Legal Secretary Certificate Course

This Certificate Course was developed by and is administered by the Center for Legal Studies.

Course Description: This 42-hour, seven week, 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; computers, word and data processing; legal research; memoranda preparation, and citation format.

This online course will cover:
• The origins and history of the American legal system
• The meaning and application of important legal terminology
• Ethics for the law office
• The elements of tort law and contract law
• The important rules of civil procedure
• How to conduct a legal interview and maintain good client relations
• How to use some of the common word processing features specifically for the law office
• How to prepare legal documents including letters, pleadings, discovery documents, motions and memos
• The basic rules of citation format
• The elements of law office management

This is an accelerated course, and you will be expected to spend an average of at least 8 hours per week reading and completing writing assignments. Please note that, barring extenuating circumstances, extensions will not be granted for this online course.

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.

Textbooks: The required texts for this course (your State's rules of court and A Uniform System of Citation) are available from the Center for Legal Studies for approximately $100. Call 1-800-522-7737 to order textbooks and to obtain shipping charges. Books ordered the week immediately prior to class beginning will incur an additional FedEx charge. Prices are subject to change.

The following textbooks listed below are recommended but not required. To order the recommended texts, please call The Center for Legal Studies at 1-800-522-7737 or email us at info@legalstudies.com.

• Cummins, Robert R. Basics of Legal Document Preparation. Albany: Delmar Publishers Inc., 1997.
• Garner, Bryan A. Black's Law Dictionary, 3rd Pocket edition. Minneapolis/St. Paul: West Publishing Company, 2006.

How to earn your certificate of completion: Your grade will be based on your completion of six tests, one writing assignment, and class participation. The tests and memos are submitted using the Private Mail tool within the courseware. You will have the opportunity to engage in "class participation" by using the online Bulletin Board tool to respond to the bulletin board assignments throughout the course.

Your final grade will be figured as follows:
• The six tests are 50 points each and comprise 60% of your grade.
• The one writing assignment is worth 100 points and comprises 30% of your grade.
• Your participation in class participation assignments comprises 10% of your grade.

Withdrawal Policy: Students may drop the course with a full tuition refund if written notice is sent to The Center for Legal Studies by email to info@legalstudies.com by the Wednesday before class begins. Students may drop the course with a 50% tuition refund if written notice is sent to The Center for Legal Studies by email to info@legalstudies.com anytime from the Thursday before the course begins until the first Thursday of class. After the first Thursday of class no refunds will be issued.

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