Professional Ethics, Research, and Practice

This unit integrates advanced ethical responsibilities, professional conduct, and practical skills for paralegals, emphasizing confidentiality, conflicts, and limits of practice. Students will apply legal research, drafting, technology, and case-management practices to real-world tasks such as preparing cost bills, pro bono work, and courtroom support while preparing for supervised practice or specialization.

Learning Objectives

• Analyze ethical scenarios to identify breaches of confidentiality, conflicts of interest, unauthorized practice of law, and mandatory disclosure obligations, and recommend corrective actions consistent with applicable rules of professional responsibility.
• Apply legal research, citation, and anti-plagiarism practices to produce accurate, properly attributed research memos and to draft fundamental legal documents (e.g., pleadings, cost bills) for attorney review.
• Demonstrate professional communication and case-management behaviors by preparing targeted questions for supervising attorneys, sharing information appropriately, organizing files, and participating in pro bono and community-improvement efforts.
• Evaluate and implement technology and procedural strategies for courtroom support, judgment collection, asset-protection tasks, and workload management, including adherence to courtroom technology rules and determining when to seek attorney guidance.