PAR102 (previously LW6672) Legal Research & Writing II:

A 1-semester course; 3 credit hours. Designed to be a continuation of PAR101 (previously LW6671). This course teaches students how to find secondary sources and federal and state regulatory sources. It also further develops students' legal analysis skills by requiring students to synthesize different sources of law. Students will prepare a demand letter, a motion with accompanying persuasive memorandum of law, and an appellate brief. 3 class hours per week. Prerequisites: PAR101 Legal Research & Writing I. Students not enrolled in the Paralegal Program need permission of the program coordinator to enroll in this course.

Required Texts:

Schmedemann, Deborah A., and Christina L. Kunz. Synthesis: Legal Reading, Reasoning, and Writing. Aspen Law & Business, 1999.

Kunz, Christina L., et al. The Process of Legal Research. Fifth Edition, Aspen Law & Business, 2000.

A Uniform System of Citation, 17th Edition, Harvard University Law Review, 2000.

Required Supplies:

Three-Ring Binder; Ten tabbed dividers

Recommended Text:

Bouchoux, Deborah E., CITE-CHECKER A Hands-On Guide to Learning Citation Form. West Thomson Learning, 2001.

Black's Law Dictionary: Abridged (West Publishing Co.)

Teaching Procedure:

The teaching procedure for this class will be part lecture, part class discussion, as well as part individual and group problem-solving. You are expected to timely complete each reading, writing, and research assignment and to come to class prepared to participate in the discussion and in-class group projects.

Attendance Policy:

Attendance is mandatory. Absenteeism will have a negative effect on your final grade. The first unexcused absence will lower your grade five points. Your second unexcused absence will cause you to receive an "NP" for this course. To be excused from class, you must contact me in advance whenever possible.

Homework:

You will be assigned reading, writing, and research assignments. Please bring two (2) copies of each writing and research assignment to class. I will collect one copy to be graded. You will use the second copy in class. Since we will be discussing the homework in class on the day it is due, I will not accept any late assignments.

Formatting of Written Assignments:

Except for the research assignments, all work product MUST be generated from a computer WORD-PROCESSING system of your choice. You should save each and every assignment to disk (preferably in more than one place). This will prevent your having to re-type the document in the event the hard copy is lost, or if you decide to use the document as a writing sample to get a job. In addition, all written assignments:

• Must be checked for PUNCTUATION and GRAMMATICAL ERRORS.
• Must be SPELL-CHECKED.
• Must have 1" MARGINS around the circumference of the page.
• Must be generated on a LASER OR INK JET PRINTER. (The Lawrence Campus computer labs in L-239 and L-241 are equipped with laser printers).

In addition, citation to legal authority must be in BLUEBOOK FORMAT.

Demonstrable Objectives:

By the end of the semester, you will be able to:

1. perform legal research in secondary sources including legal encyclopedias, periodicals, ALRs, treatises, and restatements;
2. write an opinion letter to a client;
3. write a demand letter;
4. research the legislative history of a statute;
5. research an administrative regulation;
6. research rules of procedure and ethics;
7. begin to perform computer assisted legal research;
8. perform the research for and write a motion and memorandum of law; and
9. write an appellate brief.

Disability:

If you have a learning disability or other kind of disability, please feel free to come to discuss it with me and/or contact the Learning Accommodations Center, F113 (Haverhill Campus Student Center), (978) 556-3654.

Respect for Library Material:

Any student who obstructs another student's research, steals, destroys, conceals, defaces, or otherwise alters library materials (at NECC, the Lawrence Trial Court Library, or any other library) will be expelled from this course, reported to the Dean, and prosecuted to the full extent of college policy and the law.

Grading and Evaluation of Student Performance:

Grades

Academic Ethics and Plagiarism:

The Northern Essex catalog contains the following with respect to Ethics and Plagiarism.

"The college expects all students to maintain high standards of academic honesty and integrity. Plagiarism is clearly an example of a violation of Academic Ethics and is a major offense. Plagiarism is defined by the college to be the use of any other person's work or ideas as though the work or ideas were your own, without giving the appropriate credit. Instructors are required to provide students with a clear written definition of plagiarism applicable in their discipline as part of their course syllabus, which they provide students during the first two weeks of each course. Students are responsible for understanding what plagiarism is in each of their classes. The college's definition and that of their instructor will be used as a criterion against which all plagiarism allegations will be judged. Instances of plagiarism will be addressed first by the instructor who discovers, or is made aware of, the incident. Instructors must discuss the evidence of plagiarism with the student prior to taking action. Instructors who take action as a result of a plagiarism incident may report such action to the Vice President of Academic Affairs. There shall be a range of penalties at the discretion of the instructor which may extend to a recommendation to the Vice President of Academic Affairs for expulsion from the College. The Vice President of Academic Affairs may take disciplinary action against students who are reported for plagiarism. Students have a right to file a grievance if they feel that the action taken in the alleged plagiarism case discriminated or abrogated their individual or student rights. Students may contact the Vice President of Enrollment Management and Student Services Offices for detailed information regarding the Board of Higher Education's Student Grievance Procedures. "

Plagiarism is defined by Black's Law Dictionary as "[t]he act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one's own mind."

Exact duplication of wording should be quoted and credit should be given to the source of the wording. Paraphrasing should not be quoted (contain " ..."), but credit should be given to the source.

Be careful: Paraphrasing too closely and failing to give the appropriate credit could be considered plagiarism.