Paralegal Studies Courses | 2024-2025 Academic Catalog | SIU

(University Core Curriculum) This course will familiarize students with legal fundamentals and a variety of legal practice areas, including, but not limited to, criminal law, family law, estates and probate, property law, contract law, business law, and tort law (with focus on negligence). Federal and state court systems and balance of powers within our governmental system will be covered. Legal and paralegal skills will be developed through participation and assignments designed to sharpen analytical and other skills required in the legal profession and which are transferable into a variety of other professions. Also featured are legal ethics and professional responsibility along with legal terminology, litigation procedure basics, and substantive and procedural practices. Students are encouraged to reflect upon the legal practice area(s) they find most compelling and in which they and others might make the greatest contributions to society.

Credit Hours: 3

This course focuses on essential skills for successful paralegals. The style of grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, and analytical progression in legal writing is emphasized. Course assignments expand students' reading comprehension, legal vocabulary, and proofreading and editing skills. Other skills practice includes using office machines, improving typing speed, and taking instruction and direction. The course prepares students to render a common core of legal knowledge into practical law office practice.

Credit Hours: 3

After examining the litigation process and structure of the federal and state court systems, students are introduced to a wide variety of legal research techniques and sources. Students will learn how to perform legal research using books within the law library and will learn computer-assisted legal research. Students will learn how to use and write proper legal citations, as students begin a process of analytical legal writing. Students will analyze legal-related articles, prepare case briefs, and multiple case analyses. Professional responsibilities will be stressed throughout the course. Restricted to PARL majors and minors or special approval needed from the program.

Credit Hours: 3

Students will continue to develop their analytical skills and will learn how to conduct effective legal writing using policy arguments; identifying fallacious arguments; and systematically using IRAC, CRAC, IREAC, and CREAC. Students will use computer-assisted legal research techniques to find and validate cases, statutory annotation, and secondary sources. Students will prepare legal correspondence, case briefs, motions, memoranda of law, and trial briefs. Proper legal citation and professional responsibilities will be stressed throughout the course. Prerequisite: a grade of C or better in PARL 300A. Restricted to PARL majors and minors or special approval needed from the program.

Credit Hours: 3

In-depth, introductory and advanced readings in areas not covered in other Paralegal Studies courses. The student must submit a statement describing the topic and relevant reading materials to the faculty member sponsoring the student's readings. Students may re-enroll for a maximum of six credits (maximum 3 semester hours per term). Prerequisite: consent of instructor.

Credit Hours: 1-3

Students will examine the roles of lawyers and paralegals in handling civil cases, and the means by which the objectives of litigation may be achieved. Strategies and mechanics of civil procedure will be explored in depth, and students will be required to prepare a complaint, discovery requests, and initial appellate documents. PARL 310 requires a grade of C or higher to satisfy program major requirements.

Credit Hours: 3

(Same as CCJ 310) An examination of the general principles that apply to all criminal offenses and the specific elements of particular crimes that prosecutors must prove beyond a reasonable doubt. Topics include actus reus, mens rea, concurrence, causation, and harmful result; the defenses of justification and excuse; the doctrines of complicity and inchoate (unfinished) crimes; and the elements of major crimes against persons, property, habitation, public order and morals, and the state.

Credit Hours: 3

Students will study the more common forms of wills and trusts and the fundamental principles of law applicable to each. The course will analyze administration of estates under the Illinois Probate Act. Students will be required to prepare a will, trust, power of attorney, and an estate project.

Credit Hours: 3

This course will introduce students to basic principles of contract law, including required elements for a valid and enforceable contract. The various remedies for breach of contract will be analyzed and applied to contractual obligations. Students will develop skills required to interpret contractual language and draft contractual clauses. A variety of simple contracts will be drafted during the semester.

Credit Hours: 3

Includes a review of the lawyer's role in the formation of business entities, including sole proprietorships, partnerships, and corporations, with a survey of the fundamental principles of law applicable to each and the preparation of documents necessary to the organization and operation of each. The student will be prepared to draft articles of incorporation and other legal documents relevant to the role of a paralegal in a modern law office.

Credit Hours: 3

This course will introduce students to basic principles of Property Law and assist them in developing skills for drafting documents for the purchase, sale, and transfer of real estate; understanding a variety of types of estates in real property and rights associated with real property; and other real estate-related matters.

Credit Hours: 3

This course involves supervised on-the-job training and experience in public or private offices typically employing paralegals. Students must work 50 hours per credit hour. A typical internship placement requires 150 hours for 3 credit hours. Only 3 credit hours of internship credit may be applied toward major requirements. Prerequisite: PARL 300A and 300B with minimum grade of C. Restricted to PARL majors and minors or special approval from the department.

Credit Hours: 1-6

This course will introduce students to the basic principles of Labor and Employment Law and deals with the definition of employer and employees and the nature of the employment relationship, and the course deals with the laws relating to employment in the union setting and employment discrimination.

Credit Hours: 3

This course is a review of the law as it relates to the various aspects of domestic relations including marriage, divorce and separation, alimony, child custody and support, taxes, and illegitimacy and adoption. Students will be required to draft a petition for dissolution of marriage, marital settlement agreement, judgment for dissolution of marriage, and to prepare a child support calculation.

Credit Hours: 3

This course covers causes of action of criminal liability on the misdemeanor and felony level. Some constitutional law issues raised by a criminal practice will also be addressed. Students will study the procedures of the criminal system from arrest through post-trial motions, sentencing, and appeal. Students will be required to draft a criminal complaint and motions commonly used in the practice of criminal law. Students will also engage in an interviewing exercise.

Credit Hours: 3

This course will provide an introduction to the broad area of civil wrongs and their appropriate remedies. Traditional areas of tort law principles will be discussed including intentional torts, negligence, absolute liability, product liability, nuisance and commonly employed defenses. Mock interviews of a client and a witness will be conducted. Students will prepare a complaint, request for production of documents, and other commonly used documents in the law of personal injury litigation.

Credit Hours: 3

This course will provide an introduction to bankruptcy and the debtor-creditor relationship. The main purpose of this course is to give a basic understanding of the laws that apply to debtors and creditors, as a foundation to unraveling the intricacies of the bankruptcy process. Students will prepare a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy and Schedules, and a Chapter 13 Plan.

Credit Hours: 3

Meets a need for increased global awareness in education, business, and society. The study of International Law looks at systems of values common to diverse societies, with a focus on treaties and laws regulating the relationships and trade between the United States and foreign nations and agreements between countries and their effects on American society. Topics may include, but not be limited to, human rights, group rights, and treatment of aliens. Romano-Germanic civil law and Anglo-American common law will be presented, as will cross-border disputes. The course will also address laws and policies governing the European Union and its business practices. Students will be introduced to sources of international law and where to begin research, depending on what is at issue; litigation and arbitration for civil and criminal proceedings, including the extradition process; various parties who could become involved in an international dispute, including military, diplomats, and businesses; and develop practical skills for applying international law to businesses of varied sizes and diverse backgrounds.

Credit Hours: 3

This course will introduce the paralegal student to various law office technology, including case management programs, database development, and billing software. Restricted to PARL majors and minors or special approval from the department.

Credit Hours: 3

An in-depth study of topics selected from current issues in paralegal studies. Examples include LSAT preparation, immigration law, cannabis law, and advanced legal analysis. May be repeated for a maximum of six credits.

Credit Hours: 3

Familiarization and direct experience in applied settings. This course has both an internship component and a class component. The class component assists students with career planning, interview techniques, and job performance skills. The internship component provides supervised on-the-job training experience in public or private offices or in criminal justice agencies. Interns must complete 150 hours of field experience. An extra credit hour may be earned for each additional 50 hours. Only 4 credit hours of internship credit may be applied toward major requirements. Prerequisite: PARL 300A and PARL 300B with a minimum grade of C. Restricted to PARL majors and minors or special approval of the program. Maximum of 6 credit hours.

Credit Hours: 4-6

The purpose of this course is to study the fundamentals of cannabis law, focusing on Illinois law, and we will also cover the impact of federal law and developments in other states. We will cover hemp and marijuana and related commercial and criminal law. There may be speakers who are professional legal practitioners or engaged in commercial production or dispensing. Skills and knowledge will be developed through participation in class, exercises, and assignments. Professional and ethical responsibilities are stressed throughout the course.

Credit Hours: 3