Certified paralegal review manual : a practical guide to CP exam preparation

1019 Pages·2011·2.962 MB·English

by  Virginia Koerselman, National Association of Legal Assistants

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CERTIFIED PARALEGAL
REVIEW MANUAL
Third Edition
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CERTIFIED PARALEGAL
REVIEW MANUAL
Third Edition
A Practical Guide to CP® Exam Preparation
Prepared by
Virginia Koerselman Newman, J.D.
Koerselman Newman Law Publications
Hemingway, South Carolina
In cooperation with
The National Association of Legal Assistants, Inc.
Tulsa, Oklahoma
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Certifi ed Paralegal Review Manual: © 2011, 1998, 1992 Delmar, Cengage Learning
A Practical Guide to CP® Exam
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Preparation, Third Edition
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DEDICATION
This edition of the CLA/CP® Review Manual is
dedicated to the memory of my son, Ken Koerselman II,
whose days were far too few and passed much too
quickly. He bedeviled us in his childhood; he pushed
us to our outer limits in his youth; and he amazed
and delighted us by becoming the man we always
had prayed for him to be. Then he was gone. Tell your
family you love them every day, because you cannot
know which day will be the last.
Copyright 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).
Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
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CONTENTS
Preface ...........................................................xi The Exclamation Point ...........................61
Acknowledgements .....................................xiii The Quotation Mark ...............................61
About the Author ..........................................xv The Ellipsis .............................................62
Parentheses .............................................63
The Bracket ............................................64
INTRODUCTION ........................1 Capitalization ............................................64
CLA/CP® Certification ...............................1 The First Word ........................................64
The Certified Legal Assistant Personal Names ......................................65
Examination: Summary Outline .............3 Geographic (Place) Names .....................67
Communications .......................................3 Government ............................................67
Ethics ........................................................4 Other Names ...........................................70
Judgment and Analytical Ability .............5 Grammar ....................................................71
Legal Research .........................................5 Parts of Speech Defined .........................72
Substantive Law .......................................6 A General Approach ...............................74
Grading and Retake Policy ......................6 The Verb ..................................................77
Eligibility Requirements ..........................7 The Pronoun ...........................................82
Category 1 .................................................7 The Gerund .............................................89
Category 2 .................................................8 The Infinitive ..........................................90
Category 3 .................................................8 Modifiers .................................................91
Maintaining the CLA/CP® Designation ....9 Conjunctions ...........................................94
Preparation for the Examination ............9 Rules of Composition ...............................96
Individual Study .....................................10 A General Approach ...............................98
Self-Assessment Checklist ......................11 The Paragraph ........................................98
When to Study ........................................11 Forceful Writing ......................................99
How to Study ..........................................12 Concise Writing ....................................105
Group Study ...............................................18 Vocabulary ...............................................106
How to Organize a Study Group ............19 Correspondence ......................................110
Taking the Examination .........................20 Business Letter Styles .........................110
Prepare Yourself .....................................21 Business Letter Punctuation ...............111
After the Examination ...........................28 Parts of a Business Letter ....................111
Nonverbal Communication ..................113
Communications Self-Test ....................115
1 COMMUNICATIONS ............31
Word Usage.................................................32 2 HUMAN RELATIONS
Slang .......................................................32 AND INTERVIEWING
Colloquialisms ........................................33 TECHNIQUES .....................123
Words Confused and Misused ................35 Human Relations ....................................124
Punctuation ...............................................45 Contacts Outside the Office .................125
The Apostrophe .......................................45 Office Politics ........................................125
The Hyphen ............................................46 Personal Recognition ............................126
The Dash .................................................49 Interviewing ............................................128
The Comma .............................................50 Types of Interviews ..............................128
The Semicolon .........................................55 The Interviewer’s Role .........................132
The Colon ................................................56 The Interview Environment ................135
The Period ...............................................58 Preparing for the Interview .................138
The Question Mark ................................60 Conducting the Interview ....................142
v
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vi CONTENTS
Document the Interview ......................158 Institutional Sources of Law ................354
Special Interview Challenges ..............161 Constitutional Law ...............................358
Human Relations and Interviewing Due Process ...........................................362
Techniques Self-Test ..............................163 The Judicial System ...............................365
Subject Matter Jurisdiction .................365
3 ETHICS ...............................171 Personal Jurisdiction ............................367
Ethics Defined ......................................171 Federal Courts ......................................369
Sources of Ethics Rules ........................172 State Court Systems .............................373
Topical Summaries of Selected Judicial Decision Making .....................373
ABA Model Rules ..................................173 Limitations in Judicial Decision
Code of Ethics and Professional Making ..................................................378
Responsibility .......................................187 Judicial Remedies .................................381
Model Standards and Guidelines General Law Self-Test............................390
for Utilization of Legal Assistants
and Paralegals ......................................189 8 ADMINISTRATIVE LAW ...397
Application of Ethics Rules ..................201 Background ...........................................398
Ethics Self-Test ........................................211 Organization and Classification ..........398
Source of Agency Powers ......................401
4 JUDGMENT AND Overview of Agency Powers .................402
ANALYTICAL ABILITY .....221 Political Oversight of Agency
Practical Judgment and Analysis Actions ...................................................404
by Paralegals ........................................223 Investigation .........................................406
Interpretation of Procedural Formulation of
Matters ..................................................232 Administrative Law ...............................414
Approach to Essay Questions ..............237 Terminology ..........................................414
Judgment and Analytical Ability The Administrative Process .................415
Self-Test ....................................................238 General Requirements of Policy
FormulationUnder the APA .................418
5 LEGAL RESEARCH ............253 Rulemaking ...........................................420
The Objective of Legal Research ..........253 Adjudication ..........................................425
Sources of Primary Law ......................254 Judicial Review .....................................430
How Primary Law Is Recorded ............258 Enabling Act Addendum ......................435
Sources of Secondary Law ....................266 Administrative Law Self-Test ..............437
The Technical Skills of Legal
Research ................................................269 9 BANKRUPTCY LAW ..........445
Citing the Law ......................................276 Background and Goals of
The Substantive Skills of Bankruptcy Law ...................................446
Legal Research .....................................285 Organization of Bankruptcy
Legal Research Self-Test .......................300 Code .......................................................446
Participants and Terminology ..............448
6 LEGAL TERMINOLOGY ....309 Bankruptcy Jurisdiction ......................451
Preparation ...........................................309 Officers of the Estate ............................454
Latin Terms ..............................................310 Commencement of the Case .................459
Legal Terms ..............................................322 The Bankruptcy Estate ........................463
Legal Terminology Self-Test .................339 Trustee’s Avoiding Powers ...................469
Administration .....................................475
7 GENERAL LAW ..................345 Debtor’s Duties .....................................484
Law Defined ..........................................346 Conversion ............................................485
Historical Background .........................346 Dismissal ...............................................488
Classifications of Law ..........................350 Claims of Creditors ...............................489
Copyright 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).
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