Legal Assistant

Program Description

Prepare for a career in the legal profession with SAIT’s Legal Assistant diploma. Discover how to be an integral part of a legal practice with highly specialized legal administrative skills. In this practical two-year diploma, your instructors are lawyers and former legal assistants who show you how to assist your lawyer with important tasks on various files. Using industry software on your SAIT-issued laptop, you develop accurate keyboarding and transcription skills - and adapt your strong command of English spelling and grammar to effectively prepare various legal documents.

In your substantive courses, you master relevant terminology for corporate law, real estate law, family law, criminal law and more. You practice legal assistant tasks such as preparing a separation agreement, a criminal law file and a corporate minute book. In your capstone course, you simulate a real law office to integrate all your legal assistant knowledge. At the end of the program, you demonstrate your professionalism and expertise to potential employers in your one month practicum placement. You graduate as a skilled legal assistant and highly employable in law firms and the court system.

Program Overview

Fast Facts

• Laptop-based program
• Includes a four-week unpaid practicum placement
   

Your Career

You can become a legal assistant, junior paralegal, judicial clerk or another legal support role. You can find work in law firms, the court system, registries, and with businesses such as oil and gas corporations.
 

Student Success

To be successful in this program, you should:

• Attend and actively participate in class
• Spend six hours per week on each course, outside of regular class time
• Have a strong command of the English language along with a solid foundation in writing skills and vocabulary, which will be further developed in the program
• Have good organizational skills and attention to detail, which are necessary in the program and as a Legal Assistant
• Have strong computer skills and a keyboarding speed of 30 words per minute (strongly recommended)
• Be prepared to work in teams
• Become familiar with and adhere to SAIT’s academic policies

If you are engaged in campus life and take advantage of SAIT support services, you may have a greater chance of success in SAIT’s programs.
 

Credentials and Accreditation

Upon successful completion of the program, graduates will receive a SAIT Legal Assistant diploma.
 

Progression

Students must attain a PGPA and/or a CGPA of 2.0 or better in each semester and pass the necessary prerequisite courses to progress through the program. To qualify for graduation, students must pass all courses, attain a CGPA of 2.0 or better and complete course requirements within the prescribed timelines.

Admission Requirements

At least 50% in the following courses or equivalents:

• English Language Arts 30-1 or English Language Arts 30-2, AND,
• Math 10C or Math 20-3.
• All applicants must demonstrate English Language Proficiency prior to admission, including students educated in Canada.

Program Outline

Total Credits 61.5

Program Outcomes

Program Outcomes

1. Apply communication skills effectively and appropriately within the legal industry.

2. Demonstrate professional behaviour that reflects the expectations of the legal industry.

3. Interact professionally within the legal work environment.

4. Manage information and administrative activities which support a legal organization.

5. Execute administrative office procedures within the legal industry.

6. Incorporate basic legal terminology and concepts in the preparation of documents and correspondence in various legal practice areas.

7. Demonstrate ethical behaviour in the legal environment.

8. Support the lawyer / client relationship within the legal industry.

9. Demonstrate competency in keyboarding, transcription and current computer software applications when providing legal services.

10. Conduct industry standard searches, and access court services, in the legal industry.

SAIT Graduate Outcomes

A. Safety - Awareness of safety standards relevant to the workplace

1. Safety awareness

B. Responsible Leadership - Personal, ethical and respectful behavior within the workplace and global community

1. Teamwork and multi-disciplinary collaboration
2. Self-Initiative
3. Ethical reasoning and action
4. Global awareness
5. Sustainability

C. Communication - The exchange of information in a professional and effective manner

1. Language skills
2. Interpersonal skills

D. Information Literacy - The strategies used to become informed from recognizing an information need, to accessing and evaluating information and using it effectively and ethically

1. Problem solving and/or Critical thinking
2. Quantitative literacy
3. Technological literacy

E. Technical Knowledge, Skills and Abilities - Technical competence specific to the discipline or industry

1. Specialized, technical skill set