There is an emerging demand for paralegals in Canada and Ontario as rising populations continue to express a strong need for affordable legal representation and access to the justice system. In Ontario, paralegals can be licensed by the Law Society of Ontario to provide legal services within a prescribed scope of practice.
Durham College’s (DC) Honours Bachelor of Paralegal (HBPL) will develop future practitioners who have the requirements to apply to the Law Society of Ontario (LSO) to become a licensed paralegal or apply to law school or graduate studies. The HBPL program is grounded in the disciplinary fields of law and legal studies to help students develop a strong cultural competency lens to support the provision of legal services to diverse populations including immigrants, refugees, Indigenous peoples, women, and 2SLGBTQIA+ clients.
Developed in response to the growing need for legal representation and access to the justice system, this degree program prepares students with the knowledge, skills and expertise required to work in a variety of legal fields.
The Honours Bachelor of Paralegal (HBPL) program is grounded in the entry-level competencies of a licensed paralegal in Ontario and the complex legal thinking required to practice in court and tribunal proceedings. In Canada, legal services are not exclusively provided by lawyers, there are professions that provide legal services under varying degrees of lawyer supervision, including law clerks, legal assistants and paralegals. In Ontario, Paralegal is established as a licensed and regulated profession that can work independently within a prescribed scope of practice.
Students in the HBPL program explore and examine constitutional law and the Charter, criminal and summary convictions, contracts and tort law, the law of Tribunals, the procedure and practice for small claims court, the theory and strategies of negotiations and mediation, insurance law and employment law.
Courses in this program will provide students with the legal context they require as well as the cultural competency lens to provide legal services to diverse populations including immigrants, refugees, Indigenous peoples, women and people who identify as 2SLGBTQIA+. To best serve their future clients, students will gain an in-depth understanding of human rights claims, disability applications, Immigration and Refugee Board hearings, criminal code offences involving those who have experienced inter-generational trauma and applications involving mental health, housing and financial stability issues.
Through a comprehensive mix of theoretical, research and applied courses, students will apply their knowledge in a mandatory 14-week, 420-hour experiential field placement. Students will be equipped with the knowledge and skills required to successfully apply their expertise and professional practice in a legal setting with the ability to translate theoretical learning to the actual field. DC’s Faculty of Social and Community Services is dedicated to assisting students securing their field placement and supports them throughout the process.
PROGRAM LEARNING OUTCOMES
- Evaluate substantive, legal, and procedural issues to determine the legal remedies and facilitate access to justice.
- Present legal issues, arguments and solutions using a client-centred service-oriented practice to demonstrate alignment with client needs, objectives, and goals.
- Conduct research by identifying the legal context, issues, case law, legislation, and organizational rules and guidelines to interpret, summarize, and present legal research findings.
- Develop a cogent legal argument in accordance with/and supported by leading statutes and case law based on an organized body of relevant facts.
- Evaluate case details and seek support or referral to appropriate legal counsel to ensure compliance with the scope of practice for a paralegal.
- Advocate for a client’s legal position and access to the justice system by strategically employing methods of negotiation and analytical reasoning.
- Complete with accuracy, clarity, conciseness and organization a variety of documents used in paralegal practice.
- Evaluate personal and professional competence and access professional development opportunities to support continuous learning with the goal of meeting client needs.
- Manage and maintain personal and professional lifelong learning.
Admission Requirements
- Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) or equivalent or Mature Student Status
- Six Grade 12 U or M courses with a combined minimum average of 65% including:
- Grade 12 U English with a final minimum grade of 60%.
OR
- Six post-secondary credits with a combined minimum average of 65% including:
- College or university English or Communications with a final minimum grade of 60%
Career Options
WHAT YOU COULD BE:
- Licensed Paralegal
- Community legal worker
- Prosecutor
- Legal assistant
- Law clerk
- Tribunal Adjudicator
WHERE YOU COULD WORK:
- Law firms
- Private practices
- Legal departments within businesses
- Government legal services departments
- Tribunals and legal clinics
Field Placement
Students will have the opportunity to gain work-integrated learning experience in a supervised setting through a 14-week, 420-hour mandatory field placement between the sixth and seventh semesters. Field placement is an integral part of this degree program that allows the integration of fieldwork with academic studies to enable students to better understand the practical application of methods and techniques for organizing activities and working collaboratively in the field.
PRE-PLACEMENT REQUIREMENTS
Please note: There are costs associated with Electronic Student Permit Checking (ESPC), immunizations, lab tests and certifications. Be sure to keep all of your receipts for income tax purposes. These costs include:
- Service fees for Verified, our documentation collection and ESPC verification partner.
It is required that students have completed the ESPC with Verified to be eligible for the field placement component of this program. You must (at your expense) provide:
- A clear and current Criminal Reference Check (CRC) with Vulnerable Sector Screening (VSS). If you cannot provide a clear CRC with VSS, you may not be accepted for placement by a field placement agency. CRCs with VSS must be obtained from your local police station. You may be required to obtain additional CRCs with VSS to meet field placement agency requirements.
More Info:https://durhamcollege.ca/programs/paralegal-honours-bachelor