ABA-approved since 1993, the Fullerton College Paralegal Studies Program has made a significant impact on its local legal community by successfully educating more than a thousand students over the last 27 years. Although many of these graduates go on to see great success in their paralegal careers, one graduate, Michael Moore, Class of 2014, stands out not only for his accomplishments as a litigation and bankruptcy paralegal over the last decade, but also as an esteemed educator in the very program he graduated from.
Over the last three years, Michael has dedicated himself to educating his students to the highest academic and ethical standards, both in the classroom and out. He teaches Introduction to Paralegal Studies, Introduction to Legal Research, Introduction to Legal Writing, and is responsible for the program’s first successful offering of Advanced Legal Writing. His methods of teaching and student engagement have significantly elevated the outcomes in every course he teaches. His students overwhelmingly exceed course expectations under his instructional guidance and clamor to register for any course he teaches knowing they are learning from one of the best.
In addition to providing vigorous theory instruction in his classes, Michael is able to supplement the theoretical with the much needed, real-world practical experience that rounds out the students’ educational experience and better prepares them for the work they will encounter in the field.
Michael’s dedication to excellence transcends the classroom into his work as a senior paralegal. He has proven himself vital to the attorneys he supports through superior research and writing skills that have culminated in the creation of a winning appellate brief concerning an attorney conflict of interest issue before the California Courts of Appeal, Fourth District. The appellate court’s decision was published and has become the crown jewel in Mr. Moore’s writing portfolio, as well as an important case in deciding future conflicts of interest issues. See Lynn v. George, 15 Cal. App.5th 630 (2017).
Michael demonstrates the highest level of standards in every arena, whether in the office or in the classroom. His contributions to the Fullerton College Paralegal Program and its students set the highest level of professional standards. He is a model of excellence both in the field and in the classroom. The College and the Program are incredibly proud to call him both an alumnus and colleague.
-Submitted by Marcus Wilson, Program Director, Paralegal Studies Program, Fullerton College