INSTRUCTORS MANUAL

to Accompany
INTRODUCTION TO
PARALEGALISM
Perspectives, Problems, and Skills
SIXTH EDITION
William P. Statsky
A u s t r a l i a C a n a d a M e x i c o S i n g a p o r e S p a i n U n i t e d K i n g d o m U n i t e d S t a t e s
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WEST LEGAL STUDIES
Instructors Manual to accompany Introduction to Paralegalism,
Perspectives, Problems, and Skills, 6E
by William Statsky
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Contents
iii
CLASS IDEAS
Chapter One: Introduction to a New Career in Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Chapter Two: Paralegal Employment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Chapter Three: On the Job Realities: Assertiveness Training for Paralegals. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Chapter Four: The Regulation of Paralegals. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Chapter Five: Attorney Ethics and Paralegal Ethics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Chapter Six: Introduction to the Legal System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Chapter Seven: Introduction to Legal Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Chapter Eight: Legal Interviewing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Chapter Nine: Investigation in a Law Office . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Chapter Ten: Litigation Assistantship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Chapter Eleven: Legal Research. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Chapter Twelve: Legal Writing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Chapter Thirteen: Introduction to the Use of Computers in a Law Office . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
Chapter Fourteen: Introduction to Law Office Administration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Chapter Fifteen: Informal and Formal Administrative Advocacy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
CHAPTER COMPETENCIES
How to Study Law in the Classroom and on the Job . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Chapter One: Introduction to a New Career in Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Chapter Two: Paralegal Employment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Chapter Three: On the Job Realities: Assertiveness Training for Paralegals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Chapter Four: The Regulation of Paralegals. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Chapter Five: Attorney Ethics and Paralegal Ethics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Chapter Six: Introduction to the Legal System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Chapter Seven: Introduction to Legal Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Chapter Eight: Legal Interviewing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Preface v
iv CONTENTS
Chapter Nine: Investigation in a Law Office . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Chapter Ten: Litigation Assistantship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Chapter Eleven: Legal Research. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Chapter Twelve: Legal Writing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Chapter Thirteen: Introduction to the Use of Computers in a Law Office . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
Chapter Fourteen: Introduction to Law Office Administration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
Chapter Fifteen: Informal and Formal Administrative Advocacy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Test Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Transparency Masters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
v
Preface
INTRODUCTION: CURRICULUM PLANNING
In 1974, the first edition of Introduction to Paralegalism was published. Over the years, the var-
ious editions of the book have been used in several ways:
As the text for a course that introduces the students to law, paralegal roles, ethics, and
paralegal skills
As the text for a separate course in legal ethics
As the text for a separate course in litigation
As the text for a separate course in legal research and writing
The following comments are relevant to planning for any of these options.
COURSE PLANNING: COMPETENCY-BASED LEGAL EDUCATION
Course planning should begin at the end. When your students have completed this course:
(a) What specific information do you want them to knowabout the paralegal career and about
the legal system?
and,
(b) What specific skills do you want them to have at an introductory level?
The answers to these two questions constitute the course competencies. A competency-based
curriculum is simply one that identifies and targets knowledge and skill competencies at the
outset of the course.
Admittedly, the distinction between a knowledge and a skill competency is somewhat arti-
ficial. To demonstrate what you know is as much a skill as to draft a complaint. The knowl-
edge competencies call for the skills of understanding and of organizing material in such a
way that it can be communicated effectively to others. Yet for planning purposes, it is useful
to separate knowledge from skill, not because they are independent entities, but because the
separation can help us as teachers to conceptualize a course into building blocks.
Toward the end of this instructors manual is a list of knowledge and skill competencies
that cover each chapter. They are also in the online student Study Guide and Workbook for
Introduction to Paralegalism.
KNOWLEDGE COMPETENCIES
The answer to the first questionWhat specific information do you want the students to
know about the paralegal career and about the legal system?gives you the knowledge or in-
formational competencies of the course, which falls into two categories:
that which the students must understand and give back to you in examinations, e.g., the
basic ethical rules governing paralegals
vi INTRODUCTION TO PARALEGALISM: PERSPECTIVES, PROBLEMS, AND SKILLS
and
that to which you simply want to expose the students without requiring that they
memorize it or be tested on it, e.g., the names of local paralegal organizations.
Teachers sometimes blur this distinction or dont make the distinction until they sit down to
write the examination. It is recommended that the distinction be made at the beginning of
the course.
Introduction to Paralegalism contains a great deal of information. No doubt you will want
to supplement this information from your own experience and research. How much of this
information do you want the students to know by the end of the course? What information
do you simply want to expose them to? Consider preparing a detailed syllabus in which you
identify what information the students will be expected to know after studying each chapter
or segment of the course.
Following are some examples of information that can be the basis of knowledge compe-
tencies in the course:
any of the key terms that follow every chapter in the book
the vocabulary of litigation and of our legal system (see chapter 10 in this instructors
manual)
the vocabulary of legal research (see exhibits 11.1 and 11.2 in chapter 11)
Methods for covering this material in class will be suggested later.
It is recommended that you encourage the students to compile terminology/vocabulary
lists on the material they must know. The first step in mastering the knowledge competen-
cies is to collect definitions through designated readings in the assigned text. The sooner they
start, the better. (See the section on definitions in How to Study Law. . . printed at the be-
ginning of the text book.)
SKILL COMPETENCIES
The answer to the second questionWhat specific skills do you want the students to have at
an introductory level?leads you to the skill competencies of the course. By answering this
question, you have identified the specific tasks you want the students to be able to perform
according to predetermined standards. The book covers a number of these tasks at an intro-
ductory level, e.g., legal analysis, interviewing, investigation, digesting, and legal research.
Many more skills are covered in the book than you will be able to teach in an introduc-
tory course; there are a number of different ways in which you can cover them:
1. You talk about the skills in class and the students read some materials on them.
2. You do everything mentioned in 1 plus you engage the students in exercises on the skills,
e.g., writing exercises, group problem solving in class, or role playing.
3. You do everything mentioned in 1 and 2 plus you require as a condition of passing the
course that the students demonstrate proficiency in the skills according to standards of
performance that you identify. The students should be given a limited number of times
to redo the task involved until high professional standards are met.
Under the first approach, you can cover many skills in the course. You can cover fewer un-
der the second approach and fewer still under the third.
Following are some of the skills that could be covered in the course:
drafting a complaint (chapter 10)
drafting a set of interrogatories (chapter 10)
digesting discovery documents (chapter 10)
taking a witness statement (chapter 9)
preparing an intake memo following a client interview (chapter 8)
researching a problem in the library (chapter 11)
preparing an annotated bibliography (chapter 11)
writing a memorandum containing legal analysis (chapters 7 and 12)
Later in this instructors manual, other skill tasks will be mentioned along with suggestions
on how to cover them in class.
Tell the students that they are about to enter a career that requires high standards of per-
formance. A minimally acceptable document is not good enough: skilled attorneys constantly
redo or redraft work products until they are done properly. This needs to be said to the stu-
dents over and over. Yet I doubt that they will internalize this reality unless and until you force
them through a comparable process. It is important that you ask them to do things overto
redo themuntil standards are met. This could be done for one or two of the skill tasks men-
tioned above for the course. It will be time-consuming on your part, but there is considerable
educational value in making the students feel what high standards mean through such a
process. To be sure, you cannot ask for a rewriting of everything. You need to select certain
work products and stand by your announcement that a C paper (and maybe even a B- pa-
per) is not good enough.
GENERAL COMMENTS ON TEACHING IN A PARALEGAL CURRICULUM
In this section of the Instructors Manual, we present some general observations on the art of
teaching an introduction course, or indeed, any course. Compare these notes with your own
instincts and experiences.
In almost every course, a vast amount of material is presented to the student. As teach-
ers we constantly wonder: How much do they actually absorb or use? The teaching/learning
experience can involve different levels of the senses: reading, listening, discussing, etc. Here is
one suggestion on the impact of this variety:
How We Learn
Students learn, retain, and use:
10 percent of what they READ
20 percent of what they HEAR
30 percent of what they SEE
50 percent of what they both SEE and HEAR
70 percent of what they DISCUSS with others
95 percent of what they are given the opportunity to TEACH someone else
See Take Charge of Your Training Room (from Marie Wallace), Ellen Callinan, editor, 3 Perspec-
tives 8, 9 (Number 1, Fall, 1994).
Do you think these percentages are accurate? Of course, it is difficult, and perhaps im-
possible, to know for sure. Mathematical formulas are always easy to attack. But there certainly
is a ring of truth to this hierarchy. It gives us something to think about as we plan our courses.
THE CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD PARALEGAL TEACHER
Good paralegal teachers are logical, organized, alert, concrete, practical, fair, sensitive, secure,
and effective.
A logical teacher
knows that an understanding of a particular topic usually presupposes an understand-
ing of several subtopics
will not try to cover a topic until its subtopics have been covered
PREFACE vii
An organized teacher
starts on time and ends on time
fills each class session
has a plan for the orderly presentation of topics during the class
gives the students an overview of the topics that will be covered
when presenting a list, numbers the items in the list (there are four main kinds of. . .)
and refers to the numbers during the lecture (First. . ., second. . ., third. . ., etc.)
at regular intervals, summarizes material covered
An alert teacher
makes eye contact with the students; does not lecture to the back wall
does not assume that the students fully understand something simply because it was cov-
ered earlier in this course and/or in other courses
will try to reinforce topics covered earlier before introducing new related topics
never assumes that the students understand something simply because they are silent when
he or she asks, Do you have any questions? following a lecture or a reading assignment
A concrete teacher
avoids the law school professors habit of asking questions that are never answered in the
course
gives definitions of all major black-letter principles mentioned in a lectureeven if the
definitions are spelled out in the textbook
gives examples of these definitions and knows the power of well-placed war stories
repeats the definitions
A practical teacher
stresses the real world rather than the world of theory
lets the students know what they can expect when employed as a paralegal
A fair teacher
covers, in class, every topic or theme that the exam will cover
explains how the students should do the assignments and provides examples of what is
wanted in the assignments
understands that the students are not attorneys and will need considerable help in com-
pleting the assignments
does not leave the students to wonder what his or her standards of evaluation will be (ex-
planations through examples are given on when an assignment answer or an exam an-
swer will earn an A grade, a B grade, etc.)
does not let particular students dominate the class discussion
A sensitive teacher
avoids the use of he, him, man, etc. in examples that are meant to refer to both sexes
avoids examples that tend to reinforce stereotypes of any group in society
never makes fun of a student, even if the student invites ridicule
A secure teacher
is not afraid to ask the students what the weak spots are in his or her teaching and to take
steps to overcome these weaknesses
is always looking for ways to improve as a teacher
An effective teacher
communicates a sense of enthusiasm about the subject matter of the course
communicates a sense of enthusiasm about being with these particular students
is obviously prepared for each class session
viii INTRODUCTION TO PARALEGALISM: PERSPECTIVES, PROBLEMS, AND SKILLS
What Irritates Students About Teachers
monotone delivery
too many digressions
speaking too fast
rambling
disorganization
condescending attitude toward students (treating them like children)
thinking his or her point of view is always correct
keeping class beyond end of session
arriving late for class
forgetting that students are also taking other classes
What Irritates Teachers About Students
talking during class
sleeping during class
chewing gum, eating, drinking noisily
being late
cutting class
acting bored or apathetic
not paying attention
being unprepared
creating disturbances
Sometimes the behavior of students and of faculty become circular, with each con-
tributing to the undesirable response of the other. Example: students yawn, gaze around the
room, and otherwise look bored. The instructor reads this behavior as students not caring
and concludes: If theyre not interested, why should I try to be interesting? Ill just do it and
get it over with. So, theres nothing but lecture, endless instructor talk, and more students
get bored and yawn and gaze around. See Drew Appleby, Faculty and Student Perceptions of
Irritating Behaviors in the College Classroom, The Journal of Staff, Program & Organization De-
velopment, 4146 (Spring 1990); 4 The Teaching Professor 1 (October 1990).
THE MOST COMMON ERRORS TEACHERS MAKE IN HOW THEY ASK
QUESTIONS IN CLASS:
asking too many questions at once
asking questions of the students, but answering the questions themselves
asking questions only of the brightest or most likeable students
asking difficult questions too early in the class session and/or in the course
asking irrelevant questions without letting the students know that the questions are not
important
always asking the same types of questions
asking questions in a threatening way
not indicating a change in the type of question
not using probing questions
not giving students time to think
PREFACE ix
not correcting wrong answers given by students
ignoring answers
failing to build on answers
See Effective Teaching in Higher Education, G. Brown & M. Atkins, 73 (Methuen, 1988); 4 The
Teaching Professor 6 (October 1990).
HOW TO STUDY LAW IN THE CLASSROOM AND ON THE JOB
Students want to know the law! They insist on it. Ironically, however, the most valuable thing
you can teach them about the law is how to study it. The techniques of learning are obviously
critical in school. They are equally if not more valuable on the job. Frequently, a central con-
cern of a paralegal faced with a new task on the job is as follows:
How do I handle this? I never covered this in school. Ive never had an assignment
like this before. What do I do?
This paralegal obviously needs on-the-job learning skills. Arguably, the most effective parale-
gals in the country are those who are not intimidated by what they do not know because they
know how to go out and obtain what they need to know. In short, the most effective parale-
gals are the ones with the most effective learning skills. This is the theme of the How to
Study Law material printed in the textbook just before chapter 1 begins.
If learning skills are so important, why are they rarely if ever taught? (Have you ever heard
of a course on studying?) The topic is considered too abstract. Teachers prefer to go right to
the meaty aspects of a course such as how to incorporate a business, how to draft an order to
show cause, how to file a challenge to a will, etc. Study tips are occasionally provided in an
orientation or in the first class of a course. But there is usually no systematic guidance on
studying. Teachers usually act on the assumption that students already know how to study.
It is admittedly difficult to teach someone to study, or more to the point, to teach some-
one to increase the effectiveness of his or her study techniques. There is not a lot that can be
said about the topic in a lecture.
You should point out that successful attorneys and paralegals consciously or unconsciously
are perpetual students.
You should point out that no attorney or paralegal has ever been graduated from school
knowing all the law.
You should reinforce the guidelines in How to Study Law plus those guidelines that you
add to this section.
In addition, one of the most helpful contributions you can make is to provide individual
counseling sessions in which the students personal strengths and weaknesses in studying are
explored. This may or may not be practical depending on the number of students you have
and the time that you have available. You may be able to limit yourself to those students
whom you predict, or know, will have difficulties coping with the pressures of studying in
school or on the job. Every student should be told to carefully read and re-read How to Study
Law at the beginning of Introduction to Paralegalism. Outside of class, try to concentrate your
attention on selected students who may have developed weak study habits.
A starting point in meeting with a student is to ask him or her to come to an individual
meeting with you after having completed a written self-assessment of study habits as called
for in guideline 8 in How to Study Law. You need to find out what is standing in the way of
progress so that you can help the student map out a realistic plan for change.
Where does the person study? Does he or she keep a weekly schedule? A daily schedule?
Does he or she stick to it? Help the student identify (a) his or her interferences with studying
and (b) practical ways to remove the interferences. Then set up another meeting with the stu-
dent in four or five weeks (or less) to assess progress on the concrete suggestions made at the
first meeting.
x INTRODUCTION TO PARALEGALISM: PERSPECTIVES, PROBLEMS, AND SKILLS
Although these counseling sessions will perhaps be the most valuable contribution that
the teacher can make in this area, there are a few things that might be tried in class in addition
to providing an overview reinforcement of the guidelines given in the how to study section:
1. Ask the class to identify what it thinks are, or will probably be, the most difficult aspects
of studying law. Ask for individual volunteers to make suggestions. Then have a general
discussion on the suggestions. Who agrees or disagrees with a point made? How does the
class think a particular problem of studying can be handled? What ideas does the class
have to overcome the interference with studying that a student has identified? A class
discussion can be very helpful in emphasizing and adding to the guidelines outlined in
How to Study Law.
2. Because note-taking is so critical to the practice and study of law, you might try an
experiment. Have everyone watch a 30-minute news program and take detailed notes.
Everyone should watch the same program, but nobody should tape it (except perhaps the
teacher). In the next scheduled class following the news program, go over some of the fine
details mentioned in the broadcast, e.g. names, dates, or what someone was wearing
during an interview. Have a mock contest. Allow every student to ask the rest of the class
a factual question based on the program. See how many of the other class members can
answer the question solely from their notes on the program. A good question is an
extremely narrow one, e.g. how many people were in the room when the mayor was
interviewed for 20 seconds on the proposed highway construction?
Whatever techniques are used, the goal is to raise the consciousness of the students about the
process of studying. Bring the topic out of the background. Involve the students in an analysis
of the process of studying.
A lot can be accomplished simply by making the students aware of the need for im-
provement. Its not enough simply to say be motivated, or youre going to have to be re-
sponsible. These admonitions are, of course, true, but some concrete guidance in the critical
but elusive arena of studying should also be provided.
Finally, a word about writingnot memo or brief writing, not contract drafting, but the
much more mundane and perhaps unpleasant topics of spelling, punctuation, sentence
structure, and paragraph structure. The legal profession is finally realizing that serious defi-
ciencies exist in this realm of writing for many law students and hence for many practicing
attorneys. Some large law firms, for example, have hired part-time English teachers. A recent
popular column in the magazine, The Practical Lawyer, is called The Grammatical Lawyer.
Many bar association journals in the country run the Miss Grammar column that covers
such issues as the distinction between that and which in clauses. The comma has come
out of the closet!
A comparable level of concern has arguably not occurred in paralegalism. Most teachers
of paralegal courses understandably take the position that it is someone elses responsibility
to worry about spelling and grammar. Perhaps so, but unfortunately
the students spend hundreds of hours in classes where the topic is never mentioned
they write scores of papers (exam answers or class assignments) in which the topic is
given minimal or no mention
Consequently, they are left with the impression that they do not have spelling and gram-
mar problems. Some dont. Many students, however, face disaster when they start writing
cover letters and rsums and when they start submitting written work products on the
job. The proverbial ton of bricks awaits the student who does not realize, for example, that
the following words are incorrectly spelled: accommodate, foreseeable, goverment, and
wilfull.
What should a conscientious teacher do? You cant abandon your syllabus; you cant turn
your course into a grammar class. But you can at least do the following:
stress the importance of spelling and grammar
regularly point out lapses in papers that are submitted in your course
PREFACE xi
ask other teachers in the program to do the same
insist, whenever possible, on rewriting that corrects the lapses
emphasize the guidelines on spelling and grammar in the How to Study Law section of
Introduction to Paralegalism.
A final note: The online Study Guide and Workbook that accompanies Introduction to Para-
legalism, 6th ed. has sections on grammar that you should consider asking the students to do
at least on their own.
xii INTRODUCTION TO PARALEGALISM: PERSPECTIVES, PROBLEMS, AND SKILLS