© 2012. these materials are the exclusive property of Éducaloi. teachers in quebec schools may use...
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© 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
Did you say “Éducaloi”?
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
150,000 visits a month!
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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