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Printed on 3/14/2025

Legal Studies/Paralegal

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10-110-1 Associate Degree (AAS) Part Time, Full Time 62 Credits Financial Aid Eligible Locations*: Appleton, Online

*If general education courses are required, they may be available at multiple locations.

Become an essential member of the legal office team with a legal studies/paralegal degree. You'll work under the supervision of lawyers to draft and interpret legal documents; select, compile and use technical legal information; analyze and resolve legal procedural problems; and recognize and manage potential ethical conflicts. Your work will support and prepare attorneys with investigation, interviews and preparation, though paralegals cannot give legal advice or represent clients in court. Courses cover legal research, legal technology and law office management. Industry professionals teach the procedures and the laws you need to function effectively in a law office or a related legal field. The program includes an internship where you will practice the knowledge and skills you gained in class.

The state of Wisconsin does not require a professional licensure or certification to be employed as a paralegal within the state. Some other states may require professional licensure or certification to be employed. [Learn more about professional licensure](https://www.fvtc.edu/about-us/facts/student-consumer-information/professional-licensure-and-certification-disclosure) for this program.

COURSE LIST

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Course list for reference only. Current students please refer to your individualized program plan or see your advisor.
**Outside effort hours are an estimate based on state standards, and may vary from person to person.

    Technical Studies (44 Credits)

    Course Title
    Course Number
    Credits
    Instructional Hours
    Outside Effort Hours**
    Prior Learning Credit Eligibility
  • Accounting, Principles of
    10-101-107
    3Credit
    72
    90
    N/A

    • Instructional Hours: 72
    • Outside Effort Hours: 90
    • Course Number: 10101107
    • Credits: 3.00

    Introduces basic concepts and general principles of accounting to non-accounting students. Topics include financial statements, merchandising accounting for cash, inventory, payroll, budgeting and accounting software.

  • Business Law 1
    10-102-103
    3Credit
    54
    108
    N/A

    • Instructional Hours: 54
    • Outside Effort Hours: 108
    • Course Number: 10102103
    • Credits: 3.00

    Introduces legal principles and standard business law concepts and their implications for business. It emphasizes contracts, sales, commercial paper, bailment, agency and real property, with references to the Uniform Commercial Code and recent consumer legislation.

  • Business Law 2
    10-102-157
    3Credit
    54
    108
    N/A

    • Instructional Hours: 54
    • Outside Effort Hours: 108
    • Course Number: 10102157
    • Credits: 3.00

    Discusses employment, business organizations, ethics, social media and internet law, and insurance.

    Prereq: Student has completed or is in process of completing ALL of the following:

    • BUSINESS 10102103 - Business Law 1
  • MS Word Introduction
    10-103-180
    1Credit
    36
    18
    N/A

    • Instructional Hours: 36
    • Outside Effort Hours: 18
    • Course Number: 10103180
    • Credits: 1.00

    Presents basic features of Microsoft Word. Learn how to create, edit, and save documents; format characters, paragraphs, pages, and documents; apply special features when formatting; and create a merged document.

  • MS Word Intermediate
    10-103-184
    1Credit
    36
    18
    N/A

    • Instructional Hours: 36
    • Outside Effort Hours: 18
    • Course Number: 10103184
    • Credits: 1.00

    Presents intermediate features of Microsoft Word. Learn how to use styles and create multilevel lists and charts, use advanced table features and editing tools, build documents from reusable content, and revise documents using markup tools.

  • Legal Studies & Legal Ethics, Intro to
    10-110-100
    4Credit
    72
    144
    N/A

    • Instructional Hours: 72
    • Outside Effort Hours: 144
    • Course Number: 10110100
    • Credits: 4.00

    Provides students with an introduction to the legal profession, court system, legal ethics, legal terminology, research, law office management concepts and procedures, and the role of paralegals.

  • Family Law
    10-110-106
    3Credit
    54
    108
    N/A

    • Instructional Hours: 54
    • Outside Effort Hours: 108
    • Course Number: 10110106
    • Credits: 3.00

    Familiarizes the student with basic legal concepts involved in the area of family relations. Primary emphasis is in the field of divorce. Additional topics include children in need of protection and services, termination of parental rights, adoption, guardianship, and court procedures relating to family law.

    Prereq: Student has completed or is in process of completing ALL of the following:

    • OFFICE 10110100 - Legal Studies & Ethics, Intro OR OFFICE 10110101 - Intro-Paralegalism/LegalEthic

    • OFFICE 10110115 - Legal Research/Writing, Intro
  • Legal Aspects/Business Organizations
    10-110-107
    3Credit
    54
    108
    N/A

    • Instructional Hours: 54
    • Outside Effort Hours: 108
    • Course Number: 10110107
    • Credits: 3.00

    Focuses on the formation, operations, and dissolution of types of business organizations, and substantive and procedural law involving business organizations.

    Prereq: Student has completed or is in process of completing ANY of the following options:

    • OFFICE 10110100 - Legal Studies & Ethics, Intro

    • OFFICE 10110101 - Intro-Paralegalism/LegalEthic
  • Administration of Estates
    10-110-114
    3Credit
    54
    108
    N/A

    • Instructional Hours: 54
    • Outside Effort Hours: 108
    • Course Number: 10110114
    • Credits: 3.00

    An in-depth course dealing with wills, trusts, estates, and probate. Identifies techniques for fact gathering, income and death tax principles, use of trusts, probate, and administration of terms of wills.

    Prereq: Student has completed or is in process of completing ANY of the following options:

    • OFFICE 10110100 - Legal Studies & Ethics, Intro

    • OFFICE 10110101 - Intro-Paralegalism/LegalEthic
  • Legal Research & Writing, Introduction
    10-110-115
    3Credit
    54
    108
    N/A

    • Instructional Hours: 54
    • Outside Effort Hours: 108
    • Course Number: 10110115
    • Credits: 3.00

    Focuses on the application of legal research and writing techniques using traditional and computer-assisted resources and federal and state materials. Incorporates writing skills that cover various internal and external legal documents.

    Coreq: Student has completed or is simultaneously enrolling in ANY of the following options:

    • OFFICE 10110100 - Legal Studies & Ethics, Intro

    • OFFICE 10110101 - Intro-Paralegalism/LegalEthic
  • Legal Research & Writing, Advanced
    10-110-117
    3Credit
    54
    108
    N/A

    • Instructional Hours: 54
    • Outside Effort Hours: 108
    • Course Number: 10110117
    • Credits: 3.00

    Builds upon existing knowledge of legal research and writing techniques using traditional and computer-assisted resources and federal and state materials. Incorporates advanced writing skills that cover various internal and external legal documents.

    Prereq: Student has completed or is in process of completing ALL of the following:

    • OFFICE 10110115 - Legal Research/Writing, Intro
  • Law Office Management and Technology
    10-110-118
    3Credit
    72
    90
    N/A

    • Instructional Hours: 72
    • Outside Effort Hours: 90
    • Course Number: 10110118
    • Credits: 3.00

    Provides students with the fundamentals of law office organization and technology. Topics include organization and utilization of support personnel, time and billing systems, budgets, case and file management, calendaring and docket control, and accounting systems in a law office. Students will demonstrate knowledge of these topics from an ethical perspective.

    Prereq: Student has completed or is in process of completing ANY of the following options:

    • OFFICE 10110100 - Legal Studies & Ethics, Intro

    • OFFICE 10110101 - Intro-Paralegalism/LegalEthic
  • Legal Studies Internship
    10-110-119
    2Credit
    144
    0
    N/A

    • Instructional Hours: 144
    • Outside Effort Hours: 0
    • Course Number: 10110119
    • Credits: 2.00

    Provides attorney-supervised work experience in a legal environment. Each student completes a minimum of 144 hours working as an intern. Course is designed for the student to take during the final semester of the program.

    Prereq: Student has completed or is in process of completing ANY of the following options:

    • OFFICE 10110100 - Legal Studies & Ethics, Intro

    • OFFICE 10110101 - Intro-Paralegalism/LegalEthic
  • Civil Litigation Procedures
    10-110-151
    3Credit
    54
    108
    N/A

    • Instructional Hours: 54
    • Outside Effort Hours: 108
    • Course Number: 10110151
    • Credits: 3.00

    Provides students with outlines of the stages of civil litigation including initial client contact, investigation, pleadings, and motions. Covers the civil litigation procedure during discovery, trial, and appeal.

    Coreq: Student has completed or is simultaneously enrolling in ANY of the following options:

    • OFFICE 10110100 - Legal Studies & Ethics, Intro

    • OFFICE 10110101 - Intro-Paralegalism/LegalEthic
  • Employment Law for Legal Professionals
    10-110-160
    3Credit
    54
    108
    N/A

    • Instructional Hours: 54
    • Outside Effort Hours: 108
    • Course Number: 10110160
    • Credits: 3.00

    Provides students with an understanding of the analysis of federal and state laws governing employment relationships, job discrimination, sexual harassment, workplace privacy, labor standards, and human resource management.

    Prereq: Student has completed or is in process of completing ANY of the following options:

    • OFFICE 10110100 - Legal Studies & Ethics, Intro

    • OFFICE 10110101 - Intro-Paralegalism/LegalEthic
  • Criminal Procedures for Legal Professionals
    10-110-168
    3Credit
    54
    108
    N/A

    • Instructional Hours: 54
    • Outside Effort Hours: 108
    • Course Number: 10110168
    • Credits: 3.00

    Focus is on substantive and procedural criminal law, the role of legal professionals in both the prosecution and defense of criminal actions, with emphasis on investigations and preparation of legal documents.

    Prereq: Student has completed or is in process of completing ANY of the following options:

    • OFFICE 10110100 - Legal Studies & Ethics, Intro

    • OFFICE 10110101 - Intro-Paralegalism/LegalEthic

    General Studies (15 Credits)

    Course Title
    Course Number
    Credits
    Instructional Hours
    Outside Effort Hours**
    Prior Learning Credit Eligibility
  • Written Communication
    10-801-195
    3Credit
    54
    108

    • Instructional Hours: 54
    • Outside Effort Hours: 108
    • Course Number: 10801195
    • Credits: 3.00

    Develops writing skills which include prewriting, drafting, revising, and editing. A variety of writing assignments are designed to help the learner analyze audience and purpose, research and organize ideas, and format and design documents based on subject matter and content. Also develops critical reading and thinking skills through the analysis of a variety of written documents.

    Prereq: Student has completed or is in process of completing ALL of the following:

    OR ALL of the following:

    • Student is not in progress in Associate Degree, Apprenticeship, or Technical Diploma (31 or 32 level)
  • Oral/Interpersonal Comm
    10-801-196
    3Credit
    54
    108

    • Instructional Hours: 54
    • Outside Effort Hours: 108
    • Course Number: 10801196
    • Credits: 3.00

    Focuses on developing effective listening techniques and verbal and nonverbal communication skills through oral presentation, group activity, and other projects. The study of self, conflict, and cultural contexts will be explored, as well as their impact on communication.

    Prereq: Student has completed or is in process of completing ALL of the following:

    OR ALL of the following:

    • Student is not in progress in Associate Degree, Apprenticeship, or Technical Diploma (31 or 32 level)
  • Math w Business Apps
    10-804-123
    3Credit
    54
    108

    • Instructional Hours: 54
    • Outside Effort Hours: 108
    • Course Number: 10804123
    • Credits: 3.00

    This course integrates algebraic concepts, proportions, percents, simple interest, compound interest, annuities, and basic statistics with business/consumer scenarios. It also applies math concepts to the purchasing/buying and selling processes.

    Prereq: Student has completed or is in process of completing ANY of the following options:

    • Accuplacer Arithmetic 250+ OR HS GPA 2.75+ OR ACT Math 16+ OR Arithmetic Level 1 Coursework

    • Student is not in progress in Associate Degree, Apprenticeship, or Technical Diploma (31 or 32 level)
  • Intro to Sociology
    10-809-196
    3Credit
    54
    108
    N/A

    • Instructional Hours: 54
    • Outside Effort Hours: 108
    • Course Number: 10809196
    • Credits: 3.00

    Introduces students to the fundamental sociological concepts, including sociological perspectives, research methods, the significance of culture in society, and the socialization process. Other topics include deviance, the impact of groups on behavior, societal inequities, global changes, the role of social institutions, and social stratification.

    Prereq: Student has completed or is in process of completing ALL of the following:

    OR ALL of the following:

    • Student is not in progress in Associate Degree, Apprenticeship, or Technical Diploma (31 or 32 level)
  • Intro to Psychology
    10-809-198
    3Credit
    54
    108

    • Instructional Hours: 54
    • Outside Effort Hours: 108
    • Course Number: 10809198
    • Credits: 3.00

    This science of psychology course is a survey of multiple aspects of behavior and mental processes. It provides an overview of topics such as research methods, theoretical perspectives, learning, cognition, memory, motivation, emotions, personality, abnormal psychology, physiological factors, social influences, and development.

    Prereq: Student has completed or is in process of completing ALL of the following:

    OR ALL of the following:

    • Student is not in progress in Associate Degree, Apprenticeship, or Technical Diploma (31 or 32 level)
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Expected Competencies

For more information visit our Credit For Prior Learning page.