Start at the beginning.

I'm a student at Ahuntsic College in my second year in the field of Paralegal Technology. At the end of this semester, I will only have one year remaining of college studies to finish my degree in the field. I'm not sure which path I want to follow after college, but with this choice of program I am lucky that many options are open to me. The most difficult thing is either to choose to continue my studies or to pursuit on the work world. I am confident that the internship in the end of this three-year degree will help me to take my decision.

Choice 1 : Go to the university in law.

Choice 2 : To work as a paralegal.

Choice 3 : To become a bailiff.

Choice 4 : To become a lawyer.

Go to the university in law.

Several universities in the city of Montreal offer the Law program such as the University of Montreal, the University of Quebec in Montreal, McGill University and the University of Laval. All of these options are close to Ahuntsic College and they all offer the four-year degree to either become a lawyer or a notary.

Choice 1 : To become a lawyer.

Choice 2 : To become a notary.

To become a lawyer.

After the three-year program of studies in the paralegal field it is possible to go study in law at the university and choose to become a lawyer. The three-year program at Ahuntsic College gives a good base and gives students a step in advance compared to the others since they did three years talking about the different law fields and the internship that gave an experience in the field. The several duties of a lawyer are to listen, educate, advise, negotiate, represent and write legal documents for their clients. The main job of a lawyer is to listen to the different needs of their clients and adapt their work for each and another.

Choice 1 : To become a lawyer in a specific related field.

Choice 2 : To become a judge after being a lawyer.

To become a notary.

In the end of the three-year program it is also possible to become a notary. After the bar exam, the law student will choose to either become a lawyer or a notary. If they choose to become a notary, they will also have to follow the postgraduate program in notarial law. The main job of a notary is to write legal documents, to give legal advice if different aspect of their client's lives such as when they are buying a house, getting married or when they write their will. They also make sure that their clients are well-informed, and they sometimes can represent their clients in the court house.

Choice 1 : Go to the university in law and become a notary.

To work as a paralegal.

In the case, you don't have the motivation to go further in your studies you can become a certified paralegal after the end of the three-year program. Paralegal Technology trains their students to become a paralegal, and they learn the different field of law to be prepared to work in any of them. As a paralegal, there are many places we can work at. Private companies, the court, lawyer's firms, notary's firms, corporate legal departments, governments agencies, and way more. The advantage of becoming a paralegal is the different workplace, the possibility to chose where you want to work or for who you want to work. Some people only want to work for private company or some people only for a lawyer's firm, but with this degree the options are very large. Also, by choosing this program, you are lead to an interesting future and high chance of placement in the work world.

Choice 1 : To work as a paralegal in a lawyer's firm.

Choice 2 : To work as a paralegal in the court's house.

To become a bailiff.

To become a bailiff in Quebec, the two only possible paths is to detain a DEC in Paralegal Technology or a bachelor's degree from a law faculty like a university. To become a bailiff you also need to follow a five-week training program, to complete a six-month internship and to pass Quebec's association of bailiff exam. The work of a bailiff has four main duties. The duties are to deliver legal documents, to carry court orders, to prepare official reports on situations and finally to collect money to however owe. The disadvantage of this career is the long hours of work, it can be up to 60 hours per week and the possibility to work on the week-ends.

Choice 1 : To become a bailiff.

To work as a paralegal in a lawyer's firm.

Once, you become a paralegal there is a different workplace available. The most popular environment after graduation for a paralegal is to go work for a lawyer's firm. Some big lawyer's firm offer better salary and social advantage, but the work in a small firm can also be very enriched to a beginner or someone who prefers smaller business. The duties of a paralegal working in a lawyer's firm differ from every place, but the main tasks are the same everywhere such as research, writing of legal document and to schedule the different appointments of the lawyer they are working with.

Choice 1 : To work as a paralegal in a lawyer's firm.

To become a lawyer in a specific related field.

In Quebec, after their studies, attorneys need to choose a specific field they want to practice the law. The most popular one are family, criminal and civil rights. The highest demand right now are the one experimenting anything related to the internet. It is interesting to future lawyer to know this since the demand is present.

Choice 1 : To become a lawyer in a specific related field.

To become a judge after being a lawyer.

In order to become a judge, in Quebec you need to have practice the career of an attorney before.

Choice 1 : To become a judge after being a lawyer.

To work as a paralegal in the court's house.

Once, you become a paralegal there is a different workplace available. The court's house is an interesting one because of the different list of tasks. They get to work directly in the court room and have direct access to the jurisdiction.

Choice 1 : To work as a paralegal.