Paralegal 115
Litigation Basics

Course Introduction

Litigation is the core of the legal system in the United States. This course demystifies the law and the legal process for people unfamiliar with the intricacies of the legal system. In this course, you will learn the rules and procedures that govern the litigation process and develop the skills related to each stage of the litigation process.

The process of investigating a potential lawsuit, filing suit, defending against a suit, gathering information about the facts in the lawsuit, and preparing the case for settlement, trial, and appeal is much of what occupies the paralegal day to day. This course reviews each step of this process in detail. Additionally, you will learn the rules of procedure for the courtroom, as well as the practical skills that paralegals use in their daily work.

This course engages in an in-depth analysis of the various aspects of the legal system involved in litigation. Initially, we will review some aspects of the legal system learned in a more cursory fashion in PARA 105, Fundamentals of Legal Practice, deepening the knowledge that you have already started to develop. Then, we will focus on the entire cycle of litigation, from case evaluation to conclusion. This course will place particular emphasis on learning the rules of civil procedure in litigation and applying these rules in the day-to-day practice. Because we are a national program, much of what we learn will be about the federal rules of procedure. However, the federal rules are similar to the procedural rules in most states (often the state rules are modeled upon the federal rules). Therefore, a review of the federal rules combined with the students' individual assignments, exploring the rules of procedure for their state, will provide a comprehensive knowledge base for the soon-to-be paralegal..

Course Objectives

• Locate the specific court rules at issue when initiating a lawsuit, defending against a lawsuit, conducting discovery in litigation, conducting a trial, and enforcing judgments.
• Describe the rules of discovery.
• Describe, define, and explain how to implement the tools of discovery, including depositions, interrogatories, and physical and mental examinations.
• Explain various aspects of the paralegal's role in litigation, including interviewing clients or witnesses, drafting litigation documents, summarizing depositions, and organizing discovery results.
• Compare and contrast the different roles of attorneys and paralegals in the legal profession generally and in litigation particularly.
• Explain the ethical implications for the paralegal and attorney in litigation, particularly in discovery and discovery abuse.
• Define the types of litigation that occur in the federal and state legal systems in the United States and describe the process generally from informal fact gathering through appeal.
• Label the different levels of the federal and state court systems and describe the functions of each level.

Course Requirements

Prerequisites

To enroll in this course, you must complete the following:

• PARA 105: Fundamentals of Legal Practice
• PARA 110: Legal Research and Writing

Technology Requirements and Skills

In addition to the technology requirements and skills noted in the Online Student Handbook for this course, you will need to use a word processing program.

You will also use the CD-ROM that comes with the textbook. Instructions for using the CD-ROM are printed on the disc label. For technical support with the CD, call 1-800-486-9296 or send e-mail to aspentechsupport@libera.com.

The documents on the CD-ROM comprise a workbook designed to give you an opportunity to work thoroughly with the rules and concepts explored in the textbook. This workbook also contains additional questions and assignments. It is designed so that you can develop a database of forms that you can copy and put in a hard copy binder or electronic folder that becomes your litigation guide. This guide will eventually hold all your drafting exercises, charts, and check lists that you develop for the course. At the end of the course, your litigation guide will be a form and reference book for your use in practice.

If you need technical help with other aspects of the course, please see the "help information" section at the top of your online course syllabus.

Textbooks

Marlene A. Maerowitz and Thomas A. Mauet, Fundamentals of Litigation for Paralegals, 6th ed. (New York: Aspen, 2008).
ISBN-13: 978-0-7355-6807-5

The Online Environment

Your online course offers several advantages to the traditional classroom, including the comprehensive Online Student Handbook, the ability to communicate electronically with students and with your instructor, and links to a rich array of library resources.

Online Student Handbook

This handbook answers questions about your online learning course, such as how to purchase your text, schedule an exam, obtain a transcript, and get technical help if you need it. The handbook also provides additional resources, such as how to order books or journals from the library and how to study for an online course.

Communication with Your Instructor and Student Peers

• Online Discussion Forums, designed by the University of Washington award winning Catalyst team, allow you to communicate with other currently enrolled students and with your instructor. That stated, we encourage you to use the forum to exchange ideas, resources, and comments about your course work with other students in this course. This unstructured forum is monitored by your instructor.
• You can use e-mail to ask questions or preferably post your questions on the forum.

Library Resources

As an online student, you have access to a wealth of Web resources compiled to provide fast, easy access to information that supports your online learning experience. Organized by subjects, Library Resources link you to sites with help for writing and research, study skills, language learning, and library reference materials. All links have been assessed for credibility and reliability, and they are regularly monitored to ensure their usability.

About the Course

The course consists of ten lessons with practice exercises, ten graded assignments, and two exams: a midterm and a final. The course also includes two types of online asynchronous discussion forums: a General Discussion Forum for ongoing conversations and class news, and four specific Discussion Topic Forums. See also, below, "About the Discussion Topic Forums."

Note: If you have questions that you don't want to discuss with the entire class, you may contact your instructor directly. Please see the "About Your Instructor" page on your online course syllabus.

About the Lessons

An overview of the ten lessons and related topics.

Lesson One, Part A: Introduction to Litigation

The litigation process, the paralegal's role, and ethical considerations.

Lesson One, Part B: The Fact Investigation

Structuring fact investigations, client interviews, exhibit acquisitions, and witness interviews.

Lesson Two, Part A: Case Evaluation and Strategy

Establishing the attorney-client relationship, declining representation, and planning the litigation.

Lesson Two, Part B: Parties and Jurisdiction

Parties to the action, joinder of parties and claims, subject matter jurisdiction, personal jurisdiction, federal versus state jurisdiction, and venue.

Lesson Three: The Complaints and The Answers

General pleading requirements, complaints, and answers.

Lesson Four: Other Pleading Responses

Overview of other motions, including motions to strike, motions for a more definite statement, counterclaims, and cross-claims.

Lesson Five, Part A: Motions

General requirements for all motions, judgment on the pleadings, summary judgment, dismissals, and defaults.

Lesson Five, Part B: Provisional Remedies

Temporary restraining orders and preliminary injunctions, writs of attachment, writs of possession, and lis pendens.

Lesson Six, Part A: Discovery Overview

Discovery overview, scope of discovery, and interrogatories.

Lesson Six, Part B: Specific Discovery Tools

Requests to produce and depositions.

Lesson Seven: Other Discovery Tools and Discovery Motions

Physical and mental exams, requests for admission, and discovery motions.

Lesson Eight: Settlement

Preparing settlements.

Lesson Nine: Trial Preparation, Trial, and Appeal

The paralegal's role at trial, trial materials, and the appellate process.

Lesson Ten: Enforcing Judgments and Alternative Dispute Resolution

Demand letters, writs of execution, mediation, and arbitration.

About the Assignments

Following each lesson, you are asked to complete a written assignment. The written assignments reinforce the substantive information contained within each lesson. You are asked to apply that knowledge to a practical problem. You will turn in a written response of one to several paragraphs or, in some instances, a litigation document that you draft.

You should plan to spend a minimum of one to a maximum of three hours on each assignment.

Because each lesson and assignment relies upon information gained in the previous lessons and assignments, you must complete and submit all parts of each assignment before moving on to the next lesson.

• You will submit your work using the Submissions link at the bottom of your online course syllabus.
• See also the "Evaluation and Grading " section below for grading details.

About the Discussion Topic Forums

The four specific Discussion Topic Forums pose questions designed to trigger thought about litigation in its broader social context. Your instructor has posted the subject matter for each topic within the General Discussion Forum. Ten percent of your grade is based upon your participation. In order to receive participation points, students must post substantive comments prior to the first day of the final exam. Forum topics are listed below:

1. Are we a litigious society?
2. What is discovery abuse and what can be done about it?
3. Is tort liability reform needed?
4. What are the standards of ethics and professionalism for the paralegal?

About the Quizzes

One midterm quiz and one cumulative final quiz will be given. Each quiz will consist of a series of questions worth a total of 100 points, or 30% of your course grade. You will take these online quizzes on the date and at the time specified in the Course Schedule.

• The midterm will occur after Lesson Five; the final after Lesson Ten. For tips on taking these quizzes, see assignments 5 and 10, respectively.
• You will have one hour to complete each exam.
• You will be allowed to consult any materials you wish in completing the exams; however, time will not permit you to look up every answer.

Evaluation and Grading

The ten written assignments are worth 10 points each, or 3% of your course grade. Each assignment contains specific details regarding what is necessary to receive credit.

Participation in the forums counts as 10% of your course grade. Acceptable participation will consist of posting at least three original, thoughtful postings to three of the four specific discussion forums, and responding to at least one other student's posting on any of these forums.

Exams—the midterm and cumulative final are each worth 100 points, or 30% of your course grade.

Course Grade

Note: In order to pass the course, you must complete and pass each assignment or exam (i.e., earn at least 80% of the number of points possible).

Tasks	Points	Percentage of Grade (to the nearest whole percent)
Assignments	10 assignments worth 10 points each, for a total of 100 points	30%
Discussion forum participation	3 original postings worth 10 points each, 1 response worth 3 points each, for a total of 30 points	10%
Midterm	39 questions worth between 1 and 5 points each, for a total of 100 points	30%
Final	10 questions worth between 6 and 14 points each, for a total of 100 points	30%
TOTAL POINTS	333	100%

For due dates, see the Course Schedule on your online course syllabus.

Study Tips

Begin each lesson by reading the assigned pages in the textbook. Then review the online commentary for the lesson and view any additional material that is suggested in the commentary. After that, complete the practice exercises and the written assignment related to the lesson.

You should be able to read about 10 pages per hour, and the lessons are an average of 40 pages from the textbook. Thus, you should spend, per lesson

• on average, about four hours reading from the textbook;
• one to two hours reviewing the online commentary for the lesson;
• about two or three hours working on and completing the assignments;
• another hour reviewing material and staying organized; and
• another hour participating in the online discussion forums,

for a total of at least nine hours per lesson. Plan then to spend about nine hours per week, divided into any workable units: an hour a day during the week, and two hours a day on each day of the weekend, or all of it divided up over a two-day "weekend" whenever that may occur.

Each chapter in the textbook ends with Review Questions. After reading the textbook and the online commentaries you should be able to easily answer these questions. If you are not, glance back through the textbook and the commentaries. If you still have trouble, feel free to e-mail a question to your instructor (see the "About Your Instructor" page on your online course syllabus).

Review the Key Terms at the end of each chapter. If you have trouble with any of them, remember that these words are explained in the chapter, often in little boxes in the margins of the chapter, often in boldface text in the chapter, and in the glossary at the end of the textbook. After you spend some time reviewing the Key Terms, if you still have trouble remembering some terms, make a flash card for yourself and review these cards over the next week. Learning a new subject is often largely a matter of learning the vocabulary related to that subject, so the more time you spend learning the language associated with the law and litigation, the easier your progress will be.

Finally, each lesson in the course has an accompanying assignment. This assignment is designed to reinforce at least one major aspect of the lesson. Be sure to work diligently on these assignments, submit them to your instructor by the date and time mentioned in the Course Schedule, and revise them if requested.

About the Developer

Marc Lampson began his legal career by attending courses in the paralegal program at Edmonds Community College in 1980 and started working as a paralegal shortly thereafter. In 1981 he began law school and in 1985 was admitted to the Washington State Bar Association as an attorney. He has worked as a paralegal, law clerk, and lawyer in civil and criminal matters, in state and federal courts, and on the administrative, trial, and appellate levels. He currently practices law as a litigation attorney for the Unemployment Law Project in Seattle.

He has also been a professor of legal writing and research at Seattle University School of Law and an instructor in three local paralegal programs. Additionally, he has a master's degree in library and information science with a specialization in law librarianship and is a candidate for a doctorate in information science.

In 1993 he wrote a local legal history entitled From Profanity Hill. Through his writing and practicing and teaching law for nearly a quarter century, he has developed a great respect for the law, the legal profession, and its practitioners. Developing an online course for the University of Washington's online Paralegal Studies Certificate Program combines his interests in the law, in legal information and information retrieval, and in demystifying the law for people who have an interest in the legal system.

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