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Legal Training 

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Hands-on training and mentoring classes to help legal staff transform into valuable team members

with Mary Lou Floyd, CCLS and Maria Bishop, CCLS

Need to brush up on your skills?
Want to apply for legal positions but don’t have the experience?

Our classes can help you prepare for any phase of your career.

Training classes include:

Detailed procedures

Checklists

How to file forms

Service requirements

Deadlines and fees

Model forms

And much, much more!

You’ll earn a Certificate of Completion that you can proudly share with your employer or potential employer.

Maria and Mary Lou are here to share what they have learned so that you can succeed. They will tell you all the nitty gritty things that you won’t learn anywhere else and provide you with valuable resources.

Meet Your Instructors

Mary Lou Floyd, CCLS

Mary Lou Floyd has been a paralegal for over 30 years, has a BA in Criminal Justice, and an MS in Psychology.  Mary Lou obtained her paralegal certificate from the National Institution for Paralegal Studies (now Devry).

She has been self-employed as a Sr. Paralegal since 2020. She has had a long career working in law offices (including training and mentoring legal staff). She has been a member of the Mt. Diablo Legal Professionals Association since 1988, is a past president, and is currently the Parliamentarian.  At the Legal Professionals Inc. state level, she has served as the Continuing Education Coordinator and has taught numerous legal classes. 

Mary Lou is fluent in Spanish, both reading and writing.  She is an independent contractor paralegal, with experience in family law, probate, estate planning, and civil litigation. Mary Lou is also an advocate for Latino clients in the Bay Area, mentoring and guiding them through business, life, and legal challenges. 

Maria Bishop, CCLS

Maria has over 30 years of civil litigation experience.

She has been self-employed as a legal assistant since 2016, working remotely for sole practitioners. Maria obtained her paralegal certificate from Kaplan College in 2001.

She has been a member of Mt. Diablo Legal Professionals since 1994, is a past president, and is currently the Treasurer and Webmaster. At the Legal Professionals Inc. state level, Maria is currently the California Certified Legal Secretary Certifying Board Chair, and has served as LPI’s Editor-in-Chief of the Publications Revision Committee.

Basic Training Classes

Civil Litigation

 


This course is designed for the beginning legal secretary with less than one year of civil litigation experience.

  • Legal secretary duties, filing Complaints, basic methods of service, responses, calendaring.
  • Basic Discovery training.
  • Basic Motion practice.
  • ADR practice.
  • Basic pre-trial practices.
  • Post-trial procedures.
  • BONUS | 30-minute Q&A

$250

SIGN UP NOW
Family Law


This course will help you understand the ins and outs of divorce/dissolution proceedings. “The classes are designed for legal staff with less than 1 year of experience but will also cover some advanced procedures:

  • Divorce/Dissolution process – filling out the Summons and Petition.
  • Preparing and serving the disclosure documents.
  • Family law trials.
  • Request for Orders and Findings and Orders After Hearing.
  • The Judgment phase.
  • Summary Dissolutions, Legal Separation, and Parentage.
  • BONUS | 30-minute Q&A  

$250

SIGN UP NOW

All classes will be held on Saturdays on the following dates:

 2025: March 29, April 5, April 12, April 19, April 26, May 3 

Civil Litigation 9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. PT
Family Law 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. PT

Advanced Training Classes

Civil Litigation

 

This course is designed for the legal secretary with more than one year of civil litigation experience.

  • Basics of filing Complaints review, various methods of service, responses, and calendaring. Comprehensive methods of the motions that can be filed as a response to the complaint.
  • Advanced Discovery training.
  • Advanced Motion practice.
  • Advanced ADR practice.
  • Advanced pre-trial practices.
  • Post-Trial Judgments and collections.
  • BONUS | 30-minute Q&A

 $250

Probate


This course will help you understand the ins and outs of the probate process. This course is designed for legal staff with less than one year of experience but will also cover some advanced procedures.

  • Filling out the Petition.
  • Notice to creditors.
  • Notice to government agencies.
  • Inventory and Appraisal process.
  • Order for Final Distribution
  • BONUS | 30-minute Q&A  

Scenarios will be presented to guide you through the different phases and to help you identify important facts.

$250

All classes will be held on Saturdays on the following dates:

  2025: September 27, October 4, October 11, October 18, October 25, November 1 

Civil Litigation 9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. PT
Family Law 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. PT

Join the waitlist to get notified when registration for
Advanced Training Classes open up!

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