WHAT STUDENTS LEARN
UC Berkeley Extension Paralegal Studies Program
This skill based program
is designed to provide graduates with not just academic classroom experience,
but more importantly the skills law firms, corporations, and government agencies
look for in top end paralegals! Following is just a sample of the skills developed
in the UC Berkeley Extension Paralegal Studies Program!
- Thorough training in
legal terminology
- California Procedures
- California court
structure
- How to access court rules
of California
- Substantive areas of law
- Federal Court Structure
- Legal Ethics
- The importance of client
confidentiality
- The role of a paralegal
in the legal system
- The limits of a paralegal
- How to keep track of
billable hours
- How to maintain a client
file
- How to analyze cases
- How to analyze enacted
law
- How to create a legal
memorandum
- Blue Book citation form
- How to interview clients
- How to interview witnesses
- Preparation of interview
questions
- Law office investigation
- Skip tracing
- Witness statements
- Determining kinds of
evidence, such as direct and circumstantial
- Understanding and applying
the hearsay rule
- Privileges
- How to draft pleadings
- How to draft discovery
documents
- Preparation of the summons
- How to digest a deposition
- Utilization of form books
and templates
- Identifying authority
- Pinpoint citations
- Star pagination
- How to research law library
materials, including
- Am.Jur.2d
- C.J.S.
- A.L.R.
- Am. Ju r. Proof of
Facts
- Benders Discovery
Forms
- Additional form books
- West Digests
- Reports and Reporters
- State and Federal
Statutes
- Treatises
- and more
- How to prepare a Trial
Brief and Table of Authorities
- Online legal research, including LexisNexis access
- Motion preparation
- The concept of advocacy
in the legal system, and the paralegal's role
www.unex.berkeley.edu/cert/paralegal.html