LGLA 1219 Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility (2)
This is a WECM Course Number. The ethical and legal responsibilities and duties that a member of the legal profession owes to the public, the court, clients, and other professional colleagues. Includes a review of the canons, codes, and rules of professional responsibility. (2 Lec.)
LGLA 1301 Legal Research and Writing (3)
This is a WECM Course Number. Prerequisite: LGLA 1311 or LGLA 1313 or Corequisite/Concurrent: LGLA 1311 or LGLA 1313. This course provides a working knowledge of the fundamentals of effective legal research and writing. Topics include law library techniques and operations, computer assisted legal research, writing briefs and legal memoranda, proper citation form for legal resources, ethical obligations of the paralegal in legal research, and legal research terminology. (3 Lec.)
LGLA 1311 Introduction to Law (3)
This is a WECM Course Number. This course provides an overview of the law and the legal system. Topics include elementary legal concepts of various areas of the law, procedures, terminology, ethical obligations of the paralegal, current issues in law, and the function, jurisdiction, practices, and principles of trial and appellate courts at state and federal levels. (3 Lec.)
LGLA 1313 Introduction to Paralegal Studies (3)
This is a WECM Course Number. This course provides an overview of the paralegal profession including ethical obligations, regulation, professional trends and issues, and the paralegal's role in assisting the delivery of legal services. Professional organizations, job search strategies, legal vocabulary, legal analysis, writing skills, and critical thinking are introduced. (3 Lec.)
LGLA 1343 Bankruptcy (3)
This is a WECM Course Number. Prerequisite: LGLA 1313, LGLA 1311, ENGL 1301. This course presents fundamental concepts of bankruptcy law and procedure with emphasis on the paralegal's role. Topics include individual and business liquidation and reorganization. (3 Lec.)
LGLA 1345 Civil Litigation (3)
This is a WECM Course Number. Prerequisite: LGLA 1313, LGLA 1311, ENGL 1301. This course presents fundamental common law and statutory concepts, rules, and procedures of civil litigation with emphasis on the paralegal's role. Topics include pretrial, trial, and post-trial phases of civil litigation, the role of alternative dispute resolution processes in civil litigation proceedings, practical techniques required to cope with protracted or complex litigation, ethical considerations, drafting problems a paralegal may encounter in this area, and computer applications utilized in civil litigation activities. (3 Lec.)
LGLA 1351 Contracts (3)
This is a WECM Course Number. Prerequisite: LGLA 1313, LGLA 1311, ENGL 1301. This course presents fundamental common law and statutory concepts of contract law with emphasis on the paralegal's role. Topics include formation, performance, and enforcement of contracts under the common law and the Uniform Commercial Code, ethical considerations of the paralegal working in this area, emerging computer applications, contract law terminology, and special problems encountered when drafting various instruments and documents related to the law of contracts. (3 Lec.)
LGLA 1353 Wills, Trusts, and Probate Administration (3)
This is a WECM Course Number. Prerequisite: LGLA 1313, LGLA 1311, ENGL 1301. This course presents fundamental common law and statutory concepts of the law of will, trusts, and probate administration with emphasis on the paralegal's role. Topics include common law and statutory components of wills, trusts, and other instruments relating to estate planning, estate tax considerations, alternatives to traditional estate planning mechanisms, common law and statutory requirements regarding testate and intestate distribution of property, ethical obligations and professional responsibilities of the paralegal working in this area, drafting guidelines and concerns, probate court structure and procedures, emerging computer applications, and legal terminology related to wills, trusts, and probate administration. (3 Lec.)
LGLA 1355 Family Law (3)
This is a WECM Course Number. Prerequisite: LGLA 1313, LGLA 1311, ENGL 1301. This course presents fundamental common law and statutory concepts of family law with emphasis on the paralegal's role. Topics include formal and informal marriages, separation, divorce, annulment, marital property, the parent-child relationship, child custody and support, adoption, guardianship, domestic relations court procedures, public records research, and the paralegal's role in alternative dispute resolution/mediation processes. Ethical obligations, family law terminology, and emerging computer applications in domestic relations practice are also presented. (3 Lec.)
LGLA 1359 Immigration Law (3)
This is a WECM Course Number. This course presents fundamental concepts of immigration law with emphasis on the paralegal's role. Topics include substantive and procedural law related to visa applications, deportation, naturalization, and citizenship. (3 Lec.)
LGLA 1380 Cooperative Education-Legal Assistant/Paralegal (3)
This is a WECM Course Number. Prerequisite: LGLA 1313, LGLA 1311, ENGL 1301. Career-related activities encountered in the student's area of specialization offered through an individualized agreement among the college, employer, and student. Under the supervision of the college and the employer, the student combines classroom learning with work experience. Includes a lecture component. (1 Lec., 15 Ext.)
LGLA 2303 Torts and Personal Injury Law (3)
This is a WECM Course Number. Prerequisite: LGLA 1313, LGLA 1311, ENGL 1301. This course presents fundamental common law and statutory concepts of tort law with emphasis on the paralegal's role. Topics include intentional torts, negligence, product liability, strict liability, special tort actions, immunities and commonly employed defenses, techniques of investigating claims, a paralegal's ethical obligations in this field, tort law terminology, and computer applications in tort law. (3 Lec.)
LGLA 2307 Law Office Management (3)
This is a WECM Course Number. Prerequisite: LGLA 1313, LGLA 1311, ENGL 1301. This course present the fundamentals of law office management and organization including basic principles and structure of management, administrative and substantive systems in large and small law offices and law practice technology. Topics include accounting systems, budgets, cash flow planning, marketing, time and billing systems, current developments in computer applications, benefits, effective utilization of attorney and staff resources, ethical obligations of the paralegal handling law office management responsibilities, and career opportunities for paralegals in this field. (3 Lec.)
LGLA 2309 Real Property (3)
This is a WECM Course Number. Prerequisite: LGLA 1313, LGLA 1311, ENGL 1301. This course presents fundamental common law and statutory concepts of real property law with emphasis on the paralegal's role. Topics include the nature of real property, rights and duties of ownership, land use and limitations, voluntary and involuntary conveyances (deeds, contracts, liens, mortgages, deeds of trust, leases, etc.), property descriptions, the recording and searching for real estate documents, landlord and tenant issues, problems involved in drafting real estate documents, ethical considerations for a paralegal working in the real estate area, real property terminology, and emerging computer resources and applications in real estate practice. (3 Lec.)
LGLA 2311 Business Organizations (3)
This is a WECM Course Number. Prerequisite: LGLA 1313, LGLA 1311, ENGL 1301. This course presents basic common law and statutory concepts of business organizations with emphasis on the paralegal's role. Topics include the law of agency, sole proprietorships, forms of partnerships, forms of corporations, and emerging business entities such as limited liability companies and partnerships. Additional topics include ethical considerations, legal terminology related to business organizations, and computer applications being utilized in this area. Practical organizational and writing skills are emphasized through assigned drafting and formation projects. (3 Lec.)
LGLA 2313 Criminal Law and Procedure (3)
This is a WECM Course Number. Prerequisite: LGLA 1313, LGLA 1311, ENGL 1301. This course introduces the criminal justice system including procedures from arrest to final disposition, principles of federal and state law and the preparation of pleadings and motions. The paralegal's role in assisting the attorney practicing criminal law is emphasized. Topics include review of the criminal court system, stages in a criminal prosecution, constitutional rights and limitations of the accused, investigation procedures, the juvenile justice system, dealing with clients, drafting specialized documents, ethical obligations of the paralegal working in this area, criminal law terminology, and the impact of computer applications on criminal courts and criminal law attorneys. (3 Lec.)
LGLA 2315 Oil and Gas Law (3) New course added March 5, 2010 This is a WECM Course Number. Prerequisite: LGLA 1313, LGLA 1311 and ENGL 1301. This course presents the fundamental concepts of oil and gas law, including relationships between landowners and oil and gas operators, government regulation, and documents used in the industry with an emphasis on the paralegal's role. (3 Lec.)
LGLA 2331 Advanced Legal Research and
Writing (3)
This is a WECM Course Number. Prerequisite: LGLA 1313, LGLA 1311, LGLA 1301, at least 7 other LGLA courses, and ENGL 1301. This capstone course must be taken during the final semester you are enrolled in the program. This course builds upon skills acquired in prior legal research and writing courses including computerized research techniques and preparation of complex legal documents such as briefs, legal office memoranda, and citation forms. This course requires the student to synthesize the specialized information and resources learned in all previously completed paralegal courses and apply this knowledge to a capstone activity. (3 Lec.)
LGLA 2335 Advanced Civil Litigation (3)
This is a WECM Course Number. Prerequisite: LGLA 1313, LGLA 1311, LGLA 1345, ENGL 1301. This course provides opportunities to implement advanced civil litigation techniques and builds upon skills acquired in prior civil litigation courses with emphasis on the paralegal's role. Common law and statutory civil litigation concepts, ethical obligations of the paralegal assisting in civil litigation work, alternative dispute resolution processes, are reviewed. (3 Lec.)
LGLA 2380 Cooperative Education-Legal Assistant/Paralegal (3)
This is a WECM Course Number. Prerequisite: LGLA 1313, LGLA 1311, LGLA 1380 or LGLA 1266, ENGL 1301. Career-related activities encountered in the student's area of specialization offered through an individualized agreement among the college, employer, and student. Under the supervision of the college and the employer, the student combines classroom learning with work experience. Includes a lecture component. (1 Lec.,15 Ext.)
Academic Courses
Designated by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board for transfer among community colleges and state public four year colleges and universities as freshman and sophomore general education courses.
WECM Courses
Designated by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board as workforce education (technical) courses offered for credit and CEUs (Continuing Education Units). While these courses are designed to transfer among state community colleges, they are not designed to automatically transfer to public four year colleges and universities.
