PLGL 206  Business Organizations  CRN 50704

Paralegal Studies Program, Summer 2021 

Stacey Hunt, CLA, CAS

Welcome to Business Organizations, offered online as PL 206 for the Paralegal Studies program at Cuesta College for Summer 2021, available beginning June 14.  No matter what area of law you end up working in, you will need to know how to deal with the various types of business entities possible. All are governed by state law.  Although uniform codes have been written up and adopted by some states, California usually has its own way of doing things. Paralegals can be heavily used in transactional law, which involves creating business entities, keeping them legal, merging and dissolving them. This type of work can be done in a traditional law firm, or in the legal division of a large corporation. Please carefully review the following information about the class regarding this class and online learning.

COURSE DESCRIPTION:  This course introduces the student to the substantive law and procedural aspects of business organizations, including sole proprietorships, partnerships, limited liability companies, and corporations.  This course also includes an overview of such related areas as agency law, employment law, and business ethics.

STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES:  

After completing this course, students will be able to:

1. Prepare such business forms and documents as partnership agreements, articles of incorporation, and employment contracts.
2. Demonstrate knowledge of the appropriate legal application software by utilizing the software in preparation of forms and documents relevant to business organizations.
3. Compare and contrast the different business organizations prevalent in the United States.
4. Discuss the considerations involved in selecting a particular business organization and the steps involved in creating the different business organizations.
5. Describe the different rights and obligations among the different business organizations and the individual owners of each including sole proprietorships, partnerships, corporations and limited liability companies.

COURSE MEETINGS:  There will be no face-to-face meetings for this course, it will be entirely online.  New units will be introduced weekly on Saturday and all work must be completed by the following Sunday, unless otherwise indicated.  All lessons will be asynchronous. 

REQUIRED TEXT:   Fundamentals of Business Organizations for Paralegals, Fifth Ed. by Deborah E. Bouchoux. This can be purchased in the bookstore or online.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS:  You should have a PC or Mac that is three years old or less with a current operating system and browser (i.e., Chrome, Internet Explorer).  You should have access to an Internet connection that is fast enough to view online videos.  You will need a word processing program to create documents and Adobe Reader, which can be downloaded at no cost.  I post my PowerPoints both in native format and as PDFs.  You will need to know how to use Canvas, browse the Internet, and download and upload documents.  For more information on computer requirements, click here: https://www.cuesta.edu/academics/distance/faqs_technical.html

Information on how to get into Canvas is here: https://www.cuesta.edu/student/documents/distance_ed_students/Canvas_Quick_Reference_Students.pdf

If you need technical support, here is the link: https://www.cuesta.edu/academics/distance/technical_support.html

ATTENDANCE:  Regular attendance is as important in web-based classes as it is in a traditional classroom.  Critical thinking and ability to communicate are skills essential to the paralegal profession, and your class participation will provide you with an opportunity to further develop these skills, even online. 

The weekly units follow a regular schedule for submission of work so that you will be able to schedule your time more easily and get assignments turned in on time.  You will be expected to log into the course several times per week to contribute to online class discussions.  Pace yourself each week and don’t save up all the work until the last minute.  As a paralegal, you will constantly have to prioritize and plan to get through your real-life workload, so this will be good preparation for you.

Because we are packing 16 weeks into a six-week course, each week will have two parts to it.  Part 1 will include one chapter of reading, one online post, and one homework assignment, all of which should be completed by Wednesday.  Part 2 will include another chapter of reading, one online post and one homework assignment, all of which should be completed by Sunday.

Information on Cuesta’s add policy can be found here: https://www.cuesta.edu/student/studentservices/admrreg/arpolicies/addcourse.html

Information on Cuesta’s drop policy can be found here:

https://www.cuesta.edu/student/studentservices/admrreg/arpolicies/dropcourse.html

HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS:  You will be assigned approximately 9-10 hours per work each week for this 3-unit class.  You will be reading from the assigned texts, drafting and submitting documents, researching online, and discussing your ideas on the discussion boards.  You are responsible for turning assignments in on time.  Assignments turned in late will lose one letter grade for each week they are late.  DO YOUR OWN WORK!  Collaboration on assignments is not allowed.

The law is a dynamic field with lots of gray areas and often there are no clear answers. An issue which at first may seem very straightforward to you can sometimes become very different following classroom discussion and the expression of varying points of view. The more interaction you have with me and with your classmates via the online forums, the more understanding you will have on all of the little nuances of our judicial system. It will take some work to recreate online the open discussion that occurs naturally in face-to-face classes. Your effort in participating will reap great benefits down the road.

ACADEMIC HONESTY/CODE OF CONDUCT:

Academic honesty is essential to the academic community. Students expect Cuesta College faculty to be fair, truthful, and trustworthy. Faculty expect Cuesta College students to share these same values. Students who violate these principles by cheating, plagiarizing, or acting in other academically dishonest ways are subject to disciplinary procedures.  More information about Cuesta’s policies on these matters can be found here: https://www.cuesta.edu/about/documents/vpss-docs/StudentConducttrifold-brochure_2017.pdf

EXAMINATIONS:  There will be one final examination.

DISTANCE LEARNING:  Distance learning is not for everyone. To be certain that you can achieve success in an online class, I recommend you take Cuesta’s Online Class Readiness Quiz:

https://www.cuesta.edu/academics/distance/survey.html  

STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS:  If you require disabled students services we have excellent facilities at Cuesta. You will find information on the Disabled Students and Program Services at https://www.cuesta.edu/student/studentservices/dsps/index.html.  In addition please let me know it I can assist you in anyway. I am happy to work closely with you and the DSPS to make this as rich a learning experience as possible for all!

WHEN YOU HAVE QUESTIONS:  If you have any questions or if something isn’t clear to you, don’t hesitate to contact me. As a student I hated when I felt I had wasted time on an assignment that had not been fully explained, and I most certainly don’t want to put any of you through that. You are here to learn everything you can about how a paralegal works with attorneys in the discovery phase of a case and how to prepare for trial, and I am here to teach you that to the best of my ability. I have been a for 30 years. I won’t say I’ve seen it all (because that is just no possible in the law!), but if you work hard, you should leave this class with a good grasp of what will be expected of you on the job.

Please feel free to e-mail me at Anastasia_hunt@cuesta.edu or paralegalsh@gmail.com or telephone or text me at 805.748.4593 if you have any questions about this class or the assignments. I am here for you so don’t hesitate to reach out.