Legal Secretary

Course Outline

• Lesson One: Introduction to the American Legal System & Ethics
• Lesson Two: Reception Duties, Correspondence, File Management & Filing Systems
• Lesson Three: Calendar & Docketing, Fees, Billing & Accounting Practices
• Lesson Four: Word Processing & Legal Document Preparation
• Lesson Five: E-discovery, Computers in a Law Office
• Lesson Six: Legal Secretary Practicum

For lessons 1 through 5 you will submit a 50-point short answer/essay exam covering the topics in that lesson’s reading. These quizzes are due before Midnight each Sunday.

For lessons 1, 2, 4 & 5, you will prepare various legal documents. Documents are worth 20-50 points. Deadlines for document assignments are listed in the course.
The final lesson will test you on all material covered in the previous lessons and provide you with the opportunity to demonstrate real-world skills by completing several common legal secretary tasks as if you were in the law office. The practicum is comprised of a variety of tasks including correspondence, file management, billing and document preparation.

You will also post your responses to five class participation assignments. These assignments are referred to as Bulletin Board Submissions and will be submitted by either selecting Bulletin Board Submission from within the lesson material, or by selecting ‘Forums’ under Activities in the course.

All lesson objectives, assignments, and quizzes can be found in the Lesson Materials.

Additional resources are available by accessing the URL Library tool.

Your grade will be based on your completion of five quizzes, four writing assignments, practicum and class participation/Bulletin Board Submissions. The tests and writing assignment can be accessed from within the lesson material, or by selecting ‘Assignments’ under Activities. You will have the opportunity to engage in “class participation” by using the Bulletin Board tool to respond to the bulletin board assignments throughout the course. Also, participating in the bulletin board assignments will enhance your understanding of the reading material.

Your final grade will be figured as follows:

• The quizzes comprise 40% of your grade.
• The four writing assignments comprises 30% of your grade.
• The legal secretary practicum comprises 20% of your grade.
• Your participation in class participation assignments comprises 10% of your grade.

Beginning and experienced law office secretaries looking to increase their marketability and earning potential by improving their skills and learning to work more efficiently within a law office.