Category: Writing

Use a paper
that you have written for this exercise.
a. Examine
the paper. What is the purpose and the audience?
b. Outline
the ideas explained in the paper.
c. Revise
your outline to clarify your ideas.

You are a
paralegal in Texas who has been asked to research whether a physician
specialist in cardiology is held to a local or national standard of care in
treating a cardiac patient. You are preparing a research memorandum that will
be used as a basis for defending an action against a Texas doctor in a Texas
state court.
a. What is
the jurisdiction and why?
b. What type
of authority would you seek and why?
c. Who
creates the authorities you would seek?
d. Briefly
explain when or why you would use each source listed below. Indicate whether it
is a primary or secondary authority and whether it is binding or persuasive.
1. an
American Jurisprudence 2d encyclopedia section on physician malpractice generally
2. a Texas
Supreme Court case on point
3. an
Illinois Supreme Court case on point
4. a U.S.
Supreme Court case
5. a U.S.
district court case for the Northern District of Ohio
6. a U.S.
district court case for the Northern District of Illinois

You are researching the question of whether a company that employs 50 individuals is an employer under the federal law regulating age discrimination in employment. Your case is pending in the federal district court in Toledo, Ohio. You learn that the definitions in the age discrimination statute were derived from those already in the sex discrimination statute. Rank the following authorities and list whether each is a primary binding, primary persuasive, or secondary authority.
a. the federal age discrimination in employment statute that defines the term employer
b. the federal sex discrimination in employment statute that defines the term employer
c. a U.S. Supreme Court case that interprets the definition of employer contained in the federal age discrimination in employment statute
d. a U.S. Supreme Court case that interprets the definition of employer contained in the federal sex discrimination in employment statute
e. a decision of the Northern District Court of Ohio, Western Division, concerning the definition of employer under the federal age discrimination in employment statute
f. a law review article in the University of Toledo Law Review concerning the definition of employer contained in the federal age discrimination in employment statute
g. a section of an employment law treatise that explains the definition of employer under the federal age discrimination in employment statute
h. an Ohio Supreme Court case that explains the definition of employer under the federal age discrimination in employment statute
i. Which authorities would you use in a legal memorandum you are writing for an attorney and why?

You are a paralegal who has just researched what constitutes a breach of contract in a case involving the delivery of dairy products in Wisconsin. Rank the following authorities and list whether each is a primary binding, primary persuasive, or secondary authority.
a. a Wisconsin Supreme Court case involving a breach of contract dispute
b. a Wisconsin statute that defines breach of contract
c. a Wisconsin statute that defines the term delivery in a contract
d. a Wisconsin trial court case involving a breach of contract dispute
e. an Illinois Supreme Court case involving a breach of contract dispute
f. a Uniform Commercial Code section concerning breach of contract (the Wisconsin statute is derived in part from this section but does not adopt it in total)

With
specificity, paralegals may be asked to perform legal research of case and
statutory materials in the event that a client requests an answer to a problem
of a legal nature and is concerned about saving money.
In the
situation where a paralegal is well trained, that paralegal can be asked by an
attorney to perform legal research for the purpose of determining a response to
the client’s question.

You are a
paralegal assigned to research the components necessary to create a valid will
in your state. List in order the types of authorities you would consult and
why. Next, rank the authorities according to whether they are primary
mandatory, primary persuasive, or secondary.

At a time
when many law firms and corporations are eliminating jobs for the purpose of
elimination from the budget excess expenditures, paralegals may become more of
an asset.
Because of
the fact that paralegals’ time is charged at lower rates, paralegals may be
employed by law firms and corporations to perform tasks previously performed by
lawyers.

At 3 A.M. in
the morning, the defendant was driving at a rate of 75 miles per hour in a
foreign imported car and struck the plaintiff’s shed. The end result was that
shed was completely destroyed. The plaintiff had no advance warning. Because of
the fact that the shed was destroyed, the plaintiff could not store his bicycle
and other bike racing equipment.