Legal Assistant - Red Deer CollegeParalegal and Legal Assistant Education in CanadaArts and Humanities Programs -- Community College Programs
PROGRAM WEBSITE
Legal Assistant - Red Deer College Red Deer College's 2-year Legal Assistant diploma is a career-oriented program designed to ready students for employment, career advancement, and/or further educational opportunities in legal office administration. Students will be receive training 'in legal practice, basic knowledge of legal rights and principles, and secretarial skills' enabling them be able to 'under a lawyer's supervision, taking over many routine legal and administrative responsibilities.' Common duties performed by graduates 'include handling real estate transactions; preparing common forms of wills, estates, and probate work, collection work, and litigation and corporate work,' as well as 'general office and clerical duties.' The ultimate goal of the Program is to equip students with the attitudes, work habits, and skills required to effectively perform the duties required of those employed in a legal administration environment. Students should note, however, that attaining 'full legal assistant status will require experience beyond the training provided by this program.' Students will also have the opportunity to apply and practice what they have learned in the classroom to real-world situations via a 210-hour, about 6-week, work experience placement. The latter will usually take place 'during May and June and normally after completion of all other course requirements.' To graduate, the student 'must pass all courses and achieve a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.00.' Graduates of the Program may pursue various career, career advancement, and/or further educational opportunities in legal office administration and related fields. For example, graduates can apply for entry-level positions in places like law firms, court registry offices, corporate legal departments, financial organizations, government agencies, insurance companies, notaries public offices, private industry, and real estate offices, among others. Students should be aware that because of the nature of the work many employers may be unwilling to hire those who have a criminal record. Graduates may also advance their studies in legal administration, or other areas related to law and criminal justice, at various post-secondary institutions across Canada. Graduates who are interested in legal office administration may, for instance, want to further their credentials in the related fields of law clerk or paralegal work. To be eligible for admission to the Program, applicants must have a secondary school diploma, or equivalent. Individuals without the latter and who will 'be19 years of age or older,' and 'out of high school at least one full year before the program starts and have a minimum mark of 50% in ELA 30-1 or ELA 30-2, or a minimum score at the 50th percentile on the English component of the College Board Placement Test (written on campus) or the Test of Adult Basic Education (written off campus) and a score of 2-3 on a writing sample' may apply under "mature student status." All applicants will also 'be required to submit an essay outlining their interest and expectations in the career of the Legal Assistant.' Although not required for admission, for the work experience component of the Program some employers may require 'Criminal record checks of students working in their organizations.' Further 'information about obtaining Criminal Record Checks will be provided to students after they have been admitted to the program.' Moreover, 'students will be required to take a College placement test before registering in a written communications course. (Students with 60% or greater in ELA 30-1 will be exempted from this test.) Students who do not achieve a satisfactory mark in this test will be required to complete COMM 150 before they can register in the required course, COMM 250. Students should take the placement test early in the event preparatory work (COMM 150) is required.'
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