Legal Document Preparation

This course is a part of:

Certificate in Paralegal Studies

Associate of Paralegal Studies

Bachelor of Science in Legal Studies

Bachelor of Business Administration

Bachelor of Science in Psychology

Required Prerequisite *:

Any 3 of the following:

PLG-108 Legal Research, Writing & Civil Litigation

PLG-101 Torts & Personal Injury

PLG-102 Contracts

PLG-106 Wills, Trusts & Estates

PLG-105 Business Law & Bankruptcy

PLG-107 Domestic Relations

PLG-104 Real Property

* Unless this requirement is waived by the dean, only students who have successfully taken 3 or more of the above courses may take this course.

This course is a practical course that deals with the preparation of a host of legal documents. We will look at many of the most important drafting tasks assigned to paralegals across a broad spectrum of practice areas. Students will learn by training and by completing hands-on tasks, by drafting key documents relating to the fields or torts, contracts, Wills, Trusts, Domestic Relations, Litigation, Real Property, and more. A variety of ancillary forms will also be reviewed so that the student will be familiar with the key forms that must be completed in whatever field he or she eventually practices in.

Course Learning Outcomes

• Draft a basic sales or services contract from a template, adjusted to the facts and goals of a client.

• Draft and review real property contracts, spotting key provisions and being able to analyze the provisions vis a vis the goals of a client.

• Prepare many different types of real property deeds with a variety of provisions.

• Prepare Articles of Incorporation for a for-profit or non-for profit corporation and be able to file such document with the appropriate state agency.

• Review corporate by-laws and analyze their key provisions.

• Draft a general or limited partnership agreement or LLC operating agreement from a template, adjusting the template to the needs of a client.

• Draft a valid and binding Will, with key features, such as personal representative designations, establishment of testamentary trusts, no contest clauses and self-proving affidavits.

• Draft certain types of testamentary trusts from templates.

• Prepare a Chapter 7, 11 or 13 bankruptcy petition based on information provided by a client.

• Prepare civil complaints and answer.

• Prepare motions involved in a civil trial.

• Prepare a variety of discovery requests, including requests for depositions, interrogatories, requests for documents, etc.

• Draft prenuptial agreements from templates.

• Organize an appellate brief, including the preparation of a table of authorities and a general organization of the structure of an appellate brief.