Stephen Barnes
Instructor Barnes is a full-time faculty member of Coastline College.
Stephen Barnes
Mr. Barnes has been an instructor in the paralegal department at Coastline College for the past twenty-five years. He has also been Coastline's Teacher of the Year, has served as Education Chair for the American Association for Paralegal Educators, and was a member of the National Association of Legal Assistants certifying board.
Check out the Paralegal Department page to view available Programs.
Biography
Stephen Barnes has been an instructor in the paralegal department at Coastline College for the past twenty-five years. Stephen was hired as the full time Program Director in 2012. He was honored as Coastline Teacher of the Year in 2015. He has served as Education Chair for the American Association for Paralegal Educators and was a member of the National Association of Legal Assistants certifying board in the early 2000s.
Stephen was the founding partner of a boutique law firm specializing in "Lemon Law" and warranty-related cases. He has been a licensed California attorney for twenty-nine years. He was lead counsel on a case of first impression in California Mitchell v. Blue Bird Body Company 80 Cal.App.4th 32 (2000) which established the consumer's right to recover interest on loans for lemon vehicles.
He has also published an article in the Orange County Bar Association journal titled California Leasing Act: Lessee Beware and was co-author on a Law Review article The California Lemon Law, A Misunderstood Statute.
A Cum Laude graduate of Western State University College of Law, Stephen was Salutatorian for the class of 1990. While in law school he served on the Western State University Law Review for three years. Stephen also served as a law clerk at the California Court of Appeal, Fourth District, Division Three in Santa Ana, California for justices Harmon Scoville and Ed Wallin.
Prior to attending law school Stephen taught Social Studies and coached baseball, football, and volleyball at Kern Valley High School in Lake Isabella, California. Stephen is married to Shelley (27 years) with three beautiful daughters: Alyson, Amanda, and Grace. In their free time his family enjoys boating, wakeboarding, and tubing at Lake Havasu, Arizona.
Courses Taught At Coastline
- Introduction to Paralegal Studies
- Civil Litigation 1
- Legal Procedure 1
- Civil Litigation 2
- Civil Trials and Evidence
- Contract Law
- Legal Briefing and Analysis
- Legal Research
- Intellectual Property
- Business Organizations
- Legal Environment of Business
Education Background
- Political Science B.A. - University of the Pacific
- Single Subject Clear Teaching Credential Social Science - Humboldt State University
- Juris Doctorate - Western State University College of Law
- Master of Instructional Design Certificate - ATD (2019)
- Elearning Design Certificate - ATD (2019)
Professional / Industry Experience
- Founding Partner (21 years) with the law firm, Barnes & Farrell, specializing in Lemon Law and warranty litigation matters
Involvement
- American Association for Paralegal Education (AAfPE) - past Education Chair
- Orange County Paralegal Association (OCPA) - member
- National Association for Legal Assistants (NALA) - past member of certifying board
- Coastline College Academic Senate - past president
Projects, etc.
- AAfPE Regional presentations Best Practices: Using Student response Systems in the Classroom, Developing a Legal Clinic for your Paralegal Program
More at Coastline
Paralegal Department
The Paralegal Department encompasses the Paralegal Studies program.
Campus Directory
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Paralegal Studies
The Paralegal Studies program offers both an AA Degree and Certificate of Achievement.