Paralegals in Canada are expert and skilled professionals who work for law offices, corporations, and other similar legal settings. A paralegal commonly drafts legal documents, interviews people, conducts legal research, and more. Lawyers rely a lot on paralegals to help them out during trials, prepare casework, and carry out other critical legal duties.
Whether they admit it or not, lawyers can never do everything on their own, and that’s why they need the assistance of paralegals.
Paralegals do dynamic, interesting, and exciting work day in and day out. They also get lots of room for professional growth with strong career prospects in Canada.
These professionals are educated and well-versed in Canadian law which helps them perform crucial legal work. They are skilled in conducting interviews, preparing documents, carrying out legal research, and advocating for their clients.
But even though paralegals in Canada have the same job, distinct restrictions are being implemented across the country. Every province follows its standards of practice for professionals in the legal field, including the standards for rendering legal advice. As of writing, Ontario is the only Canadian province that has its official regulatory board for paralegals.
Duties of Paralegals in Canada
Paralegals share the same duties regardless of the specific province where they’re rendering their services. While they don’t practice law per se, paralegals are still highly educated and extensively familiar with both provincial and Canadian law. They can also carry out a diverse selection of tasks under a lawyer’s supervision.
A paralegal can develop case theories, correspond with the opposing counsel, interview clients, draft legal documents, and conduct research. They work directly on behalf of and with a lawyer instead of just performing a legal assistant’s essential administrative duties.
The following are the key duties of a paralegal in Canada:
- Show up in court with the lawyer
While paralegals can join lawyers for critical court dates, you have to remember that they are not allowed to act as their client’s representatives. Instead, they can only prepare files, retrieve documents, manage casework, and the like.
- Draft legal documents
A paralegal can also draft critical legal documents for a lawyer. These include legal forms, legal arguments, briefs, and memorandums.
- Notarization of documents
A paralegal in Ontario is empowered as a Notary Public under the Notaries Act to notarize documents, certify true copies, witness signatures, commission affidavits, etc.
- Communicate with the clients and the opposing counsel.
It involves interviewing the clients concerning the case. They can also be in correspondence with the opposing counsel.
- Handle projects
You can trust paralegals to organize their cases, prepare for deadlines, and delegate jobs. There are also instances where paralegals work with legal assistants to reach their goals and objectives.
- Organize casework
Paralegals in Ontario can also organize and process crucial case files such as transcripts or medical records under a lawyer’s supervision. These professionals can harness their advanced skills in using office software to retrieve and store important documents.
- Case research
Researching cases may include coming up with case theories, interviewing, getting affidavits and formal statements, and checking facts.
- Document filing and uploading
Paralegals are also allowed to upload documents that will be officially filed and stamped under a lawyer’s supervision. These include documents such as claims, statements, briefs, affidavits, and the like.
There are also certain situations where paralegals may also perform duties that are outside these typical boundaries. Most of the grey area is dependent on the case itself, the province, and whether or not they receive payment for the job.
Considering all the fine details involved, paralegals are strongly recommended to become a part of a paralegal association. Such associations give their members access to valuable resources, an extensive professional network, and many other perks. The Canadian Association of Paralegals or CAP is one of the numerous provincial associations that paralegals are expected to be part of.
Paralegal education and training with qualified professionals also help in sa better understanding of provincial law. There are recognized programs where students can learn essential experience, job skills, and knowledge.
Wrapping It Up
Finding the best paralegal service provider in Canada can make a big difference to the success of your case. Be sure to work with the most trustworthy paralegal to ensure that everything will work to your advantage.