career Options for students enrolled in this program
include:
The U.S. Department of Labor is projecting
that the paralegal profession will be one of the fastest growing jobs in
this country between now and the year 2012.* A 62% increase in
paralegal positions is projected by 2008 according to the U.S. Bureau of
Labor Statistics. **
Compensation of paralegals varies
considerably depending on education, experience, region, and size of
employer. A variety of different studies done to measure paralegal
compensation nationwide shows the national average salary for
experienced paralegals is in the $37,000 to $42,000 range.***
*Source: U.S. Department
of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook,
2005 (www.bls.gov).
**Source: Id., as quoted
in the Tennessee Bar Journal, Vol. 41, No. 8, August 2005 at page
24.
*** See, e.g., the
Paralegal Compensation and Benefits Report prepared by the National
Federation of Paralegal Associations at
www.paralegals.org; and the National Utilization and Compensation
Survey Report prepared by the National Association of Legal Assistants
at
www.nala.org.
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| Faculty in
Paralegal Studies:
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Curriculum Outline
|
Required Courses |
COURSE TITLE |
SEMESTER CREDIT HOURS |
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LAW 1110 |
Introduction To Paralegal Practice,
Professional Ethics and Legal Office Management
|
4 |
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LAW 1120 |
Legal Research Skills
. |
3 |
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LAW 1130 |
Civil Litigation, Evidence and
Investigation Skills for Paralegals
|
4 |
|
LAW 1140 |
Torts, Workers Compensation and
Employment Law |
4 |
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LAW 1150 |
Contract Law
........... |
2 |
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LAW 1160 |
Business Organizations
... |
2 |
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LAW 1170 |
Real Property Law and Title Search
Skills for Paralegals
|
2 |
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LAW 1180 |
Wills, Trusts & Estate Administration
for Paralegals ... |
2 |
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LAW 1185 |
Secured Transactions, Collection Methods, and Bankruptcy Law
.......................................................................... |
2 |
|
LAW 1190 |
Legal Writing Skills
|
2 |
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MGMT 1100 |
Business Computer Applications
.. |
3 |
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SPCH 2210 |
Introduction to Speech Communication
|
3 |
|
ENGL 1010 |
Composition I
|
3 |
|
ENGL 1020 |
Composition II
... |
3 |
|
ACCT 2210 |
Principles of Accounting I
. |
3 |
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MGMT 2210 |
Principles of Management and Quality
Improvement .. |
3 |
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Electives: |
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Humanities
... |
3 |
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Mathematics
|
3 |
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Behavioral/Social Science
... |
3 |
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Choose six (6) hours from the
following*: |
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LAW 2010 Criminal Litigation and
Procedure (3) |
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LAW 2020 Domestic Relations,
Administrative Law and ADR (3) |
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LAW 2040 Legal Externship (1) |
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LAW 2050 Special Topics (1-6) |
6 |
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*To satisfy the law elective
requirement students must take at least one of LAW
2010 or LAW 2020. |
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Total hours required for graduation
. |
60 |
Regarding course sequencing:
1) LAW 1110 (Introduction to Paralegal
Practice, Professional Ethics and Legal Office Management) is a
pre-or co-requisite for all other LAW courses.
2) ENGL 1010 (Composition I) should be
successfully completed before any LAW courses other than LAW 1110
(Introduction to Paralegal Practice, Professional Ethics and Legal
Office Management) and LAW 1120 (Legal Research Skills) can be
attempted.
3) LAW 1120 (Legal Research Skills), ENGL 1010
(Composition I) and ENGL 1020 (Composition II) should be successfully
completed before LAW 1190 (Legal Writing Skills) may be attempted.
Policy Regarding the Award
of Credit for Law Courses by Examination or Transfer from another
Institution
The paralegal
studies program of Walters State does not permit the award of law
course credit by examination. To preserve the quality and integrity
of the program, no more than six (6) hours of law course credits may
be awarded by transfer from another institution. When a request for
credit by transfer is made by a student, the transcript of the
institution where those credits were awarded must be presented to
the college's student records office. The program director will
then review the transcript and a course description from the
institution which awarded the credits and makes a determination as
to 1) whether the institution which awarded the credits is
accredited at a level substantially equivalent to Walters State; 2)
whether the credits were awarded as part of a paralegal program
substantially the equivalent of the Walters State paralegal studies
program; and 3) whether the specific course appears to cover
substantially the same material and involve the same number of
semester hours as the equivalent course at Walters State. In the
event the program director is satisfied that an acceptance/transfer
of the credits is appropriate under these criteria, then the program
director will generate a course substitution form indicating the
source of the credits and the law course for which they should be
accepted as credit and the reason for that recommendation. The
course substitution is not effective until approved by the division
dean, the vice president for academic affairs and the student
records office.
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