Course Description - Paralegal Internships

Note: The information below is taken from the course textbook "Paralegal Internship Manual" by Charles P. Nemeth 2nd Edition, Pearson Publications, ISBN 0-929563-32-8 http://www.pearsonpub-legal.com/ (see syllabus)

Probably the most relevant paralegal experience is the "internship". It may be the first venture of the student into the working world of the paralegal. The internship will provide the legal environment where the paralegal can best use their legal education, learn new skills, and obtain live, "hands on experience" in the legal field.

The internship starts the process of translating the legal theories learned in the classroom into the practical legal work in the real world of work. Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote in 1881 that "the law is not simply logic, but experience ". The American Bar Association promotes clinical experiences and states " the institution shall maintain a program for the education of legal assistants that is designed to qualify its graduates to be employed in law-related occupations, including public and private law practice and/or corporate or government related activities... The primary concern of a legal assistant program is to develop occupational competence"

The National Association of Legal Assistants ( NALA) also advocates internships by stating " Graduation from a course of study for legal assistants... plus not less than six months of in-house training as a legal assistant."

The American Association for Paralegal Education (Aafpe) (Mission College Paralegal Program is an institutional member of Aafpe) recommends in "How to Select a Paralegal Program", under "Content and Nature of Curriculum" - "Programs should offer an experiential learning component such as an internship, practicum or clinical experience."

What is an Internship:.

Internships are also known as practicum, field work, or apprenticeship, and sometimes an externship. It is a "full or part time work experience in which the student is assigned definite tasks and responsibilities" (page 4 of our textbook). The student earns college credit and is required to complete various assignments" under the supervision of a faculty member and a practicing attorney in the legal field.

The format of the course is to read various chapters in the assigned textbook,  meet with the faculty advisor and the practicing attorney to discuss the nature, scope, and content of the paralegal work assignments, prepare various legal documents, post the students work in the "cyber docs" section of this course, and periodically review with the faculty member and practicing attorney the work product of the paralegal.

This 18 -week course may be delivered in the customary "on campus" manner, and may be supplemented with "online" materials, and communications through the "cyber docs" portion of the curriculum. It is designed to give the student familiarity with work in the legal field.

The paralegal student will learn to "think critically" in law, and to carry out "practical work tasks" in a particular legal field of interest under legal supervisor and mentoring. The student will learn how to draft various legal documents relevant to his/her practicum. The student will also learn, and improve their skills in legal research and legal writing. Finally the student intern will improve their study skills, and skills in how to study law.

This course is offered with supplemental legal materials online in order to meet the student's needs for flexibility in time and space. The Paralegal Student should consult with our Counseling Department to discuss any school or career goals. The student may also wish to email a counselor at our college. 0-92963-38-7.

Types of Classroom or Online activities:

Lectures will be posted under "lectures" on our homepage for this class. The lecture will be both a summary of the reading assignment and a filling-in of the gaps in that assignment. One purpose of the lecture is to answer the question, "What do you really need to know?". It will help the student focus on the major concepts in the textbook.

Reading Assignments are listed under "assignments".

Textbook: Our textbook for this class is Paralegal Internship Manual by Charles P. Nemeth, J.D., L.L.M. 2nd Edition, Pearson Publications Company, Dallas, Texas, ISBN 0-929563-32-8. Available at the Campus Bookstore or directly from Pearson Publications(972) 661-8800 · Fax (972) 661-8701 e-mail address: pearsonpub@aol.com

Threaded discussions (or Bulletin Board): student participation in asynchronous
online discussions (read the information and theory behind "threaded discussions") will form a part of the grade (see grading below). Discussion questions based on text and Website readings will be posted weekly in the Bulletin Board page. Discussions will take place using the Bulletin Board.

Online Quizzes: The quizzes  will consist of one or more short-answer essay questions. Since these quizzes are online with no time limit other than a deadline for submission, they are equivalent to a take-home test. Thus, the questions will probe a deeper understanding of the concepts, which requires critical thinking and an intellectual tying-together of the reading material and the Web sites. The answers will be submitted to the instructor via email.

Legal Documents: These will consist of a various legal documents assigned both by faculty member and practicing attorney.

Course Evaluation & Grades:

The final grade will be determined by:

Quiz average: 20 %

Discussion participation: 20 %

Written Assignments/Documents: 60%

Optional Computer Resources: (students without computers may use the computers available in the Learning Resource Center of Mission College)

System requirements: IBM or compatible (486/33 CPU minimum) with Windows or Mac or compatible with 6.05 operating system or higher, 8 megs of RAM, 20 megs free hard disc space, modem with a 9600 baud rate minimum.

updated: 7/25/00