If you want to become a paralegal, here’s your chance to know more about it with this article. I hope I’ll help you to understand it more by reading my article. I’m motivated to write this because I would’ve liked to learn about the job before getting into it for more information.
It’s kind of challenging actually. You have a lot of work to do as case preparation, meeting clients, analyzing documents and more. You’re kind of in the background when you’re a paralegal because the lawyer is actually the one who’s presenting most of your work. Plus, it can be stressful at times but not always. Sometimes you have a lot of paperwork or even not as much time as you would want to have. Not everyone can do this job because of that. The environment at work is actually pretty serious. You’ll deal with plenty of people like lawyers, witnesses and even court.
You’ll have a lot to do because you’re one of the key members. You’ll do a lot of research on a lot of cases with help of different code or even websites more precisely like SOQUIJ, CAIJ and more. You’ll also be preparing for trials and also setting them. You’ll write many procedures depending where you work. In brief, you’re there to support the legal process by doing administrative tasks and also preparing everything for the trial like the paperwork and the case law.
On a typical day you’ll be preparing calendars, preparing documentation and calling clients. You’ll also be setting trials. Sometimes, you can assist them. Through the day, you’ll interact with lawyers and notaries. You’ll be most of the time doing paperwork or even researching. You’ll also be tracking deadlines and check if everything is completed for the case.
Paralegals can work pretty much everywhere. They’re really useful. I won’t mention all of them but here’s a few. First of there’s the law firms which is the place where most of the paralegal’s work. Second of you can work for the government agencies like immigration offices or even SAAQ. Third of you’ll be able to work at court or even tribunals. Here are some court you could work for Small Claims Court, Supreme Court, Courts of Appeal and also Trial Courts. Here are some tribunals you could work for Human rights tribunals, Immigration tribunals and more.
You’ll have to complete a DEC of Paralegal Technology.
In Canada, in entry-level you’ll make between $50 000 and $60 000.Through the years, you can make up to $80 000 per year.
You’ll have a training to do in a law firm. You can choose to specialize yourself. That’s pretty much it.
I’ll say the lack of independence. Even if we’re one of the key members, we’re still very dependent of the lawyer who’s supervising us. We can’t make our own decision in most cases because it could affect the whole team. If your someone who loves independence, it could be a bad thing on long term.
I would say 50% of chance. In fact, paralegals could be replaceable but as we all know, the field of law is really difficult. There’s too much law and things to learn. Robots are not capable of doing it. Law changes every year which could be a challenge for the robot. They’ll always have to improve which is going to be difficult for the long run.
Most paralegals retire at the age of 60 and 70. Over the years of working as a paralegal, you’ll gain lots of experience such as writing skills, multitasking, communication skills and even more. It’s different for everyone when it comes to the impact you had on people or even for the place you’ve had work. In general, I would say that helping client can be very impactful for them and also for you. You’ll learn new things. You’ll help them through a period of their lives which is pretty much amazing and wonderful. You can have regrets if you pass up opportunities like becoming a lawyer but never going back to school for getting the diploma. I think that the best way to never pass up opportunities is to listen to your gut and your heart.
I’m currently a full time student at Ahuntsic College. I’m studying Paralegal Technology. Next year I’ll be in an internship in Quebec. After my internship, I’ll be in Udem doing a Bachelor in International Studies to potentially work in Europe.
Rationale: to inform or educate
Authority: government
Date: still relevant
Accuracy: probably true
Relevance: relevant for this document
Sources: cites sources