Qualification -Certificate in Legal Practices

This course can be valuable for anyone who needs to work within a Legal office, Paralegal or Legal Support  situation (eg. Law office staff, Paralegals, Legal Assistants, Solicitors, Law Professors, Legal Receptionists/Secretaries, Private Investigators, Authorised Government Inspectors and Officers, Law Enforcement Officers and many others.

Modules

Note that each module in the Qualification -Certificate in Legal Practices is a short course in its own right, and may be studied separately.

Legal Systems and Terminology

There are 8 lessons in this course:

1. Scope and Nature of Legal Terminology
   • Codification, Origin of legal words, Development of Legal Language, The Role of Latin in the Development of Legal Language and Law, Common legal language, Sources of law, Broad Categories of Law, Substantive Vs Procedural Law, Private vs. Public Law, Civil vs. Common Law, Types of Law, Administrative Law, Adversarial (Accusatorial Law), Civil Law, Constitutional Law, Continental Law, Contract Law, Common Law (English Law), Criminal or Penal Law, Intellectual Property Law, International Law, Inquisitorial Law, Islamic Law, Property Law, Public Law, Roman Law, Socialist Law, Statute Law, Tort Law, Trust Law; Separation of Powers (Judicial, Legislative, Executive); Essential Features of the Westminster System, Common legal terms.
2. The Legal Workplace
   • People & Processes; Types of Lawyers: Attorney (or Advocate), Barrister Vs Solicitor, Criminal Defence Lawyers, Corporate Lawyers, Bankruptcy Lawyers, Civil Lawyers, Other specialisations, Court Solicitors, Barristers, Court Agents, Paralegal Professionals, Law courts, Role of courts, Jurisdiction, Judicial Immunity, General jurisdiction, Limited (bounded or special) jurisdiction:, Criminal jurisdiction:, Monetary jurisdiction, Original jurisdiction:, Intermediate Jurisdiction, Appellate jurisdiction:, Ancillary jurisdiction:, Concurrent jurisdiction, Exclusive jurisdiction, Pendent jurisdiction, Subject matter jurisdiction, Levels of Courts, Appellate Court, Civil Court, Constitutional Court, Article Courts, Circuit Courts, County Court, Court of Assize, Court of Equity, Court of Record, District Court, Family Court, Federal Court, Full Court: (or full bench), Privy Council, International Court of Justice, International Criminal Court, Juvenile Court, Magistrate’s Court, Open Court, Probate Court, Small Claims Court, Superior Court, Supreme Court, English Court Structure, Dispute Resolution
3. Legal systems
   • Australia, UK, International Law etc. Common law legal systems, Civil law, Codification of law, Separation of powers, Australian law system, International law, etc.
4. Contract & Business Law
   • Nature of Contract, Unilateral contracts, Bilateral contracts, Classes of contract, Formal Contracts, Simple contracts, Validity and enforceability, Agreement, Rules as to offer, Rules as to acceptance of an offer, Revocation of an offer, Rules as to rejection of an offer, Rules as to lapse of an offer, Intention to Create Legal Relations, Consideration, Rules relating to consideration, Lawful Object, Capacity to Contract, Discharge and Conclusion of Contract, Formation of Simple Contract
5. Property Law
   • Real Property, Personal Property, Conveyancing, England and Wales, Scotland, USA, Australia, Intellectual Property, Patent, Trademarks, Copyright, Design patent, Confidential information (trade secrets), Related terminology
6. Wills, Probate, Estate Law
   • Estate, Wills, Heirs, Inheritance, Beneficiaries, Probate, Will Requirements (Testamentary intent, Testamentary capacity, Lack of duress, Absence of undue influence, Witnesses), Trusts, Related terminology
7. Criminal Law
   • Social construction, History of punishment, Reasons for Punishment (Rehabilitation, Deterrence/Prevention, Protection of Society/Incapacitation, Restoration, Retribution, Education), USA - Criminal Law or Penal Law, Australian Criminal Law, Canadian Criminal Law, Tort Law, Classification of Torts (Intentional Tort, Unintentional Tort) Purpose of Tort Law (Compensation for Damages, Financial Responsibility, Deterrence, Avoiding self-help), Negligence, Statutory Torts, Nuisance, Defamation, Intentional Torts, Economic Torts; Duty of Care, Breach of Confidence, Causation, Related terms
8. Other Categories
   • Family Law (Decree nisi, De facto marriage, Equitable adoption, Adoption by estoppels, Interlocutory decree, Judgement nisi, etc), Civil Actions, Bankruptcy, Insurance Law, Accidents Compensation and related terminology.

Each lesson culminates in an assignment which is submitted to the school, marked by the school's tutors and returned to you with any relevant suggestions, comments, and if necessary, extra reading.

Office Practices

There are 6 lessons in this course:

1. Introduction
   • Scope of office work, procedures, the home office vs commercial premises, etc.
2. Communication Systems
   • Using the phone, business letters, faxes, couriers, postage, etc.
3. Writing Letters and Reports
   • Structure of a report, memos, writing business letters.
4. Computers
   • Scope & uses of computers, types of computers, software types, peripherals, word processing, CD Roms, Modems, setting up and care of a PC.
5. Office Materials and Equipment
   • Stationary, Office furniture, Paper specifications, Filing & record keeping etc.
6. Office Organization and Procedures
   • Office layout and organization, security.

Each lesson culminates in an assignment which is submitted to the school, marked by the school's tutors and returned to you with any relevant suggestions, comments, and if necessary, extra reading.

Criminal Psychology

There are 10 lessons in this course:

1. Introduction to Criminal Psychology
2. Psychological approaches to understanding crime
3. Psychology and understanding serious crimes
4. Mental disorder and crime 1 - Learning disabilities and crime
5. Mental Disorder and Crime 2 - Psychopathy
6. Gender and Crime
7. Youth and Crime
8. Psychology and the Police
9. Psychology in the Courtroom
10. Psychology and Crime Prevention

Bookkeeping 1

There are 13 lessons in this course:

1. Introduction
   • What are Accounting Systems
   • Uses for Financial information
   • Who Uses financial information
   • Accounting Conventions (Entity Convention, Historical Cost Convention, Accounting period Convention, Going Concern assumption, Matching Principle, Consistency principle, Verifiability, Conservatism)
   • General Accounting concepts , relevance, reliability, materiality, comparability)
   • Accounting Standards in UK and Australia
   • Case Study
   • Doctrine of Materiality
2. Balance Sheet
   • Definition of Balance sheet
   • Assets
   • Liabilities
   • Proprietorship
   • T Form Balance sheet
   • Narrative Style Balance Sheet
   • Classification in Balance sheet (Current Assets, Non current Assets, Current Liabilities, deferred Liabilities)
   • Working Capital
   • Calculating Working Capital
   • Which Items Appear in balance sheet
   • Summary
3. Analysing and Designing Accounting Systems
   • Bookkeeping Cycle
   • Different Approaches to Bookkeeping
   • Simplest Approach
   • Steps in Bookkeeping Process
   • Abbreviations
   • Assets, Liabilities and Proprietorship
   • Designing an Accounting system
   • Ownership of a Business
   • Types of Business
   • Users of Financial Information
   • Flow of Information
   • Financial reports
   • Designing the ledger
   • Naming Accounts
   • Designing a Ledger
   • Source Documents
   • Cash Transactions
   • Credit transactions
   • Returns and Allowances
   • Statement of Account
   • Other business Documents
   • Use of Business Documents
   • Overview of accounting System
4. The Double Entry Recording Process
   • The Ledger
   • Beginning the ledger
   • Entries Resulting from transactions
   • Recording transactions
   • Example
   • Trial Balance
   • Ledger Accounts and Double Entry accounting
   • Analysis Chart
   • Footing and Balancing Ledger Accounts
   • Trial Balance
   • Alternative presentation of Trial Balance
   • Accounting for Drawings
5. Cash Receipts and Cash Payments Journal
   • Nature and scope of Journals
   • Cash Receipts and Payments in journals
   • Cash Receipts Journal
   • Cash receipts Journal –Simple Version, Multi Colum Journal
   • Cash Payments Journal
   • Multi Column Cash Payments Journal
   • Discounts allowed, and Discount Received
6. Credit Fees and Purchases Journal
   • Scope and Nature of Credit Sales
   • Credit Sales Journal
   • Debtors Subsidiary Ledger
   • Debtors Schedules
   • Cash Receipts Journal and Debtors Control
   • Credit Purchases Journal
   • Creditors Subsidiary ledger
   • Creditors Schedules
   • Cash Payment Journal and Creditors Control
   • Multi Column Credit Journals
7. The General Journal
   • Classifying transactions
   • The General Journal
   • Posting a General Journal Entry
   • General Journal and Subsidiary ledgers
   • Debtors Subsidiary ledger
   • Recording Returns of Supplies or materials to Creditors
   • Recording Credit Purchases of Non-Current Assets
   • Recording the Contribution or Withdrawal of Assets by an Owner
   • Contra, or Offsetting, Entries
   • Correcting Recording Errors through the General Journal
8. Closing the Ledger
   • General Journal
   • Process for Balancing a Ledger
   • Posting a General Journal Entry
   • The General Journal and Subsidiary Ledgers
   • Debtors Subsidiary ledger
   • Recording Returns of Supplies or Materials to Creditors
   • Recording Credit Purchases of Non-Current Assets
   • Recording the Contribution or Withdrawal of Assets by an Owner
   • Contra, or Offsetting, Entries
   • Correcting Recording Errors through the General Journal
9. Profit and Loss Statement
   • Two methods of dealing with ledger accounts
   • Final Accounts Closing the general ledger
   • Profit and Loss account
   • Closing the Ledger account
   • The General Journal and Closing Entries
   • The General Journal, Transfer of Net Profit
   • Accounting for Net Loss
10. Depreciation on Non-current Assets
    • Scope and Nature of Profit and Loss Statement
    • Preparing a Profit and Loss statement
    • Link between Profit and Loss and the Balance Sheet
    • Assessing Net Profit figure
    • Rate of Return
    • Return on owners Equity
    • Gearing
    • Net Profit ratio
    • Direct and Indirect Expenses
    • Gross Margin
    • Functional Classification
    • Extraordinary Revenues and expenditures
    • Calculating Cost of Materials Used
11. Profit Determination and Balance Day Adjustments
    • Scope and Nature of Depreciation
    • Depreciation of Non current assets
    • Methods of Calculation Depreciation
    • The Straight Line Method of Depreciation
    • The Reducing Balance Method of Depreciation
    • Production Units (Units of Use) Method of Depreciation
    • Other Methods
    • Asset Registers
    • Disposal of Non current assets
    • Amortisation of Intangible assets
    • Cash Control: Bank Reconciliation and Petty Cash
    • Adjustments to Final accounts
    • Accruals and Pre Payments
    • Bad Debts
    • Depreciation
    • Treatment of Discounts
    • Balance day Adjustments and Profit Determination
    • Cash Accounting
    • The modified cash Method
    • Accrual accounting
    • Prepaid Expenses
    • Accrued Expenses
    • Prepaid revenue
    • Accrued revenue
    • Adjusting for Stocks of Supplies
    • Ten Column Multiple worksheets
    • Alternative approach to Recording Prepayments
    • A More Comprehensive Treatment of Trial Balance
    • Partnerships
    • Companies
    • Clubs and Non Profit Making Organisation
    • Ways of Handling money
12. Cash Control: Bank reconciliations and petty cash
    • Petty Cash book example
    • Bank Transactions and the cash book
    • Bank reconciliation statements
    • Methods of Controlling Cash
    • The Cash Cycle
    • Liquidity and Cash Flow
    • Points of interest for Professional Bookkeeping
13. Cash Control: Budgeting
    • Nature of a Budget
    • Types of Business Budgets
    • Schedules for Collections from Debtors
    • Cash Budgets and Decision Making
    • Budget Performance Reports

Research Project 1

There are 7 lessons in this course:

1. Determining Research Needs
2. Searching For Information
3. Research Methods
4. Using Statistics
5. Conducting Statistical Research
6. Research Reports
7. Reporting On A Research Project.

Bookkeeping II

There are 12 lessons in this course:

1. Trading firms and accounting rules
2. Physical Inventory System
3. Perpetual Inventory System
4. Inventory Valuation
5. Accounting for bad and doubtful debts
6. Classified Profit and Loss Statements for trading firms
7. Control Accounts
8. Budgeting for Trading Firms
9. Statement of Cash Flows
10. Alternatives in Accounting
11. Analysis and Interpretation of Accounting Reports
12. Business Expansions and Sources of Finance

Psychological Assessment

There are 7 lessons in this course:

1. Introduction
2. Context of Clinical Assessment
3. The Assessment Interview
4. Behavioural Assessment
5. Wechsler Intelligence Scales
6. Wechsler Memory Scales
7. Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory

Technical Writing (Advanced)

There are 9 lessons in this course:

1. Scope and Nature of Technical Writing
   • Nature and Scope
   • Quality of Information
   • Nature of Language
   • Structure
   • Characteristics of Technical Writing
2. Presentation of Technical Writing
   • Presentation
   • Basic Parts of a Document (Written text, Images, White space)
   • Headings
   • Types of Images (Tables, Charts, Graphs, Photos, Drawings)
   • Captions and Labels
   • Main Elements (Front Matter, Body, end matter)
   • Creating an Index
   • Elements of Different types of Technical Documents (References, Texts, Journals, Reports, etc)
   • Referencing
3. Matching Style and Content to the Audience
   • Writing for an Audience
   • Writing Well
   • Writing Guidelines (Jargon, Gender neutral writing, Using simple sentences, passive or active language, first, second or third person, etc)
   • Spelling, Grammar
   • Editing, Proof reading
4. Planning: Developing a Logical Structure or Format
   • Creating a Technical Document
   • Research the Document; gather information
   • Plan; decide on the format
   • Write; create an outline and then write the first draft
   • Verify; check the accuracy of what you have written
   • Revise; amend the document before
   • Writing a First Draft
5. Collaborative Writing
   • Working in a team
   • Tasks and Roles
   • Technical Brief
   • Strategies for Collaboration
   • Style Guide
   • Using Templates
   • Using Email Effectively
6. Writing Technical Articles for Periodicals
   • Writing for Periodicals
   • Publisher Specs
   • Writing Descriptions and Specifications
   • Journal Abstracts
7. Writing Manuals and Procedures
   • Writing manuals
   • Writing Instructions and Procedures
   • Guidelines
   • Troubleshooting
8. Writing Project Proposals
   • What is a Proposal?
   • Proposal Categories (Solicited and Unsolicited)
   • Model for Writing Proposals
   • Grant Proposals
   • The Stop Format
9. Writing Project Reports
   • Types of Reports
   • Progress Reports
   • Completion Reports
   • Review Reports
   • Regulatory Reports
   • Feasibility Reports
   • Scientific Reports
   • Elements of a Formal Report
   • Executive Summaries