2019 Professional Development Course Catalog

The Judicial College provides lunch for participants enrolled in full-day classes. Course offerings may change due to instructor availability. For information on courses listed without dates, please refer to CONNECT . Courses at the College Look for this icon for suggestions on enhancing your learning by connecting a Professional Development course with a Technology Education course. You can review Technology Education courses on CourtNet or CONNECT .

Access to Justice: Enhancing Justice in Serving the Public

Advanced Business Writing This course has been designed as a peer-to-peer, instruc- tor-guided writing course for professionals interested in developing their understanding of the art and science of writing and honing their writing skills. This course is a departure from the traditional classroom experience. This course will meet four separate times, and homework will be assigned. In order to complete the course, all four sessions must be attended in their entirety. Writing will be completed and reviewed during class by student peers with guidance from the instructor. Laptop computers will be available for single-day use, or students may bring their own. Writing by hand is also welcome. Course topics include grammar and punctuation, advanced writing techniques, composition and structure, and applying logical and critical thinking when writing. Participants must attend all four class meetings within their chosen session. Session 1 Feb 6 W 9:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. Mar 6 W 9:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. Apr 16 T 9:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. May 7 T 9:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. Session 2 Jun 26 W 9:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. Jul 24 W 9:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. Aug 22 Th 9:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. Sep 19 Th 9:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. Prerequisite: A basic business-writing course taken either with the Judiciary or outside of the Judiciary.

As a court professional, you are the face of the Judiciary. Your interactions with the public color their experience of the justice system. You play a critical role in ensuring that all persons have meaningful access to justice. This course will help you effectively and ethically enhance access to justice by giving you the tools and skills you need to serve the public. Participants will learn to identify programs and services available to help litigants who do not have lawyers make more effective referrals and aid court users ethically and effectively. Learn about the broad range of court-based self-help centers, law libraries, web-enabled tools and resources including the Judiciary’s self-help video library, form finders, and the Maryland Law Help app. The course will include a segment on distinguishing legal advice from information. Court professionals will learn how to distinguish these activities, so they can go further in aiding the public while remaining within the bounds of ethical practice. Finally, participants will learn how to respond to the special needs of some court users including persons with disabilities and individuals whose primary language is not English. The Maryland Courts are known nationally for the extensive resources and services we provide to the self-represented and those with limited English. Come see what the fuss is all about! Be a part of our statewide access to justice team! Apr 2 T 8:30 a.m.–3:30 p.m. Nov 5 T 8:30 a.m.–3:30 p.m.

Connect your learning! MS Word courses from the Department of Technology Education pair well with this course.

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Judicial College of Maryland