Test your basic knowledge |

Paralegal 101

Subject : law
Instructions:
  • Answer 50 questions in 15 minutes.
  • If you are not ready to take this test, you can study here.
  • Match each statement with the correct term.
  • Don't refresh. All questions and answers are randomly picked and ordered every time you load a test.

This is a study tool. The 3 wrong answers for each question are randomly chosen from answers to other questions. So, you might find at times the answers obvious, but you will see it re-enforces your understanding as you take the test each time.
1. A court's power to hear only specialized cases.






2. The tort theory that an employer can be sued for the negligent acts of its employees.






3. A method for measuring the relative negligence of the plaintiff and the defendant - with a commensurate sharing of the compensation for the injuries.






4. A witness who possesses skill and knowledge beyond that of the average person.






5. Specific questions that usually demand very short or yes-no answers.






6. Voluntarily and knowingly subjecting oneself to danger.






7. A court order authorizing a sheriff to take property in order to enforce a judgment.






8. Usually organized as either a partnership or a professional corporation - law clinics provide low-cost legal services on routine matters by stressing low overhead and high volume.






9. The party in a case who has initiated an appeal.






10. The requirement that relief be sought from an administrative agency before proceeding to court.






11. A rule of evidence that prevents an attorney or a paralegal from being compelled to testify about confidential client information.






12. A fee calculated as a percentage of the settlement or award in the case.






13. When a person must be brought into a lawsuit as either a plaintiff or a defendant.






14. A reason for invalidating a statute where a reasonable person could not determine a statute's meaning.






15. When the product was not being used for its intended purpose or was being used in a dangerous manner; it is a defense to a products liability claim so long as the misuse was not foreseeable.






16. An actual incident or condition; not a legal consequence.






17. A nonlawyer who provides legal services directly to the public without being under the supervision of an attorney. Absent a statute allowing this activity - it constitutes the unauthorized practice of law.






18. Rules and regulations created by administrative agencies.






19. A tangible object or a right or ownership interest.






20. A fee based on how many hours attorneys or paralegals spend on the case. Different hourly rates are often charged for different attorneys and paralegals within the firm - based on their seniority and experience.






21. A method adopted by the federal rules in which the plaintiff simply informs the defendant of the claim and the general basis for it.






22. A request that the court find the plaintiff has failed to state a valid claim and dismiss the complaint.






23. A professional entity in which the stockholders share in the organization's profits but have their liabilities limited to the amount of their investment.






24. A court's power to review statutes to decide if they conform to the federal or a state constitution.






25. A person who initiates a lawsuit.






26. A claim that based on the law and the facts is sufficient to support a lawsuit. If the plaintiff does not state a valid cause of action in the complaint - the court will dismiss it.






27. The right of the police to detain an individual for a brief period of time and to search the outside of the person's clothing if the police have a reasonable suspicion that the individual has committed or is about to commit crime.






28. A question that suggests the answer; generally - leading questions may not be asked during direct examination of a witness.






29. The application of legal rules to a client's specific factual situation; also known as legal analysis.






30. A term used to describe a case that is similar to another case.






31. A compilation of federal or state statutes in which the statutes are organized by subject matter rather than by year of enactment.






32. Determined by whether the evidence leads one to logically conclude that an asserted fact is either more or less probable.






33. A token sum awarded when liability has been found but monetary damages cannot be shown.






34. A court's power to hear any type of case arising within its geographical area.






35. An online legal databease containing court decisions and statutes from the entire country - as well as secondary authority; a competitor to Lexis.






36. A defense whereby the defendant offers new evidence to avoid judgment.






37. Once actual cause is found - as a policy matter - the court must also find that the act and the resulting harm were so foreseeably related as to justify a finding of liability.






38. The tenant's right to be free from interference from the landlord with respect to how the property is used.






39. Establishes a direct link to the event that must be proven.






40. The pretrial oral questioning of a witness under oath.






41. The process of signaling that you are really listening - accomplished by using verbal and nonverbal clues - paraphrasing - and reflecting the client's feelings.






42. Information that tells the reader the name of the case - where it can be located - the court that decided it - and the year it was decided. The Bluebook gives precise rules as to how case citations are to be written.






43. A decision is reversed when an appellate court overturns or negates the decision of a lower court.






44. A reason for invalidating a statute where it covers both protected and criminal activity.






45. A method for excusing a prospective juror; no reason need be given.






46. To perform.






47. An error made by the trial judge sufficiently serious to warrant reversing the trial court's decision.






48. The reference to a particular page within an opinion.






49. What the prosecution or plaintiff must be able to prove in order for the case to go to the jury-that is - the elements of the prosecution's case or the plaintiff's cause of action.






50. A person who initiates an appeal.