The course is designed to follow the procedures of a civil lawsuit from the first client contact through discovery, settlement negotiations or trial, and appeal. You will learn the roles and responsibilities of the paralegal in preparing court documents, investigation, client and witness contact, discovery and trial assistantship.

1. Initial client overview
   1. Introduction to Civil litigation
   2. Sources of American laws
   3. Stages of civil disputes
      1. Initial client interview
      2. Investigations
      3. Pretrial litigation
      4. Settlement
      5. Trial/Appeal
2. In the investigation stage, the paralegal needs to examine and inquire into the claim
   1. Acceptance of case
   2. Fee agreement
   3. Demand letter
3. In pretrial litigation, the initial preparation of pleadings to initiate a lawsuit
4. The settlement means an agreement has been reached before the trial
5. The order of the trial/appeal
   1. Jury selection
   2. Opening statement
   3. Case in chief
   4. Evidence
   5. Examination of witnesses
   6. Establishing evidence
   7. Closing
   8. Jury instructions

Prerequisites:

There are no prerequisites to take this course.

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course can be taken on either a PC or Mac.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Mac: macOS 10.6 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.