Course Descriptions

The list below is NOT a complete list of program courses and shows courses taught in the previous, current, and two future terms. View complete degree/certificate requirements and course offerings by clicking the links below.

Important: MCC recently updated the PARA course designators to LEGL. Please refer to the Paralegal and Legal Studies Course Crosswalk (PDF) to determine the name of the new LEGL course that will fulfill the PARA requirement on your degree plan.


PARA 100 - Introduction to Paralegal Practice - 3.00 credits

An introduction to the American legal system and the role of the paralegal. Students will examine the philosophical and historical background of law, legal context, organization, purpose and ethics. Paralegal career requirements, opportunities and responsibilities are presented. Systems approaches to law office management including billing practices, timekeeping and law office library systems are reviewed.

PARA 104 - Principles of Legal Technology - 3.00 credits

Prerequisites: CSIS 115 & PARA 100. This course will provide an overview of the primary types of technology and related skills utilized regularly by practicing paralegals. The course offers a broad understanding of legal technology and the need for paralegals to be proficient with computers, software, and other forms of technology. The material will address how various technologies are utilized both in the office and in the courtroom. Students will study challenges associated with technology such as ethics and security. Various software applications will be studied, including document management, timekeeping, spreadsheets, and presentation graphics. This is a hands-on course conducted in the computer lab and allows the student to apply the course material through a variety of activities.

PARA 126 - Criminal Law and Procedures - 3.00 credits

Prerequisite: PARA 100. The student will be introduced to criminal law, classification and analysis of crimes and criminal acts; fundamentals of constitutional and criminal law concepts; elements of local, state and federal jurisdiction, venue and procedure as they apply to law enforcement, and detailed concepts in the laws of arrest, search and seizure and the preservation and protection of life and property.

PARA 173 - Contracts - 3.00 credits

Prerequisite: PARA 100. Introduction to the formation of simple contracts, consideration, conditions, benefits, and impossibility. Remedies, performance, and breach.

PARA 177 - Legal Writing - 3.00 credits

Prerequisite: PARA 176. Students will draft weekly briefs, memoranda, or pleadings and review and revise settlements, leases, transactional documents, and employment documents.

PARA 248 - Constitutional Law - 3.00 credits

Prerequisite: PARA 100. The course will examine the United States Constitution and Amendments with special attention to governmental powers, limitations on those powers, commerce, and the rights guaranteed to individuals by the 4th, 5th, 6th, 8th, and 14th Amendments.

PARA 290 - Internship in Paralegal Practice - 3.00 credits

Prerequisite: PARA 100, PARA 104, PARA 176, PARA 177 and PARA 185. This course is a capstone to the Paralegal Program and provides student with opportunities to gain practical work experience under the supervision of an attorney in the legal field.

PARA 292 - Litigation - 3.00 credits

Prerequisite: PARA 100. Introduces the student to the essential role which paralegals play in the initial, pretrial and trial process in civil litigation.