New paralegal program at Humber
Students with university degrees or college diplomas wanting to enter the paralegal field will have a new way to do so when Humber College launches its new paralegal certificate program in January.
“We have diploma and honours degree paralegal programs, which are accredited by the Law Society of Upper Canada (LSUC),” says Susan Kelsall, associate dean in the Business School at Humber College, who in her role oversees the accounting and law diploma and grad certificate programs. “But we recognized that many students would be best served if they have the opportunity to use their postsecondary credentials to complete a fast-track, three-term program and be in the job market quickly.”
Delivered in a case and problem-based learning environment, the paralegal graduate certificate program covers skills in legal research, oral and written advocacy and critical thinking. Courses include tort and contract, residential landlord and tenant, and employment laws, small claims court, provincial offences and summary convictions, and administrative tribunal law and procedures. Students, says Kelsall, will develop their oral advocacy skills through active learning including presentations and mock trials.
“It’s a heavy course load but it offers more than the minimum number of hours required by the LSUC and other courses that support students in what they need to be successful based on feedback we have received from industry partners,” says Kelsall. “These additional courses include an advanced legal writing course and a career workshop course.”
The career workshop course prepares students for the program’s work placement component while giving them the opportunity to consider the area of the field in which they are interested. Humber’s paralegal program also takes career prep a step further by offering a course that covers launching a successful independent paralegal practice.
“The vast majority of paralegals open their own practice, so grads are well prepared to do that,” says Kelsall.