How To Become A Paralegal In Alberta

From researching legal precedents to helping formulate a defence strategy to interviewing witnesses to collecting evidence for a case, paralegals do exciting, exacting, and important work to support lawyers and their clients. Interested in a fulfilling new career as a paralegal? This guide will teach you everything you need to know to get started. 

Paralegals are highly valued by corporations and law firms; their unique skills afford them high salaries and excellent career prospects.

Key Takeaways

• Paralegals are legal professionals who support lawyers and their teams.
• Paralegals have a wide range of duties, from drafting documents to interviewing witnesses.
• Though paralegals are not a regulated profession in Alberta, most employers will only look at candidates with a post-secondary education. 
• Robertson College has a course dedicated to helping you become a paralegal professional.
• The salaries and job prospects for paralegals in Alberta are excellent.
• You can develop a combination of hard and soft skills to thrive in any legal environment as a paralegal.

What Is A Paralegal?

Lawyers can’t do everything alone; that’s where paralegals come in. Paralegals are professionals who conduct legal research, draft legal documents, communicate with clients, organize and maintain case files, interview witnesses, assemble evidence, and more. 

Paralegals are highly valued members of a legal team; they may work at law firms, in corporations, and in other legal settings. Most paralegals specialize in a specific area of law; this means there are many different types of paralegals, including:

• Commercial and Corporate Paralegal
• Contract Law Paralegal
• Criminal Law Paralegal
• Family Law Paralegal
• Government Paralegal
• Immigration Paralegal
• Independent Paralegal
• Intellectual Property (IP) Paralegal
• Property Law Paralegal
• Real Estate Paralegal

How To Become A Paralegal

1. Graduate High School

The first step to becoming a paralegal is to graduate from high school. The roles and responsibilities of a paralegal are diverse; you may be using communication skills to interview witnesses, mathematics to calculate financial losses for a client, and writing to draft documents. A general high school education will give you the basic tools to perform all of those tasks and better prepare you for your post-secondary education. 

2. Pursue Post-Secondary Education

The paralegal profession is unregulated, so there is no strict standard dictating what level of post-secondary education you must obtain to work as a paralegal. Law firms and other employers highly value relevant training and experience; however, some post-secondary education will be tremendously helpful on your journey to becoming a paralegal.

At Robertson College, we offer a paralegal program in Calgary. This program gives you all of the tools you need to succeed in a career as a paralegal.  In our course, we cover several different aspects of the Canadian legal system, including:

• Real estate law
• Contract law
• Criminal law
• Employment law
• Corporate law
• Commercial law
• Property law
• Family law
• Immigration law

3. Gain Experience

Once you’ve completed your post-secondary education, you should get as much experience in the field as possible. Our paralegal diploma program includes a practicum, in which you will work in a professional setting like a law office to hone the skills you’ve learned. 

Specializing in a specific area of law can help you grow your career as a paralegal, but before you do, it can be helpful to explore a few different career opportunities in different legal departments. Gaining experience in varied departments can help you determine which area of law you’re most passionate about before you specialize. 

4. Join The AAPP

The Alberta Association of Professional Paralegals (AAPP) is a professional association for legal assistants, paralegals, students, and industry supporters. Joining the AAPP is not mandatory, but it offers a number of advantages, including:

• Continuing education
• Mentorship opportunities
• Networking opportunities
• Ongoing support

Our paralegal course is endorsed by the AAPP and meets its requirements for paralegal membership; we highly recommend joining the AAPP to take advantage of its knowledge and resources. 

Educational Requirements

Though a post-secondary education is not a mandatory requirement for becoming a paralegal, it is highly recommended. Law firms and other employers are very selective; though unregulated, the work of a paralegal is complex, technical, and involved.

A post-secondary diploma in a paralegal professional program, combined with work experience through a practicum, is a great way to meet the educational requirements that most employers have for paralegals. 

Certification Requirements

There is no provincial legislation in Alberta regulating paralegals; this means that paralegals do not need to be licensed or certified. Presently, the AAPP is working on a bid to have paralegals regulated. Should the profession become regulated, paralegals will be subject to certification and licensing processes. These processes may include:

• Minimum education requirements
• A certification exam

The AAPP has already endorsed our paralegal program; if its bid to get the profession regulated is accepted, it is likely that the program we offer will meet the minimum education requirements set out by the AAPP. 

Key Skills

Professional paralegals should develop a number of key skills to succeed in the field. These skills include soft skills and highly technical hard skills that require an in-depth knowledge of the Canadian legal system. Here are some of the key skills you should develop to thrive as a paralegal in Alberta:

Communication

Paralegals interact with clients, lawyers, and third parties like witnesses on a regular basis. A successful paralegal will know how to change their style of communication to fit their audience. They must also be able to convey legal information clearly and succinctly, even to people with no legal background.

Attention To Detail

Making mistakes when recording witness testimony, preparing legal documents, or assembling evidence can turn a successful case into a failure. Paralegals must scrutinize complex documents and identify inaccuracies within them; attention to detail is crucial. 

Thorough Knowledge Of Legal Processes

To succeed in your role as a paralegal, you will need in-depth knowledge of both Alberta and Canadian law and legal procedures. Additionally, you’ll want to cultivate specialized knowledge in your chosen specialty; a combination of education and on-the-job experience will give you the knowledge you need. 

Document Preparation

Paralegals must prepare all kinds of legal documents; they may also be tasked with analyzing legal documents to find inconsistencies. You will learn how to draft and analyze legal documents in our paralegal course, and hone those skills on the job. 

Organization

The work of a paralegal is multifaceted; you might be drafting a document one day, then flying on a plane to interview a witness the next. Organization, time management, and document management are key. You must prioritize critical tasks, file documents in an organized manner, and coordinate between multiple parties—all of which take excellent organizational skills. 

Critical Thinking

As a paralegal, you will be analyzing legal documents, evidence, witness statements, and more to develop tactics and strategies to support lawyers and their clients. Developing your critical thinking skills can help you spot opportunities and challenges that others may miss and that may be the turning points in a case. 

Self-Reliance

Developing your self-reliance and autonomy will give you the power to better support the lawyers you work with. At first, your work will be heavily supervised; as your career develops, you will find yourself working independently, taking initiative to help your law firm or corporation succeed. 

Duties

Paralegals have a number of duties. Working alongside lawyers, legal assistants, and other legal professionals, a paralegal may:

• Draft legal documents, including wills, real estate documents, pleadings, and more
• Submit legal documents to agencies
• Conduct legal searches for tax documents, land titles, and more
• Assist with transactions that transfer property from one party to another
• Assist in researching and formulating tactics and strategies for cases
• Organize documents
• Attend pre-trial and trial proceedings
• Communicate with clients, lawyers, and third parties

These are just a few of the many duties and responsibilities that a paralegal may have; as paralegals specialize in a particular field of law, these duties and responsibilities expand. 

Average Salary

The average salary of a paralegal in Alberta is $70,711 a year, which translates to an average hourly wage of $38.16. We can also offer a salary breakdown for Calgary and Edmonton, thanks to the Alberta Learning Information Service (ALIS):

• In Calgary, the average salary for a paralegal is $71,057 a year.
• In Edmonton, the average salary for a paralegal is $70,402 a year.

Throughout the rest of Canada, the wages of a paralegal are somewhat similar, with a median wage of $32.69 in the country overall. 

The highest-paid paralegals can make $52 an hour or more in Alberta. This translates to $108,160 a year (assuming a 40-hour a week, 52-week work schedule). 

Job Forecast

According to the Alberta Learning Information Service (ALIS), the job forecast for paralegals in Alberta is excellent. It describes the 3-year forecast for paralegals as “Hot”, and the 5-year forecast for paralegals as “Above average”. ALIS also offers salary breakdowns for Edmonton and Calgary:

The Government of Canada’s Job Bank offers a similar 3-year forecast, with good prospects throughout the country. 

Begin Your Journey Today

Ready to start your career as a paralegal? Join Robertson College today. You can connect with one of our Student Advisors; they will personally provide support and guidance and answer any questions you may have about becoming a paralegal.

Contact us today to take the first step toward an exciting, fulfilling career as a paralegal. Robertson College also teaches how to become a supply chain manager and how to become a dental office administrator. We offer many career choices and look forward to welcoming you to Robertson College!