Four Legal Careers Where You Don’t Need a Law Degree

KATHERINE O'BRIEN, Staff Writer

If you are interested in law but don't want to go through seven years of school, don't give up yet -- you can find other challenging legal work. Compared to becoming a lawyer, going the route of a paralegal, legal assistant, immigration consultant or law librarian is a shortcut to a rewarding legal career.

1. Paralegal
Paralegals need to have a strong understanding of the legal system and they should enjoy exploring issues in depth. They should also have excellent analytical, research, problem-solving, investigative and communication skills.

According to Ontario Job Futures (PDF), employment for paralegals is expected to grow. In an attempt to reduce costs, some employers are opting to use paralegals to conduct duties once performed by lawyers. Some of these duties may include:

• Researching and analyzing records, court files and other legal documents
• Discussing details of legal matters with clients and/or supervisors
• Preparing legal documents, court reports and affidavits

Paralegals who pass a professional licensing exam set by the Law Society of Upper Canada and represent clients are called independent paralegals. In addition to the above duties, independant paralegals also advise clients and take legal action on minor legal matters such as traffic violations, name changes and personal injury claims. They can represent clients in court or before tribunals.

Until a few years ago, anyone could call themselves a paralegal. Today, independent paralegals in Ontario are required to be licensed and regulated by the Law Society of Upper Canada. New paralegals wishing to become licensed need to be graduates of an accredited legal services program like the ones offered by the following colleges: George Brown, Humber, Seneca, or Durham or Sheridan (in Brampton).

Independent paralegals have to be quick on their feet, articulate and have good mediation skills. The work itself can be stressful and the hours varied and long.

A few big paralegal firms hire licensed paralegals but mostly these practitioners run their own business. As well, independents tend to specialize in one area such as matters relating to Small Claims Court (PDF). Paralegals who do not choose to represent clients in their own business can find work within law firms, government ministries, administrative agencies, courts, private corporations and research firms.

For More Information:

• Paralegal Society of Ontario: What is a Paralegal?

2. Law Clerk
A law clerk's function is to relieve the lawyer from everyday legal and administrative matters and assist him or her with the more complex issues. The duties of a law clerk and the required skills (researching records, analyzing information and preparing legal documents) are similar to those of a paralegal working in a law firm. Law clerks work in the court system and in the legal departments of corporations and government bodies as well as in private law firms.

Law clerks require a college diploma in a law clerk program or in-house training from a law firm. In Toronto, Humber, Centennial and Seneca colleges offer two-year diploma programs.

For More Information:

• Institute of Law Clerks of Ontario

3. Legal Librarian
Law librarians are well organized, research-savvy individuals who know the intricate ins and outs of their libraries like no one else, according to the Becoming a Law Librarian article. These information specialists need an analytic mind that allows them to break down a legal reference problem into key concepts. As well, they need a solid understanding of legal terminology and concepts. Strong computer skills a are a must, especially web and database researching skills. Law librarians work in legal settings like law schools, private law firms and government libraries.

Although a law librarian does not require as much education as a lawyer (seven or so years in school plus time spent articling), you could easily spend five or six years preparing for this career as a master's degree in library science or information studies/science is generally needed. Locally, the University of Toronto (U of T) offers a Master of Information Degree. A little further away, in London, the University of Western Ontario delivers a Master of Library and Information Science Degree. Although Ontario Job Futures (PDF) predicts that opportunities for librarians will be limited over the next few years, it forecasts continued demand for their services to manage staff, develop data base searching techniques and help with complicated search and reference requests.

For More Information:

• National Occupational Classification: Librarians
• University of Toronto: Faculty of Information Studies Job Site
• The American Association of Law Libraries: Articles on Law Librarianship as a Career

4. Immigration Consultant
Finally, immigration consultant is a fourth career related to legal matters. These consultants can advise and represent immigrants in their dealings with Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC). They advocate on behalf of clients with government bodies, which may include gathering supporting documents and strategizing, preparing and presenting oral and written submissions. Those working in this field must be familiar with the Canadian Immigration Act & Regulations (PDF), temporary and permanent immigration categories, refugee classes, hearing and appeal processes, and the role of the CIC. To practise in Canada you must be a member of the Canadian Society of Immigraton Consultants (CSIC). Only graduates from accredited programs such as Humber College's Immigration Consultant Certificate Program are eligible to qualify for membership with the society.

Know that this profession is in a bit of flux right now and it's not certain whether CSIC will continue as the regulating body. The federal government tabled a bill last year that aims to overhaul the way immigration consultants are regulated and to thus crack down on consultants that are untrained, unregulated and dishonest. There has been concern that some in the profession have exploited desperate immigrants to Canada.