Qualification - Certificate in Legal Practices

This course can be valuable for anyone who needs to work within a Legal office, Paralegal or Legal Support  situation (eg. Law office staff, Paralegals, Legal Assistants, Solicitors, Law Professors, Legal Receptionists/Secretaries, Private Investigators, Authorised Government Inspectors and Officers, Law Enforcement Officers and many others.

Modules

Note that each module in the Qualification - Certificate in Legal Practices is a short course in its own right, and may be studied separately.

Legal Systems and Terminology

There are 8 lessons in this course:

1. Scope and Nature of Legal Terminology
   • Codification, Origin of legal words, Development of Legal Language, The Role of Latin in the Development of Legal Language and Law, Common legal language, Sources of law, Broad Categories of Law, Substantive Vs Procedural Law, Private vs. Public Law, Civil vs. Common Law, Types of Law, Administrative Law, Adversarial (Accusatorial Law), Civil Law, Constitutional Law, Continental Law, Contract Law, Common Law (English Law), Criminal or Penal Law, Intellectual Property Law, International Law, Inquisitorial Law, Islamic Law, Property Law, Public Law, Roman Law, Socialist Law, Statute Law, Tort Law, Trust Law; Separation of Powers (Judicial, Legislative, Executive); Essential Features of the Westminster System, Common legal terms.
2. The Legal Workplace
   • People & Processes; Types of Lawyers: Attorney (or Advocate), Barrister Vs Solicitor, Criminal Defence Lawyers, Corporate Lawyers, Bankruptcy Lawyers, Civil Lawyers, Other specialisations, Court Solicitors, Barristers, Court Agents, Paralegal Professionals, Law courts, Role of courts, Jurisdiction, Judicial Immunity, General jurisdiction, Limited (bounded or special) jurisdiction:, Criminal jurisdiction:, Monetary jurisdiction, Original jurisdiction:, Intermediate Jurisdiction, Appellate jurisdiction:, Ancillary jurisdiction:, Concurrent jurisdiction, Exclusive jurisdiction, Pendent jurisdiction, Subject matter jurisdiction, Levels of Courts, Appellate Court, Civil Court, Constitutional Court, Article Courts, Circuit Courts, County Court, Court of Assize, Court of Equity, Court of Record, District Court, Family Court, Federal Court, Full Court: (or full bench), Privy Council, International Court of Justice, International Criminal Court, Juvenile Court, Magistrate’s Court, Open Court, Probate Court, Small Claims Court, Superior Court, Supreme Court, English Court Structure, Dispute Resolution
3. Legal systems
   • Australia, UK, International Law etc. Common law legal systems, Civil law, Codification of law, Separation of powers, Australian law system, International law, etc.
4. Contract & Business Law
   • Nature of Contract, Unilateral contracts, Bilateral contracts, Classes of contract, Formal Contracts, Simple contracts, Validity and enforceability, Agreement, Rules as to offer, Rules as to acceptance of an offer, Revocation of an offer, Rules as to rejection of an offer, Rules as to lapse of an offer, Intention to Create Legal Relations, Consideration, Rules relating to consideration, Lawful Object, Capacity to Contract, Discharge and Conclusion of Contract, Formation of Simple Contract
5. Property Law
   • Real Property, Personal Property, Conveyancing, England and Wales, Scotland, USA, Australia, Intellectual Property, Patent, Trademarks, Copyright, Design patent, Confidential information (trade secrets), Related terminology
6. Wills, Probate, Estate Law
   • Estate, Wills, Heirs, Inheritance, Beneficiaries, Probate, Will Requirements (Testamentary intent, Testamentary capacity, Lack of duress, Absence of undue influence, Witnesses), Trusts, Related terminology
7. Criminal Law
   • Social construction, History of punishment, Reasons for Punishment (Rehabilitation, Deterrence/Prevention, Protection of Society/Incapacitation, Restoration, Retribution, Education), USA - Criminal Law or Penal Law, Australian Criminal Law, Canadian Criminal Law, Tort Law, Classification of Torts (Intentional Tort, Unintentional Tort) Purpose of Tort Law (Compensation for Damages, Financial Responsibility, Deterrence, Avoiding self-help), Negligence, Statutory Torts, Nuisance, Defamation, Intentional Torts, Economic Torts; Duty of Care, Breach of Confidence, Causation, Related terms
8. Other Categories
   • Family Law (Decree nisi, De facto marriage, Equitable adoption, Adoption by estoppels, Interlocutory decree, Judgement nisi, etc), Civil Actions, Bankruptcy, Insurance Law, Accidents Compensation and related terminology.

Each lesson culminates in an assignment which is submitted to the school, marked by the school's tutors and returned to you with any relevant suggestions, comments, and if necessary, extra reading.

Office Practices

There are 6 lessons in this course:

1. Introduction
   • Scope of office work, procedures, the home office vs commercial premises, etc.
2. Communication Systems
   • Using the phone, business letters, faxes, couriers, postage, etc.
3. Writing Letters and Reports
   • Structure of a report, memos, writing business letters.
4. Computers
   • Scope & uses of computers, types of computers, software types, peripherals, word processing, CD Roms, Modems, setting up and care of a PC.
5. Office Materials and Equipment
   • Stationary, Office furniture, Paper specifications, Filing & record keeping etc.
6. Office Organization and Procedures
   • Office layout and organization, security.

Each lesson culminates in an assignment which is submitted to the school, marked by the school's tutors and returned to you with any relevant suggestions, comments, and if necessary, extra reading.

Criminal Psychology

There are 10 lessons in this course:

1. Introduction to Criminal Psychology
2. Psychological approaches to understanding crime
3. Psychology and understanding serious crimes
4. Mental disorder and crime 1 - Learning disabilities and crime
5. Mental Disorder and Crime 2 - Psychopathy
6. Gender and Crime
7. Youth and Crime
8. Psychology and the Police
9. Psychology in the Courtroom
10. Psychology and Crime Prevention