0015 - Advanced Paralegal Certificate Course
Course Description
Online Format: Students may take topics individually. A certificate will be issued only if the student completes six of the fourteen advanced topics.
Bankruptcy Law Bankruptcy is an area of law that has provided significant employment for paralegals. This course examines the debtor-creditor relationship and the difference between voluntary and involuntary bankruptcy, both under Chapter 7 (liquidation) and 11 (reorganization). You will study the Bankruptcy Code in depth and learn how to prepare the most important bankruptcy forms.
Victim Advocacy This intensive online program is designed to train and qualify students to provide assistance to crime victims. The course provides an overview of criminal procedure and discusses the devastating effects crime can have on its victims. You will learn how paralegals as victim advocates can assist their office's clients who have been victimized by crime.
Advanced Legal Research Advanced and specialized approaches to utilize the legal resources available in a law library, and elsewhere, will be examined. The conceptual differences between computer-assisted legal research and hard copy research will be taught. You will also learn how to formulate WESTLAW search queries and effectively and efficiently use WESTLAWNext, WESTLAW classic and other online legal research methods as timesaving devices in legal research and legal writing.
Alternative Dispute Resolution Alternative Dispute Resolution refers to dispute resolution techniques that may better suit the needs of parties than traditional litigation does. This intensive course focuses on both traditional and non-traditional dispute resolution options. Participants will review the growth and application of settlement options in the United States. The course will discuss the mediation process, the role of the mediator, and problems encountered in mediation. Students will discuss the art of negotiation and examine how to select the most cost-effective and least intrusive ADR method to achieve the most positive result for both parties. Specific attention will be given to the traditional techniques of negotiation, mediation, and arbitration and more modern variations, such as summary jury trials and mini-trials.
Business Law and Practices This course examines the law and practice of business organizations and the paralegal's potential functions in this area of law. It begins with an examination of basic agency law, followed by a study of the fundamental structure and most important legal doctrines relating to general partnerships, limited partnerships, limited liability companies, small closely-held corporations, and large publicly-traded corporations.
Estate Planning: Probate, Wills & Trusts This course explores the paralegal's role in estate planning. The requirements of creating enforceable wills and trusts will be covered, and study of resulting and constructive trusts will be provided.
Criminal Law The course begins with an overview of the concept of punishment and goes on to study the burden of proof and criminal defenses; it also provides a critical look at the most common crimes. Students will learn common terminology in criminal law and how to consider a crime thoroughly in terms of its elements.
Family Law Family law pertains to the formation and dissolution of domestic relations, including the law of marriage, annulment, separation and dissolution, maintenance, and custody and support of children. This course will study the differences between community and separate property, the classification of property, and the impact of such classification. The role of the paralegal in family law practice and the importance of mediation of domestic issues will also be discussed.
Constitutional Law and Civil Liberties You will be introduced to the fundamentals of the federal constitution, including the institution of judicial review, the limitations on federal judicial power, the constitutional roles of the legislative and executive branches, due process of law, and individual rights under the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Possible future trends of the U.S. Supreme Court will also be explored. This course will focus on individual civil liberties and 42 U.S.C. section 1983 claims, emphasizing redress for violations of the Fourth, Fifth, and Eighth Amendment rights of the U.S. Constitution.
Water Law This intensive class is designed to give students, particularly from Colorado and neighboring states, an appreciation of the importance of allocation of water resources in the American West. Participants will learn of the common law and civil law approaches to the distribution of water in arid regions, the transportation of water from one basin to another, and a hierarchy of competing uses for the water. Water was first viewed as an instrumentality of transportation (and the main impetus behind junking the Articles of Confederation in favor of the Constitution), later as power for industry, irrigation for agriculture, and the water resource behind the growth of cities of the American west. Las Vegas and Phoenix, for example, would have been mere refueling stations on the transcontinental railroads were it not for massive water projects to make the desert bloom. Special emphasis will be given to Colorado's unique system of water courts and water judges.
Immigration Law This course explores all significant aspects of the immigration and naturalization process in the United States, including the Homeland Security Act of 2002 and the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996. Topics include worker and student visas, as well as Family Residence requirements, and the removal process. Finally, the course covers citizenship and the requirements for an immigrant to become a citizen. Paralegals who plan to work in this challenging and demanding area will find the information gained in this course especially helpful in a rapidly growing specialty in the law.
Education Law This course focuses on the laws that govern America’s public school system, as well as home schooling, including student rights regarding discipline, suspension, personal grooming, testing and grading, and drug testing. Topics such as segregation, integration, dress codes and drug testing are essential not only for paralegals seeking full or part-time law office employment, but also for teachers, school counselors and administrators working in the schools.
Criminal Procedure In Criminal Procedure, students are presented with a clear and concise overview of the Constitutional protections that are provided to the accused in the United States, including the law of search and seizure, Miranda rights, Fifth Amendment protection, and the right to an attorney. The knowledge gained in this course is essential to full or part-time law office employment, as well as employment with government agencies in the criminal justice system.
Intellectual Property This cutting edge course provides in depth instruction in one of the most dynamic and challenging areas of the law. Paralegals in this exciting area work on copyrights, patents, trademarks, unfair competition, protection of trade secrets, and much more. The knowledge gained in this course is not only applicable to full or part-time law office employment, but is also essential for authors and business owners who may be involved in entertainment and contract matters. This challenging specialty is in great demand.
Non-credit training programs are designed by a team of professionals from each respective field, providing you with effective face-to-face and web-based learning programs. Instructors/course mentors are actively involved in your learning experience, responding to any questions or concerns, as well as encouraging and motivating you to succeed. The training programs offered through Workforce Development are not part of academic degree programs.