Legal Studies Courses

Offered in Live, Online and Correspondence Formats

• Paralegal Certificate Course• Advanced Paralegal Certificate

Course• Legal Nurse Consultant Training

Course• Legal Secretary Certificate Course• Legal Investigation Certificate

Course

INTRODUCTION

Tammy Anhalt-WarnerAssistant Director of Training

Center for Continuing Studies St. Cloud State University

St. Cloud State University Distinctions

2nd largest university in Minnesota

Offers more than 200 academic programs Over 17,000 students Nearly 60,000 additional people served

through the Center for Continuing Studies

Center for Continuing Studies

We bring students to the university by taking the university to students.

Corporate Education & Outreach provides professional development training to upgrade skills to stay competitive in today's aggressive job market.

Examples: Certificate Programs, Workshops and Seminars, Test Preps, Senior to Sophomore Program (youth), Online Learning, Summer Programs, Conference Planning, etc.

PARTNERSHIP WITH CLS

St. Cloud State University has partnered with The Center for Legal Studies (CLS) to deliver these nationally acclaimed Certificate Programs.

CLS brings decades of experience in the delivery of online coursework with a focus on curriculum for the legal profession.

MESSAGE FROM CLS Since 1980, CLS has educated

thousands of students through colleges and universities around the country who wish to pursue work as legal support professionals.

Programs are designed to meet the highest state requirement for working paralegals in the country, currently California (California Business and Professions Code § 6450).

JOB PROSPECTS

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, job projections for the paralegal profession continue to show faster-than-average employment growth.

Per the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of paralegals is expected to grow 28% between 2008 and 2018.  

Findings show that the demand for paralegals is increasing as employers, in an effort to reduce costs, hire paralegals to perform tasks that have traditionally been carried out by attorneys.

COURSE OFFERINGSParalegal & Advanced Paralegal

Certificates Students are trained to perform legal

research and are taught the writing skills necessary to become a successful paralegal.

After completing both certificates, students who hold a Bachelors degree in any subject may choose to take the voluntary NALA CLA exam to receive the title of Certified Legal Assistant – Paralegal from the National Association of Legal Assistants.

MEETS NALA EXAM ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTSThe St. Cloud State University paralegal programs meet the requirements for taking the voluntary Certified Paralegal exam (in 2 ways):

A post-baccalaureate certificate program in paralegal studies

A bachelors degree in any field plus one year of experience as a paralegal – Successful completion of at least 225 clock hours of substantive paralegal courses are considered equivalent to one year of experience as a paralegal. This program is 360 clock hours which exceeds the requirement.

PARALEGAL CERTIFICATE Complete 90 clock hours - gain an

overview of the legal system, legal research, legal writing, civil procedure, ethics, criminal law, criminal procedure, criminal evidence, torts and contracts

Grades are based on:• completion of weekly tests• participation in classroom or online forum discussion• writing assignments

LEARNING OUTCOMES Locate commonly used legal reference

materials

Explain how the sources of law research materials are used, their hierarchy, and the difference between primary, secondary, and finding tool resources

Identify and frame a simple legal issue; identify the facts that relate to it

Conduct legal research using a computer-assisted legal research tool, such as WESTLAW

LEARNING OUTCOMES Articulate the parts of a well-written

legal opinion and formal legal memorandum and the purpose each serves

Prepare a formal legal memorandum dealing with a simple legal issue

Use citations in written legal material

Articulate the significant differences between an objective memorandum and persuasive writing

Brief a case

ADVANCED PARALEGALCERTIFICATE

Complete 270 clock hours - choose six (6) required topics to build upon the Paralegal Certificate that is a prerequisite for the course

Specialized online classes extensively build upon students’ knowledge of law and paralegal studies, with content that focuses on specialized facets of contemporary law

Each course topic is offered in a 7-week online session, and students may take up to 3 topics per 7-week session (14 weeks total)

ADVANCED PARALEGAL:ADVANCED TOPICS

• Bankruptcy Law •Advanced Legal Research •Victim Advocacy •Mediation / ADR •Criminal Law •Business Law and Practices •Family Law •Immigration Law •Water Law •Education Law •Criminal Procedure •Intellectual Property •Real Property Law •Estate Planning: Probate, Wills, and Trusts

•Constitutional Law and Civil Liberties

COURSE OFFERINGSLegal Nurse Consultant Training

Certificates Builds on your medical education and

clinical experience Provides the fundamental skills

necessary to advise law firms, heath care providers, insurance companies and government agencies regarding complex legal/medical issues.

Training to become an expert witness providing testimony in a court of law.

COURSE OFFERINGSLegal Secretary Certificate

Course Designed for beginning and experienced secretaries who are interested in improving their skills and working more efficiently within a law office.

Topics: legal terminology; legal process; jurisdiction and venue; ethics; written communications including letters, pleadings, discovery, notices and motions; filing procedures, billing and accounting; time management; record management; an overview of commonly used word and data processing programs; legal research; memoranda preparation; and citation format.

COURSE OFFERINGS

Designed for those interested in pursuing a new career and those presently working in the legal field.

Will be qualified to assist attorneys, paralegals, insurance companies, private businesses, and state & federal government agencies in the process of civil and criminal investigation.

Students will be taught how to create a freelance investigation business.

Subject areas: arson investigation, products liability investigation, personal injury and traffic accident forensics, employment accidents, investigation of financial and equity matters, professional malpractice and negligence, skip-tracing, and the role of a legal investigator in preparing for civil and criminal litigation.

Legal Investigation Certificate Course

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

• Adult Learners - as affordable and convenient credentialing options that meet their academic and job-seeking goals in a short span of time

• Current College Students - students who need to fit this additional credentialing coursework into their regular credit-bearing course schedule during any academic semester

• College Graduates - students who seek work in the legal profession even while pursuing graduate or law school

HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE? Live sessions are typically 6 weeks

long.

Online sessions are 7 weeks each Paralegal and Advanced Paralegal

Courses: 2 sessions each (14 weeks to complete each course)

LNC, LS, LI courses: 1 session each

Online participants should expect to spend at least 8-15 hours/week

Reading Preparing and Writing Assignments Preparing For and Taking Tests

PROGRAMREQUIREMENTS

Students consent to a Course Use and Plagiarism Policy whereby they agree that they will submit only their own work and that they will cite additional sources used.

Students must have access to the Internet for live lecture and online formats.

The Paralegal Certificate is the prerequisite for the Advanced Paralegal Certificate.

RN certification is required for the Legal Nurse Consulting certificate course.

CLS INSTRUCTORS

Per contract with St. Cloud State University, The Center for Legal Studies hires instructors who are highly qualified attorneys and paralegals with years of relevant experience in the legal field.

Online Students have access via email to their CLS instructor throughout the online course.

Online Log-In / Support

Students receive a personal course username and password via email from CLS at the start of each session

CLS posts six (6) online sessions throughout the year. Students may log into the CLS Web site to begin their courses at the start of any session and course content is available 24 hours a day for the duration of the course.

In addition to students having access via email to their CLS instructor throughout the online course, CLS provides ongoing administrative and technical support for students.

Granting of Certificate

Upon CLS notification of successful course completion, St. Cloud State University awards the Certificate directly to the student.

2012 COSTS Paralegal Certificate

•$1189 tuition•Approximately $360 for required books•$89 for online WESTLAW legal research access

 Advanced Paralegal Certificate•$1650 tuition ($275 per topic for six topics)•Required books (minimal)•$89 for online WESTLAW legal research access

*Books/WESTLAW Access: Students order books and gain WESTLAW access by phone or online. Students may order books/WESTLAW access via their own resources or from the CLS Web site.

Legal Nurse Consultant Course•$849 tuition•Approximately $175 for required books

Legal Secretary Certificate Course•$575 tuition •$50-$75 for required books (depending on format)

Legal Investigation Course•$575 tuition•$20-$60 for required books (depending on format)

2012 COSTS

2012 – 2013 SCHEDULE Live Lecture: (Paralegal only)

October 13 – November 18, 2012

Six Online Sessions per Year:• October 15 – November 30 (next start date)• January 14 – March 1, 2013• March 11-April 26, 2013• May 6- June 21, 2013• July 1 – August 16, 2013• August 26 – October 11, 2013

HOW TO REGISTER

WWW.SCSUTRAINING.COM/legal(320) 308-4723

WWW.LEGALSTUDIES.COM(800) 522-7737

CONTACTSTammy Anhalt-Warner

Corporate Education & Outreach

St. Cloud State University320-308-4252www.scsutraining.com/legal

Center for Legal Studies800.522.7737info@legalstudies.com

Q & A

Thank you!