ABOUT THE PROGRAM
Get comprehensive legal training designed to prepare graduates for a variety of career choices in the administrative and legal fields.
Communicate effectively, manage clients, prepare documentation and have a firm knowledge of the terms and procedures needed for real-life legal and paralegal situations.
Be prepared for a career in such employment opportunities as law offices, government and legal offices, insurance companies, and financial institutions. Or choose to work as a financial researcher, in wills and estates or as a legal assistant.
Program Description
Paralegal/Legal Assistant Program is a comprehensive legal training program designed to prepare graduates for a variety of employment opportunities in the legal and business community. Graduates have found employment in law offices, government legal offices, insurance companies, financial institutions etc.
Island Career Academy, is the only Private Career College that offers Paralegal/Legal Assistant training.We first began offering Paralegal/Legal Assistant training in 1998. At that time the only options for residents of Cape Breton to acquire such training was to attend our local university (a three year program) or leave Cape Breton and go to mainland Nova Scotia. Both scenarios increase training costs dramatically.
Our Paralegal/Legal Assistant program stresses problem solving skills and cooperative learning together with computer applications as a way of keeping pace with the ever changing software applications available today.
Graduates completing the Paralegal/Legal Assistant program have the skills to seek employment in occupations such as: bookkeepers, accounting assistants, administrative assistants, secretaries, receptionists, database designers and managers, presentation design, information management etc.
Program Duration
825 hours of in class time along with
240 hours of work place experience.
41 Weeks (35 weeks in class and 6 weeks practicum placement)
The legal component of the paralegal program comprises of two courses, Introduction to Law/Legal Communications and Paralegal Procedures.
Introduction to Law & Legal Communications provides students with a basic introduction to the legal system, general principals of preparation of all types of documents, the legal interview, and includes such subjects offered in the listing below.
Course of study will include the following:
- Business English
- Legal Communication (terminology)
- Micro Computer Operating Systems
- Word/Document Preparation
- Keyboarding
- Legal Office Procedures
- Paralegal Procedures
- Bookkeeping/Accounting
- Information Management
- Planning and writing for effective communications
- Letter writing
- Document preparation
- Interviewing techniques
- Introduction to law and the Canadian legal system
- Court structure
- Legal terminology
- Steps in a legal proceeding
- Legal ethics
Paralegal Procedures
This course provides students with a theoretical background in each of the subject areas, as well as experience with the practical application of theory in our legal system. The course runs concurrently with word/document processing, students are provided with real life assignments involving preparation of documents under time limits.
Subjects included in the Paralegal Procedures course are as follows:
- Civil Procedures
- Tort Law
- Family Law
- Corporate Commercial Law
- Real Estate
- Wills and Estates
- Legal Research
- Criminal Law
Entrance Requirements
The entrance requirements for this program are Grade 12, a clear criminal record check, GED, or minimum Wonderlic (17) cut score.
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