General Areas of Competence

Upon successful completion of the major, graduates should be able to:

• Demonstrate professional and ethical standards in appearance and actions.
• Apply appropriate human-relation and interpersonal communications skills.
• Develop written communications skills using correct grammar, spelling, vocabulary, and document format.
• Demonstrate correct file management of both printed and onscreen documents.
• Understand the integrated use of business tools such as Microsoft PowerPoint, Word, Excel, Access, e-mail, and the Internet.
• Understand routine office skills such as teamwork, information processing, reprographics, telecommunication, records management, customer service, and ethics.
• Utilize the principles of good page and on-screen layout and design.
• Complete professional onscreen and print publications such as flyers, portfolios, and newsletters using Adobe® InDesign and Adobe® Acrobat skills.
• Prepare simple legal documents using Corel WordPerfect® by applying such skills as macros, templates, mail merge, and redline.
• Understand various types of law offices, law-office ethics, the court system, legal references, and administrative agencies.
• Be exposed to the courts, law library, law office setting, and legal research.
• Complete integrated projects applying advanced features of word processing, spreadsheets, databases, and electronic presentation software.
• Write internal and/or external business correspondence and reports that are clear, complete, correct, concise, courteous, and require research and documentation.
• Transcribe documents such as letters, memos, and court pleadings.
• Be exposed to legal documents in areas of tort, family law, corporate law, legal agreements, estate planning, probate/wills, real estate, and bankruptcy.
• Understand litigation, contracts, torts, criminal law, family law, business law, real estate law, estate planning, probates, guardianships, bankruptcy, and correct legal vocabulary usage.
• Develop additional skill in selected focus areas such as accounting, E-commerce, human resource management, and public speaking.
• Understand the process of preparing court documents for filing.