Course Content and Outcome Guide for PL 124
- Date:
- 21-AUG-2009
- Posted by:
- Curriculum Office
- Course Number:
- PL 124
- Course Title:
- Law Office Management
- Credit Hours:
- 3
- Lecture hours:
- 30
- Lecture/Lab hours:
- 0
- Lab hours:
- 0
- Special Fee:
Course Description
Law Office Management Covers law office organization and management, personnel management, accounting, procedural and automated systems, and other aspects of law office management.Addendum to Course Description
This course focuses on general management and administrative concepts, and the application of those concepts to law office management, in order to develop a pool of knowledge that can be utilized in creating and maintaining a support system for the firm, thus enabling the lawyer to provide more efficient, more economical, and better service to the public. A core course, required for a Legal Assistant Certificate or an Associate of Applied Science degree.
Course Activities and Design
The methodology used is lecture with discussion encouraged. No current, inexpensive textbook is available -- supplementary items include
occasional guest lecturers and numerous handouts.
Outcome Assessment Strategies
Students' grades will be based upon their understanding of lectures and handouts, plus written homework assignments. Eighty percent (80%) of the course grade is based upon four (4) closed-book tests, objectively measured (multiple-choice, true/false, fill-in); and twenty percent (20%) of the course grade is based upon written homework assignments, subjectively graded.
Course Content (Themes, Concepts, Issues and Skills)
This class will introduce some established management theories so that
students may begin to:
* Recognize their (conscious or unconscious) use in and apply them to
actual or hypothetical work situations.
* Utilize critical thinking regarding the logistics of law office
management to (re)organize firms to operate more efficiently through
effective use of goal setting, delegation, motivation, time
management, and optimal division of labor.
* Apply computation skills to timekeeping, billing, accounting and
taxation requirements.
* Identify personnel problems, establish procedures for dealing with
them, and use interpersonal relations skills to hire new employees
and match existing personnel skills to extant tasks.
* Recognize vendor tactics and deal with them to meet firm
equipment/supply needs.
* Utilize oral and written communication skills in all of the above.