42200 Paralegals and related occupations

What this occupation covers

Paralegals prepare legal documents and conduct research to assist lawyers or other professionals. Independent paralegals provide legal services to the public as allowed by government legislation, or provide paralegal services on contract to law firms or other establishments. Justices of the peace administer oaths, issue subpoenas, summonses and warrants and perform other court-related duties such as conducting bail hearings. Notaries public administer oaths, take affidavits, sign legal documents and perform other activities according to the scope of their practice. Trademark agents advise clients on intellectual property matters. Paralegals are employed by law firms, by record search companies and in legal departments throughout the public and private sectors. Independent paralegals are usually self-employed. Justices of the peace are employed by federal, provincial, municipal, and territorial courts. Notaries public are employed by government and in the public and private sectors or they may be self-employed. Trademark agents are employed by law firms and legal departments throughout the public and private sectors, trademark development and search firms or they may be self-employed.

Official main duties

The NOC profile lists 23 main duties for this code.

• Assist lawyers by interviewing clients, witnesses and other related parties, assembling documentary evidence, preparing trial briefs, and arranging for trials
• Assist lawyers in preparation for mediation and judicial dispute resolutions
• Under the supervision of a lawyer, prepare wills, real estate transactions and other legal documents, court reports and affidavits
• Research records, court files and other legal documents
• Draft legal correspondence and perform general office and clerical duties.
• Represent clients in small claims court and in other lower court proceedings, at tribunals and before administrative bodies
• Advise clients and take legal action on landlord and tenant matters, traffic violations, name changes and other issues within their jurisdictions.
• Issue subpoenas, summonses and warrants, including search warrants
• Receive affidavits, declarations and affirmations
• Administer oaths
• Conduct bail hearings
• Hear evidence at trials on summary conviction offences and may preside over trials of criminal offences at the discretion of the chief judge of the jurisdiction or as provided for in federal, provincial, or territorial statutes
• Perform civil marriages
• Register wills, probate, bankruptcy, etc.
• Notaries public
• Witness and certify the validity of signatures on documents
• May draft contracts, prepare promissory notes and draw up wills, mortgages and other legal documents
• May arrange probates and administer the estates of deceased persons.
• Trademark agents
• Advise clients on intellectual property matters and represent clients before the Registrar of Trade-Marks on matters including prosecution of applications for registration of trademarks
• Advise on the registrability of trademarks, trademark licensing requirements, transfer of intellectual property and protection of existing trademark rights
• Represent clients at proceedings before the Trade Marks Opposition Board and in related proceedings
• May represent clients internationally in consultation with foreign associates and attorneys.

Do not copy these lines into your reference letter. The letter has to describe what you actually did, in your employer’s words. DUTYPROOF flags wording lifted from the NOC as something to review, and an officer reading a letter that mirrors the NOC reads it the same way.

What DUTYPROOF screens for

This is DUTYPROOF’s screening threshold, not IRCC’s decision. For this NOC, screening requires at least 4 of its 23 official duties to be evidenced in your own words, plus the required letter elements. IRCC asks that you performed the actions in the occupation’s lead statement and a substantial number of its main duties — so treat the duty coverage as the number that matters, not the badge.

Codes this one is confused with

The NOC profile names these itself. Choosing the wrong code of a look-alike pair is the most common way genuine work experience fails to establish eligibility.

• 41101 Lawyers and Quebec notaries
• 13111 Legal administrative assistants
• 41400 Natural and applied science policy researchers, consultants and program officers

Excluded from this code

• Articling law student (See 41101 Lawyers and Quebec notaries)
• Legal administrative assistants (See 13111 Legal administrative assistants)
• Patent agent (See 41400 Natural and applied science policy researchers, consultants and program officers)
• Quebec notary (See 41101 Lawyers and Quebec notaries)
• Trademark lawyer (See 41101 Lawyers and Quebec notaries)

Job titles filed under this code

A title on this list does not by itself put your experience in this code — the duties in your letter decide that.

abstractor · brief writer - law · British Columbia notary public · citizenship judge · clerk of probate · collection paralegal · commercial law clerk · commercial law paralegal · commissioner of affidavits · commissioner of marriages · contract clerk - law · conveyance clerk · copyright agent · corporate law and litigation clerk · corporate law clerk · corporate paralegal · corporate securities law clerk · corporation paralegal · court and tribunal agent · criminal law clerk · criminal law paralegal · family law clerk · family law paralegal · foreclosure clerk

Employment requirements

• Paralegals in law firms require a bachelor's degree in law or a law college diploma and in-house training from a law firm or other legal establishment.
• Independent paralegals require knowledge of legal principles and procedures usually obtained through industry-sponsored courses and through experience, or through completion of a community college paralegal program.
• Paralegals require a licence to perform advanced legal services.
• Justices of the peace requirements can vary from a background in law and the justice system, completion of a justice registrar, justice of the peace or other court training program depending on their duties and responsibilities.
• Justices of the peace in the provinces are appointed by the lieutenant governor in council and, in the territories, by federally appointed territorial commissioners.
• Notaries public usually require a university degree in law or a related field.
• Notaries public are appointed after examination and certification of their qualifications by the governing judiciary in their province or territory. All appointments have specific limitations on the activities they can perform and for specific periods of time.
• Notaries public require a provincial licence. In British Columbia, membership in the Society of Notaries Public is also required.
• To be licensed, trademark agents are required to work in the area of trademark law, including the preparation and prosecution of trademark applications for registration, for two years and to successfully complete the examination conducted jointly by the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada and the Registrar of Trade-Marks, Canadian Intellectual Property Office or either one of the above and to be a lawyer entitled to practise in Canada.
• Trademark agents require registration with the federal Trade-Mark Office.