David C. Jordan, Esq., Attorney at Law
Professor of Law/Director of Paralegal Studies
Telephone: (Campus) 818/364-7720
Voicemail/Pager: (818)546-7060
E-Mail: abogado@pacbell.net
Office Hours: Tuesday-Thursdays 5:15 - 6:45 PM or by appointment
Catalog: CSU 3 units. Law 10 is an introductory course which formalizes the career of the legal assistant. It is an introduction into the law, social forces and the law, a comparison of the role of the lawyer and the legal assistant, and an introduction to legal terminology, legal research and writing.
Law 10 introduces the student to the law, in general. It is the first, and introductory class to the world of law, and the paralegal program. The student will receive a general overview of law, the court system, and court procedures, cases, codes, litigation and the like.
The student will learn how to read and brief law cases,
the court rules, how to locate California and Federal Codes, how
to use the internet to do legal research, how to do a simple pleading,
how to locate and use law on the internet, how to use search engines,
and the student will learn how to use the paralegal webpage to
locate other areas of the law.
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1. The student will learn an overview
of law and the legal system, , including the
courts, the court system, how
to read, understand and brief court cases, how to read, and
understand California
and Federal Codes, and a general overview of substantive laws
which a paralegal must be familiar with to do their job properly.
2. The student will learn to "think critically"
in law, This will be accomplished through the multiple-choice
quizzes, postings to hypothetical legal questions in a threaded
discussion format ("hypernews")
and written assignments. The assignments
require the student to read and brief court cases, anaylyze code
sections, prepare a pleading, and other relevant legal tasks related
to the subject materials.
3. The student will learn how to do legal
research in general, how to phrase a legal question or issue,
and how to search for the correct "legal" answer.
4. The student will
improve their writing skills and learn basic skills in legal drafting
and writing.
5. The student will improve
their study skills and will improve
how they study law.
The class will be composed of quizzes, postings to an "electronic
bulletin board" - threaded discussions, and written projects.
Grades will be posted on the internet using microsoft excel. There
will be a column for each quiz, project, and posting. Grades will
be posted for each student under their last four numbers of their
social security number in order to preserve confidentiality.
The due date for each posting, project, and assignment, will be
stated, verbally in class, and by a schedule. The
The "letter grade" scale is as follows.
A = 90-100 percent of total points
B = 80-90
C = 65-79
D = 55-64
F = Below 54
Attendance: It is essential that you attend class. It is
not an optional requirement. You are allowed ONLY three (3) sick
days, or absent days, and no more. Part of your grade will consist
of your attendance record.
We will cover materials, in order, as set forth in the Classwork
section of our webpage. Each Chapter has "notes", "discussion",
and "quiz". The notes are lecture notes to assist the
student in understanding the materials, the "discussion",
are the "hypernews" threaded discussion. We will cover
these "posting or discussion questins" in class. The
student must post their answers to these questions. The quizzes
are given once we complete a given chapter. The date of the quiz
will be announced in class "verbally", and will be posted
to the "schedule", and also to the "update".
The quiz and posting are both due on the same date, and are late
thereafter.
A note on "late assignments". Many students have "legitimate"
reasons for turning in late work (quizzes, discussions, and written
assignments). It is within the discretion of the instructor (Prof.
J) to determine those instances. However, in a majority of cases,
students get comfortable in handing in late assignments. All late
assignments will be accepted, and graded, and one whole letter
grade will be deducted. Reason: it is unfair to both the instructor
and the remaining students who work hard in the class to reward
"late work".
This class frequently uses materials which are posted on
the world wide web. Students are encouraged to learn
computer skills, including word processing, and use of the
internet. No computer skills are required for this class. The
student will learn, and will be taught the necessary skills to
access materials for this class from the class webpage. The first
time student is encouraged to take
a tour of the web page, and then to test their knowledge of
our webpage by taking the
quiz on the tour of our webpage.
The primary web address for the paralegal program is http://www.vcsun.org/~djordan,
and classes for Fall 2001 may be found at http://lamission.org/law.
Our class is located at http://www.vcsun.org/~djordan/21f/law10/
, and the easiest way to get to our page is to go to lamission.org
and then click on the red logo of lamission.org, or to go directly
to lamission.org/law, then click on law 10 class.
All materials for this class may be printed from the web
site. If the student does not have access to a computer at home
or at work, the materials may be printed (at $.10 -ten cents per
copy) in the Learning Resource Center. The student should obtain
print cards for $1 or $5 purchased on the 2nd Floor of the Learning
Resource Center, or from the Business Office during regular business
hours.
All assignments, and postings may be submitted, in writing, by
the student, at the time and dates due. Students are not required
to purchase or own or use a computer for their assignments. The
use of the web site for the class is in conjunction with the lectures,
class attendance and participation, and is intended to supplement
the learning of the assignments, and to provide easier access
for students.
Students who experience any difficulties in grasping or learning
the materials should refer to the study
skills materials, and the Student's
Guide to Success.
It is the responsability of a student who wishes to "drop"
this class, to do so at admissions. However, before dropping the
class, the student is encouraged to discuss the problems being
encountered with Prof. Jordan to see the many ways these problems
can be resolved.
Students are encouraged to obtain an email account at the beginning
of the class. This will help the student in communicating with
the instructor and other students. An email account may be obtained
at Yahoo.com, or Hotmail.com.
The student should retain a copy of all emails sent to the instructor,
in case, in case the instructor losses the emailed work of the
student.
It is the responsability of a student who wishes to "drop"
this class, to do so at admissions.
However, before dropping the class, the student is encouraged
to discuss the problems he/she
might be having with this class with Prof. Jordan to discuss the
many ways these problems can be
resolved without having to "drop the class".
* This syllabus is subject to change. Please note revision
dates ("updated") above. Students are
responsible for the most recent updated version of this syllabus.
Prof. Jordan