Careers in justice

© 2012. These materials are the exclusive property of Éducaloi. Teachers in Quebec schools may use them for non-commercial educational purposes. The documents must be used in their original form without modification.

Note that the law is constantly evolving. These documents were last updated July 1st, 2012.

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NEUTRALITÉ

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COLLABORATION

MISSION

Éducaloi is a non-profit organization whose mission is to inform Quebecers of their rights and obligations by providing quality legal information in everyday language.

www.educaloi.qc.ca

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Career Info-Sheets

1. Lawyer2. Police Officer3. Probation or Parole Officer 4. Legal Assistant5. Paralegal6. Court Usher7. Bailiff

8. Stenographer9. Legal Translator and Court

Interpreter10. Judge11. Social Worker12. Correctional Officer13. Court Clerk14. Notary

BECOMING

A LAWYER

The same process for everyone!

Get a CEGEP degree.

Complete an undergraduate degree in law.(Depending on the program, it can take 3 or 4 years.)

Pass the bar association exams in the province in which you want to practice. It might be necessary to take bar courses. (Generally 4 to 8 months of training.)

Complete a 6-month articling period.

Articling students aren’t quite lawyers.

Before they can wear a lawyer’s robe,

they must finish the articling period!

A LOT OF

DIFFERENT

ROLES FOR

LAWYERS

50 % are in private practice

25 % work in the public or

parapublic sectors

25 % work for businesses

or other organizations

Crown AttorneyWorking on behalf of society, this lawyer

presents cases against people accused of crimes. He must prove beyond a reasonable

doubt that the accused is guilty.

Crown attorneys are

public servants: they

are employed by the

Minister of Justice.

The Crown attorney does

not want to win his case at

all costs. His priority is to

discover the truth.

There are about

450 Crown

attorneys in

Quebec.

In Quebec the official name for a Crown attorney is Criminal and Penal

Prosecuting Attorney.

In criminal law

Defence AttorneyThis is the accused’s lawyer. Her role is to defend

her client by presenting evidence and raising doubts in the minds of the judge or jury so that

her client is found not guilty.

Since the police can make an

arrest at any time of day or night,

defence lawyers must be

available around the clock to

answer their clients’ questions

and advise them.

Anyone who is arrested has

the right to contact a lawyer.

In criminal law

International Lawyer

International lawyers often

have extra training,

for example, a Master’s degree.

Lawyers from Quebec are

highly valued

abroad. Do you know why?

Lawyers sometimes work for international organizations ,such as the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund, the International

Bureau for Children’s Rights and even multinational corporations.

To practice in another country, a lawyer must usually repeat part of his training in the new

country.

Lawyers Without Borders:

a non-profit group

worth knowing!

Non-Traditional Lawyers

Some lawyers who are very interested in social issues work for community organizations.

They defend the interests of minorities, create social assistance programs, inform citizens of their rights and

help them with legal proceedings, write briefs for parliamentary commissions, provide legal information in

plain language, etc.

Lawyers sometimes put their skills to use in business, artistic or social sectors of society. You can find

lawyers in universities, management and politics, and in the entertainment and communications fields.

BECOMING

A POLICE

OFFICER

Training

Get a CEGEP diploma in Police Technology. (Offered in a dozen CEGEPs across Quebec.)

Afterwards, complete the training program at the École nationale de police du Quebec.

To be admitted to this school, candidates must meet several criteria:

cannot have been found guilty of a criminal offence

hold a valid driver’s license

meet agility and strength standards

be in good physical condition

have good vision

Eligibility for the RCMP

People who want to work as police officers with the RCMP must:

1) be Canadian citizens

2) be at least 19 years old

3) have a high school diploma

4) have a valid driver’s license

5) be of good character

6) candidates selected by the RCMP must take a 24-week training program in Regina, Saskatchewan

The Royal Canadian Mounted

Police used to be called the North-

West Mounted Police.

The work of police officers falls into 4 general areas:

1- crime prevention

2- emergency intervention

3- investigation

4- coordination of police services

InvestigatorThis is the police officer in charge of a criminal

investigation. The officer gathers evidence to try to find the person or people who committed

a crime. During a trial, she works with the attorney presenting the case against the

accused, since she knows the file so well.

Crime Prevention

The main mission of the police is to maintain order, ensure public safety and make sure laws are respected.

To do this, they:

organize information sessions participate in community programs develop partnerships with community organizations

and institutions in their area

In the movies or on television, we rarely see examples of prevention in police work: a chase scene is more likely to

make it onto TV than an officer patrolling a park. However, “keeping the peace” is still an important part of

the work of police officers.

BECOMING

A JUDGE

JudgeThis is the person who has authority over the courtroom. The judge is the chief organizer of the trial process. She must enforce the rules of evidence and explain legal concepts to the

jury.

On top of all the judges

working in municipal

courts, Quebec has over

460 judges who sit on

the Court of Appeal, the

Superior Court and the

Court of Quebec.

A School for Judges?

To become a judge, a person must first be a lawyer for at least 10 years.

Judges are named by the federal and provincial governments, which each have a different process for

naming judges.

The selection committee ensures that candidates:

have the professional skills required for the job

have an unblemished record as a lawyer

respect high standards of conduct since, in the eyes of the public, judges are a reflection of the justice system

Becoming a

notary

Notary“Prevention is the best remedy”. This could be the motto of notaries. Like lawyers, notaries act as legal advisors in many different areas of law. However, unlike lawyers,

notaries don’t play a role in legal disputes.

Their special skills come in handy at many key moments in a person’s life.

Take a look at a couple of examples…

There are about

3,400 notaries in

Quebec. Half of them

are women.

Protection of Family PropertyGetting married, buying a property or starting a family raises

a lot of legal issues. A notary has to foresee all lot of different scenarios when he prepares the legal documents that go along with these big

life events. Notaries prepare: marriage contracts cohabitation agreements wills mandates in case of incapacity (instructions on who

should take care of a person’s affairs if he becomes unable to look after himself due to illness or other circumstances)

an inventory of a person’s property and investments

Documents prepared by a notary are official in the eyes of the law. This means it is very difficult to contest a notarized document in court. This is why many contracts, like a deed

of sale for a house, are often notarized.

Buying or selling real estate?

Buying a house is a big step, so buyers usually consult a notary to make the transfer of property official.

Banks and credit unions that lend money to home buyers usually require that the house be used as a guarantee that the

loan will be paid. This guarantee is called a hypothec. The document containing the hypothec must be created by a

notary. This is why notaries almost always play a role in the buying or selling of buildings or land.

The notarial profession

exists in 71 other countries

in the world.

Women got the right to

become notaires in Quebec

in 1956.

Other Services

Notaries also act for clients in these areas:

adoption marriage immigration end of a civil union (civil union is a kind of marriage) business matters

Notaries can also act as mediators to ensure that two people reach an agreement.

Some notaries are also involved in financial and tax planning. These notaries know about Registered Education Savings Plans (RESPs) and Registered

Retirement Savings Plans (RRSPs), etc.

Becoming a

court clerk

Court ClerkCourt clerks are like stage directors for the court

process: they make sure everything happens smoothly and on time.

The tasks of a court clerk are divided into 3 time periods: before, during and after a trial.

Before the TrialAt this stage, the court clerk acts as an assistant for the

judge.

The court clerk might also have the following responsibilities:

deciding the date and time of a trial, after consulting with lawyers for both sides

planning any meetings or hearings that need to take place before a trial

making sure the court files are complete and meet all legal requirements (A court file is made up of documents. Often there are enough documens to fill several boxes…and the clerk has to make sure they are in order!)

The Day of theTrial

From her desk in front of the judge, the court clerk:

states the name of the case and the parties asks the lawyers to identify themselves takes minutes (an official summary of the various

stages of a trial) take notes for the judge of the most important things

that happen in court calls witnesses and ask them to swear or solemnly

promise to “tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth”

when lawyers want to present documents or objects to the judge, they first give them to the court clerk, who makes a note of what they are before handing them to the judge

How do you become a court clerk?

There is no specific training to become a court clerk. However, a diploma in paralegal technology is often

required, whether the job is with the Department of Justice or a municipal court in Quebec.

Paralegals who want to become court clerks must take training programs offered by their employers to acquire the additional skills and knowledge required for the job.

BECOMING

A BAILIFF

Bailiff

Who is knocking on the door? It might be a bailiff delivering a court document. But the work of bailiffs is varied: they don’t just deliver court

proceedings and seize property!

Bailiffs’ clients (who are often lawyers) ask them to do a variety of tasks:

deliver court documents carry out court decisions write official reports of certain events collect money owed

Training

In Quebec, there are legal requirements about who can be a bailiff. An organization called the Chambre des huissiers de justice du Québec

oversees the profession.

Here are the requirements:

a CEGEP diploma in paralegal technology a 4-week training program of the Chambre a 6-month internship passing a professional exam

A long time ago in France, bailiffs use to wear uniforms and had to shave

the tops of their heads.

Becoming

a court

usher

Court UsherThis person makes sure the courtroom is ready for the trial. When the judge arrives, he asks the

audience to be quiet and says the famous phrase: “The court is now in session”.

TrainingThere is no particular program to become a

court usher. However, the Department of Justice and municipal courts in Quebec require at least

a high school diploma.

To learn the skills for this job, candidates complete a training program offered by their

employer.

There are lots of other exciting legal careers…

Paralegal Legal Translator Stenographer Corrections Officer Probation Officer …

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