Community College of Philadelphia
Paralegal Studies Program
Course Syllabus/Legal Technology (PLS 115)
Instructor: David Freeman
Office: W3-28
Office hours: Monday 12-5, Wednesday 11:00-12:00, Friday 12-1:00
Telephone: 215-751-8744
Classroom: C-3-14
Meeting Dates: Monday 5:45-9:45
Prerequisites: English 101 readiness, CIS 103
Course Objectives: The objectives of this course are as follows:
1) To provide students a foundation in the basic aspects of legal technology;
2) To provide students with the skills to employ basic law office technology; and
3) To provide students skills to employ legal technology for the purposes of case management, electronic discovery and trial preparation.
Textbook: Goldman, Legal Technology, Pearson/Prentice Hall, 139780-13-235288-8 (2008)
Attendance: More than one absences may result in your being dropped from the course or losing points toward the final grade.
Lateness: You must be on time. Failure to be here for the call of the roll will constitute an absence.
Disability Policy: If you require assistance with any condition or disability you should consult the College catalog for direction. The Center on Disability is located at M1-22B and may be reached by telephone at 215-751-8307. I urge you to consult with that office immediately. Unless you are working with the Center, we may not be able to provide the assistance you need.
Counseling Department: The Counseling Department is located in office W2-2. It is a great resource for students that may be struggling with problems of a personal nature. The staff is highly trained and very helpful and is available on a walk-in basis.
Plagiarism: Plagiarism is a serious offense which has been made easier by the World Wide Web. Very simply, it is a form of theft; that is, stealing someone's work and passing it off as your own. This theft does not require you to physically steal someone's paper, but most commonly, the offense is done using the World Wide Web. While searching, students find an article that covers their topic and then copy it and use it as their own.
If you are discovered having plagiarized, you will: (1) fail the assignment; and (2) fail the course; and (3) I will turn the matter over to the Dean of Student Affairs for disciplinary action. The College and our program take this offense very seriously and so should you.
Evaluation:
Grade scale:
90-100=A
80-90= B
70-80=C
60-70=D
Below 59= F
Grading:
Tests 20
Presentations 20
Assignments 45
Participation 15
Assignments:
Assignments will generally entail the production of a work-product typically used in a law office environment. These generally will be based upon a scenario requiring students to analyze a problem and to then use a form of legal software to address the problem.
Sample Assignment:
You have been hired by the United States Senate to create a report on the Mr. Bruce Ivins, known as the anthrax mailer.
You are to research the case against Mr. Ivins and we will use NoteMap, CaseMap, TimeMap and Power Point to explore the uses of these software products.
First, using NoteMap, create an outline of the major facts and issues of the case.
Second, after we have reviewed your outline, you should create a CaseMap analysis of the case, including facts and issues. Use the Import feature of CaseMap to incorporate your NoteMap issues.
Third, after we have reviewed your CaseMap analysis, we will now use TimeMap to create a timeline of the important events of the Ivins case.
Fourth, we will use PowerPoint to create a short presentation addressing the issues of the Ivins case and present those four issues to the class.
Community College of Philadelphia
Paralegal Studies Program
Course Syllabus/Legal Technology (PLS 115)
Instructor: David Freeman
Office: W3-28
Office hours: Monday 12-5, Wednesday 11:00-12:00, Friday 12-1:00
Telephone: 215-751-8744
Classroom: C-3-14
Meeting Dates: Monday 5:45-9:45
Prerequisites: English 101 readiness, CIS 103
Course Objectives: The objectives of this course are as follows:
1) To provide students a foundation in the basic aspects of legal technology;
2) To provide students with the skills to employ basic law office technology; and
3) To provide students skills to employ legal technology for the purposes of case management, electronic discovery and trial preparation.
Textbook: Goldman, Legal Technology, Pearson/Prentice Hall, 139780-13-235288-8 (2008)
Attendance: More than one absences may result in your being dropped from the course or losing points toward the final grade.
Lateness: You must be on time. Failure to be here for the call of the roll will constitute an absence.
Disability Policy: If you require assistance with any condition or disability you should consult the College catalog for direction. The Center on Disability is located at M1-22B and may be reached by telephone at 215-751-8307. I urge you to consult with that office immediately. Unless you are working with the Center, we may not be able to provide the assistance you need.
Counseling Department: The Counseling Department is located in office W2-2. It is a great resource for students that may be struggling with problems of a personal nature. The staff is highly trained and very helpful and is available on a walk-in basis.
Plagiarism: Plagiarism is a serious offense which has been made easier by the World Wide Web. Very simply, it is a form of theft; that is, stealing someone's work and passing it off as your own. This theft does not require you to physically steal someone's paper, but most commonly, the offense is done using the World Wide Web. While searching, students find an article that covers their topic and then copy it and use it as their own.
If you are discovered having plagiarized, you will: (1) fail the assignment; and (2) fail the course; and (3) I will turn the matter over to the Dean of Student Affairs for disciplinary action. The College and our program take this offense very seriously and so should you.
Evaluation:
Grade scale:
90-100=A
80-90= B
70-80=C
60-70=D
Below 59= F
Grading:
Tests 20
Presentations 20
Assignments 45
Participation 15
Assignments:
Assignments will generally entail the production of a work-product typically used in a law office environment. These generally will be based upon a scenario requiring students to analyze a problem and to then use a form of legal software to address the problem.
Sample Assignment:
You have been hired by the United States Senate to create a report on the Mr. Bruce Ivins, known as the anthrax mailer.
You are to research the case against Mr. Ivins and we will use NoteMap, CaseMap, TimeMap and Power Point to explore the uses of these software products.
First, using NoteMap, create an outline of the major facts and issues of the case.
Second, after we have reviewed your outline, you should create a CaseMap analysis of the case, including facts and issues. Use the Import feature of CaseMap to incorporate your NoteMap issues.
Third, after we have reviewed your CaseMap analysis, we will now use TimeMap to create a timeline of the important events of the Ivins case.
Fourth, we will use PowerPoint to create a short presentation addressing the issues of the Ivins case and present those four issues to the class.