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Biography
B.A. David Lipscomb College--Speech and Religion
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B.A. David Lipscomb College--Speech and Religion
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J.D. University of Tennessee College of Law
Class rank: First
Member: Order of the Coif
J.D. University of Tennessee College of Law
Class rank: First
Member: Order of the Coif
Professor Parsons has been engaged in the private practice of law for
twenty-five years as an associate and partner in Stophel, Caldwell &
Heggie, Chattanooga, Tennessee from 1979 to 1985, then as a partner in
Wagner, Myers and Sanger in Knoxville, Tennessee from 1985 to 1993 and
as the principal in the Parsons Law Firm, Greeneville, Tennessee from
1993 to the present. He has been licensed to practice in Tennessee
since 1979, is a member of the Tennessee Bar Association and is admitted
to practice before all Tennessee state courts, the United States
District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, and the Sixth
Circuit Court of Appeals. He has directed the WSCC Legal Studies
Program since its inception in 1994. A frequent speaker at legal
seminars for the public and paralegals, he is also the author of
Interviewing and Investigating: Essential Skills for the Paralegal
(2d ed., Aspen Publishing, 2004) and served as Visiting Professor of Law
at the Appalachian School of Law during the 2002-2003 academic year.
Courses Taught
If you would like to see the course
description for the courses I am currently teaching, click on the links
below:
BUSN 2510 course
description
LAW 1110 course description
LAW 1120 course description
LAW 1130 course description
LAW 1150 course description
LAW 1160 course description
LAW 1190 course description
If you would like
to see the syllabus for any of these courses, contact me at
steve.parsons@ws.edu
Course description
for BUSN 2510:
A study of the principles of the American legal system as they relate to
business including: sources of law; the U.S. Constitution and the
organization of government; the relationship between law and business
ethics; tort law; criminal law; international law; the common law of
contracts; the Uniform Commercial Code including contracts for the sale
of goods, negotiable instruments and commercial paper, the banking
system and transactions, and secured transactions; real and personal
property; bailment; agency; business organizations; government
regulation of business; consumer protection; employment relations;
insurance; and wills and trusts.
Course
description for LAW 1110:
An overview of the legal assistant profession including the work and
regulation of attorneys; the definition and role of the paralegal;
paralegal skills; state regulation of paralegals; job opportunities for
paralegals; attorney and paralegal ethics and professionalism; the legal
office environment including personnel, systems, procedures, and
software.
Course description for LAW
1120:
Study of government organization, sources of law and research methods;
training in legal research of primary and secondary law sources
including statutory codes, reporters, digests, case briefing, legal
encyclopedias, treatises, practice manuals, ALR and the CFR. Training
in computer assisted legal research including Internet research, Westlaw
and Lexis.
Course description for LAW
1130:
Study of civil litigation procedure and practice in federal and
Tennessee state courts at trial and appellate levels. Study of Federal
Rules of Evidence. Study of procedures and methods for interviewing and
investigating. Training in drafting of pleadings, motions, and
discovery documents; in litigation management and assistance; and in
interviewing and fact investigation.
Course description for LAW
1150:
The law of contracts including principles governing their formation,
performance, enforcement, breach and remedies. Common law origins and
principles are covered as well as the Uniform Commercial Code with
emphasis on the sale of goods, commercial documents, the banking system
and transactions, and secured transactions. Related ethical and
professional considerations are covered as well.
Course description for LAW
1160:
Study of the various forms of doing business including the sole
proprietorship, general and limited partnerships, the limited liability
company, and various types of corporations. Training in drafting
appropriate original documents for various business forms.
Course description for LAW
1190:
Practical application of legal research skills to the drafting and
preparation of typical documents that the legal assistant will be
expected to prepare by a supervising attorney including research
memoranda; client correspondence; demand letter; commercial contracts;
pleadings, discovery documents, motions and briefs; appellate brief;
incorporation documents and corporate records; partnership agreement;
will with simple trust; commercial lease; promissory note, warranty deed
and deed of trust for real estate transaction; medical records summary;
emphasis on writing skills as well as substantive research. Related
ethical and professional considerations.
IS ONLINE
INSTRUCTION RIGHT FOR YOU?
This
page will give you important information so that you can determine
if taking courses online is a good choice for you. Online
instruction can be an effective and convenient way to learn. It
enables you to "attend" class without leaving your home. BUT
ONLINE INSTRUCTION IS NOT FOR EVERYONE!! Many students need
direct contact with the instructor in order to be successful. Some
students do better having other students in the classroom with
them.
In order to do well in a Web-based class you need to be able to
learn effectively without that regular interaction with the
instructor and other students. (Our class will meet as a class only
one time—at the orientation. All other work, including exams, will
be done online.) You also need to be something of a self-starter,
able to motivate yourself to do the required work on a timely
basis. Remember that you won’t be in a classroom where I am
reminding you of what is due when. In a Web-based course YOU must
read and follow the syllabus, access the WebCT course site, do the
required reading and work assignments, take the required exams and
turn them in on time, all without anybody pushing you or reminding
you to do that.
To help determine
whether online instruction is a good choice for you, go to
http://www.ion.uillinois.edu/resources/tutorials/pedagogy/selfEval.asp
and complete the questionnaire "Self Evaluation for Potential Online
Students" from the University of Illinois. Take this and see your
results. Online instruction is an opportunity to have convenient
access to college courses. We need to make sure that an online
course is the right choice for you. If you conclude that you
should take this course by traditional classroom format, you should
enroll in a classroom section of the course and not in an online
section.
To take an online course, you will need to have access to a
computer that is connected to the Internet. This computer must have
a Web "browser" (Netscape Navigator 4.0 or higher or Microsoft
Internet Explorer 4.0 or higher). You will also need an e-mail
account. If you don't have an e-mail account, there are numerous
free e-mail services on the Web (www.hotmail.com
for one;
www.yahoo.com for
another).
If you have decided to register for this Web-based course, please
do the following:
1. Take the "Self Evaluation for Potential Online Students" from
the University of Illinois referenced above.
2. E-mail me at
steve.parsons@ws.edu
and tell me that you have completed the online survey and have
registered for the class.
3. Attend the
Orientation Session for the course scheduled for the date, time and
place indicated at
http://www.ws.edu/eveninged/courses/.
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