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






2. The principle that courts cannot decide abstract issues or render advisory opinions; rather - they are limited to deciding cases that involve litigants who are personally affected by the court's decision.






3. 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.






4. Courts that determine whether lower courts have made errors of law.






5. A special type of joint tenancy applicable only to married couples.






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






7. The purpose of the legislature at the time it enacted the statute.






8. Also known as real estate; land and items growing on or permanently attached to that land.






9. Indirect evidence - used to prove facts by implication.






10. Ownership by two or more people. Ownership shares do not have to be equal - but each has an undivided interest in the property. When a tenant in common dies - that person's share passes either by will or by intestate statute.






11. General principles that guide the courts in their interpretation of statutes.






12. Law that deals with harm to society as a whole.






13. A person who initiates a lawsuit.






14. Voluntarily and knowingly subjecting oneself to danger.






15. The process of properly identifying and authenticating evidence so that it can be introduced.






16. A judicial philosophy that supports an active role for the judiciary in changing the law.






17. A situation in which a conflict of interest may arise in the future--for example - representing business partners.






18. A defense requiring proof that the defendant was not mentally responsible.






19. Representing someone who is in a position adverse to a prior client.






20. The law that sets the length of time from when something happens to when a lawsuit must be filed before the right to bring it is lost.






21. An affidavit signed by the client indicating that he or she has read the complaint and that its contents are correct.






22. Proof that the evidence is what it is said to be.






23. The rules whereby all members of a law firm are treated as though they had represented the former client.






24. Generally someone operating within the law - representing persons before administrtive agencies that permit this practice.






25. In writing - a technique used to help your reader move from one thought to the next and to see the connections between them.






26. Either a subcategory of relevancy or simply another word for relevancy - the requirement that the evidence be more probative than prejudicial.






27. In a lawsuit the person who is sued; in a criminal case the person who is being charged with a crime.






28. Information about what happened procedurally to the litigation after the case cited. Include this information in a citation.






29. A court opinion that establishes new law in an important area.






30. A business run by two or more persons as co-owners.






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






32. A computerized database that contains the full text of documents - such as court opinions or depositions.






33. A computer search that identifies every place in which the search term appears in the actual text of the document being searched.






34. Disregarding a substantial and unjustifiable risk that harm will result.






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






36. A paralegal who works as an independent contractor rather than as an employee of a law firm or corporation.






37. A court order requiring a party to perform a specific act or to cease doing a specific act.






38. A provision that purports to waive liability.






39. Information that can be presented in a court of law as proof of some fact.






40. When the law is applied to the client's facts and the result is not obvious - an issue is created.






41. A statute establishing and setting out the powers of an administrative agency.






42. The decision of the court regarding the claims of each side. It may be based on a jury's verdict.






43. The power of the federal courts to hear matters of state law if the opposing parties are from different states and the amounts in controversy exceeds $75 -000.00






44. An opinion that agrees with the majority's result but disagrees with its reasoning.






45. A law enacted by a state legislature or by Congress.






46. A system developed to shield an attorney or a paralegal from a case that otherwise would create a conflict of interest.






47. Without the need for a warrant - the police may seize objects that are openly visible.






48. The failure to act reasonably under the circumstances.






49. In a case brief - the court's answer to the issue presented to it; the new legal principle established by a court opinion.






50. Evidence that suggests the defendant's guilt.