Paralegals and Legal Admins: Your Gateway Into Law

As one of the most classic rom-com films, Elle Woods from Legally Blonde may have inspired you to pursue a career in law with her iconic intelligence, style, and determination. In one particular scene, she questions the plaintiff and leaves the jury speechless with the subject of a hair perm. While we won’t spoil too much if you still haven’t seen the movie, it has inspired millions of women (and men!) to consider studying law – regardless of what the “status quo” suggests.

One of the biggest misconceptions in the legal industry is that you need to be a full-time lawyer in order to practice law – which is why some people dismiss it altogether – they believe that it takes years of legal studies and work experience before they can enter the law industry. However, the fact of the matter is that this isn’t true – you can see a career in the field of law as a paralegal or legal administrator. Plus, as a bonus, the amount of time it takes to become a paralegal or legal admin is significantly shorter than becoming a lawyer.

At Sprott Shaw, we offer both the Paralegal Program and Legal Administrator Program to serve as your gateway into the law industry – without the 7-year commitment to become a lawyer.

What Does A Paralegal Do?

If you’ve ever aspired to become a lawyer but didn’t want to devote the time, paralegals are the best way to fulfill that dream.

In general, the paralegal profession performs delegated tasks in the area of practice that lawyers are normally responsible for. Some of these tasks include maintaining and organizing files, drafting documents, and conducting legal research. On a day-to-day basis, a paralegal’s routine comprises of assisting lawyers during trials, writing reports to prepare for trials, investigating facts of a case, drafting correspondence and documents, receiving formal statements and affidavits that could be used as evidence in courts, and analyzing laws, legal articles, and regulations.

Sprott Shaw’s Paralegal Program

At Sprott Shaw College, our Paralegal Program qualifies students with the appropriate training, knowledge, and competence for a rewarding legal profession. The 71-week Paralegal Diploma Program extensively equips students with the understanding of substantive and procedural aspects of law and administers them with the training necessary to perform well in any law office.

Through our courses, students will master paralegal work like practical and functional skills in proper typing techniques, transcriptions, and computer skills. Moreover, the program will cover a wide variety of legal subjects including Real Estate Law, Criminal Law, Criminal Offences, Court Procedures, Litigation, Family Law, Aboriginal Land Title, Canadian Immigration Law, Torts, Defenses, Intellectual Property, and more.

After completion of the Paralegal Program, students can open doors of opportunity in environments like law firms, corporations, real estate firms, legal departments, government agencies, and more – the list goes on!

What Does A Legal Administrator Do?

For those who are not familiar with the industry, the terms “paralegal” and “legal administrator” tend to be interpreted as synonymous and interchangeable – when they’re not actually.

As the name suggests, legal administrators execute more office administrator roles and tasks like the arranging of the law firm’s day-to-day operations. As one of their overarching roles, legal administrators are responsible for ensuring that the promised legal services are delivered to the client by overseeing the administrative activities of the administrative assistant, legal secretary, and paralegal. On a daily basis, some of their common duties include preparing presentation materials, compiling data, researching statistics, scheduling and confirming appointments, and handling routine invoicing and payments. Along with these roles, legal administrators are tasked with ordering office supplies, supervising other office workers, and typing legal documents, correspondences, and reports. In some cases, they also assist lawyers by attending court meetings to take notes and minutes.

Sprott Shaw’s Legal Administrator Program

After completing the Legal Administrator Program at Sprott Shaw, students will be fully equipped to understand the vocabulary and processes of law as well as handle and format legal correspondences such as deeds, wills, affidavits, and briefs. This 33-week diploma program provides students with the ability to recognize documents that agree with legal procedures, processes, and standards.

At the conclusion of the program, students can seek career opportunities as a Legal Administrator Assistant, Litigation Secretary, Real Estate Secretary, Corporate Law Secretary, Commercial Law Secretary, Estate Secretary, Trademark Secretary, and more!

Are you interested in learning more about our Paralegal and Legal Administrator Programs? Click below for more information!