NALA CP study plan
NALA CP · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 8 hours per week
Civil Litigation
Map the full life of a civil action from client intake through appeal, writing a one-line note for each procedural stage
Draft a pleadings checklist distinguishing the required contents of a complaint, answer, and reply in a fact pattern you invent
Compute three separate deadline scenarios using the applicable rule for service, response, and discovery cutoff
Draft five interrogatories and five requests for production that are objection-proof on their face
Your checkpoint
A 10-page civil litigation outline plus a completed pleadings-and-deadlines checklist applied to one hypothetical case
Civil Litigation & Legal Research, Writing, and Ethics
Explain the scope and limits of paralegal duties under unauthorized-practice and supervision rules, generating five concrete do-and-don't examples
Apply a conflicts-of-interest and confidentiality analysis to three short fact patterns and state the correct course of action for each
Summarize the mechanics of discovery disputes, including motion to compel and protective order practice, in a one-page flowchart
Cite the correct primary source type for each of five research questions without using secondary commentary
Your checkpoint
An ethics scenario bank of 15 fact patterns with a written answer and rule citation for each
Contracts
Distinguish formation requirements for common law, UCC Article 2, and hybrid contracts, labeling each element in three sample agreements
Analyze offer, acceptance, and consideration in five short hypotheticals and identify the precise defect where a contract fails
Chart the Statute of Frauds categories and apply them to four oral agreements to determine enforceability
Identify every breach remedy available in a supplied fact pattern and rank them by likelihood of success
Explain the parol evidence rule and the exceptions using two contrasting written agreements
Your checkpoint
A contracts matrix covering formation, defenses, third-party rights, and remedies, each cell illustrated with your own example
Contracts & Legal Research, Writing, and Ethics
Brief five published cases using a consistent format and pull one holding sentence from each
Draft a two-page office memo applying contract law to a fact pattern, using IRAC headings and correct citation form
Edit your own memo for Bluebook-style citation accuracy and record every correction made
Identify performance versus breach issues in a UCC sale-of-goods scenario and state the buyer's and seller's remedies
Your checkpoint
One complete IRAC office memo with citations and a marked-up revision showing at least ten self-corrections
Corporate and Business Organizations
Compare sole proprietorship, general partnership, limited partnership, LLC, and corporation on formation, liability, taxation, and management in a single comparison grid
Draft the core formation documents for one entity type, including articles and an operating or shareholder agreement outline
Trace the fiduciary duties of partners, members, and directors through three conflict fact patterns
Summarize dissolution and winding-up steps for one entity and identify the creditor-priority order
Your checkpoint
A formation document packet for one entity plus a completed entity-comparison grid with five decision scenarios
Criminal Law and Procedure
Map the sequence of a criminal case from arrest through appeal and label the constitutional right triggered at each step
Apply Fourth Amendment search-and-seizure standards to four fact patterns and state whether suppression is warranted
Distinguish the elements of three property offenses and two personal offenses with a self-written example of each element
Explain the burden of proof and hearsay considerations for a suppression hearing in a short written analysis
Your checkpoint
A criminal procedure timeline plus four suppression analyses each resolved with a stated conclusion
Estate Planning and Probate & Real Estate and Property Law
Compare intestate succession outcomes and elective share rules across two fact patterns to determine who takes and in what share
Draft a will structure outline and a probate administration checklist covering appointment through distribution and closing
Classify five estate assets by probate versus non-probate treatment and explain each classification
Distinguish easements, licenses, and covenants and label five property scenarios by the correct interest
Complete a deed, title, and recording exercise identifying what makes a conveyance valid and recordable
Your checkpoint
A probate administration checklist and a property interests classification sheet, each applied to two hypotheticals
Estate Planning and Probate & Real Estate and Property Law & Legal Research, Writing, and Ethics
Rank all seven domains by your own timed-practice accuracy and rebuild a final-week review list in that order
Complete a timed mixed practice set across all seven domains and score each domain separately
Re-write your weakest outline section from memory and check it against your notes to find gaps
Draft a reusable exam-day checklist covering issue spotting order, citation basics, and time allocation per question
Your checkpoint
A scored mixed practice report with per-domain accuracy percentages and a one-page exam-day checklist
Milestones
Week 2: Can state the civil litigation case sequence and the ethics rules on confidentiality, conflicts, and supervision from memory, citing the governing rule for each
Week 4: Scored at least 70 percent on a self-made 25-question contracts quiz, and produced a cited memo that passes your own edit for form and reasoning
Week 6: Can explain, without notes, the entity comparison grid and the criminal procedure timeline, including the right implicated at each stage
Week 8: Scored 75 percent or higher on the timed mixed practice set with no domain falling below 65 percent