The Syllabus for Civil Litigation

CIVIL LITIGATION I- PLS 121 syllabus

Instructor:  David Freeman, Esquire 

Email address:dfreeman@ccp.edu

Office W3-28, Office phone, 215-751-8744

Office hours: Will be announced in class

Text: Basic Civil Litigation, Herbert Feuerhake, 3d Edition, Aspen Publishers and

Pennsylvania Rules of Court (Paperback version available in the CCP bookstore)

Credit value: 3.0 Credit hours total

This is a required course in the Paralegal Studies Program

Subject Matter of this course:

This course is an introductory course in civil litigation for the paralegal and will focus on the civil litigation process and the paralegal’s role in that process. We will utilize the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure, the Pennsylvania Rules of Evidence and the Federal Rules correlating to both of these subjects. In addition, we will be referring to the Pennsylvania Rules of Professional Responsibility.

Course objectives: Upon completion of this course, the student will be:

• able to work cases within both the federal and state judicial system and how to obtain legal jurisdiction in both of these settings
• able to draft basic pleadings, from the summons and complaint to motions to dismiss, and finally, to trial.
• able to manage appropriate service of legal documents.
• able to work with the terms of civil litigation as used in  both in state and federal courts
• capable of managing civil litigation as a paralegal.
  
• prepared for ethical quandaries that may arise in the process of working as a paralegal in the field of litigation.

The course will follow a fact situation from interview of the client to trial, by showing the student how to best elicit facts from the client, witnesses and other sources, such as medical records and governmental entities. Since paralegals are frequently involved with the legal discovery of information, we will study this topic in-depth and draft samples of discovery for our class fact situation.

Finally, we will examine the processes and sequencing of trial litigation and the paralegal’s role in that setting.Time permitting, we will explore the nonjudicial alternatives to litigation such as arbitration and alternative dispute resolution

Instructional methods: Lecture, group projects both in and outside the classroom, legal drafting assignments

Grading: A midterm and a final exam will be given along with ongoing homework assignments. In-class quizzes will be provided as well.

Your overall grade will be computed as follows:

              Class participation           15 points                      

              Quizzes                            30 points

              Group Presentations        10 points

              Assignments                     30 points

              Final Examination             20 point

In addition, each class a student will be assigned to bring in a case on a topic we have discussed to present to the class orally. Failure to present a case as assigned on the date assigned will result in a student getting a 0 for class participation for the entire semester,

Instructor reserves the right to have additional unplanned quizzes 

No make up tests will be given nor late homework assignments given out for missed classes

Weekly requirements

The student is required to  do all readings of  chapters assigned in advance of the class discussion and lecture and to be prepared to share his/her thinking in class.

Attendance: Students are expected to attend all classes except in the case of an unforeseeable emergency. In accordance with school policy, students will be dropped after two weeks of absences.  In cases where classes only meet once a week, this means two absences. An absence is defined as missing fifteen minutes or more of a class (lateness, leaving early and leaving during class all count toward calculating an absence). Students are expected to wait for fifteen minutes in the unlikely event of the instructor’s lateness.

Note: if your excessive absences occur after the deadline to withdraw, your final grade will be lowered by one full letter grade. 

Plagiarism: Plagiarism is a very serious offense and will be treated seriously. We expect all Paralegal students to read and sign the Integrity Statement which defines plagiarism more thoroughly and provides examples. It is a form of theft, taking someone else’s work and passing it off as your own, whether intentional or unintentional. 

Plagiarism is any act of using others work and passing it off as your own, whatever the source; another student, a book, or the Internet to give just three examples here.

Any student in this class who plagiarizes another’s work will get an F for that assignment for the first offense and have their final grade go down an entire grade for each subsequent offense. In addition, I have the option of turning the matter (even the first offense) over to the Dean of Student Affairs for further disciplinary action.

Reminder: The student is required to read all chapters assigned in advance of the class discussion. Homework will be announced at the end of each class