Legal Assistant Inventory

Important messages

We are committed to providing an inclusive and barrier-free work environment, starting with the hiring process. If you need to be accommodated during any phase of the evaluation process, please use the Contact information below to request special accommodation. All information received in relation to accommodation will be kept confidential.

Information on accommodation for persons with disabilities

When you apply to this selection process, you are not applying for a specific job, but to an inventory for future vacancies. As positions become available, applicants who meet the qualifications may be contacted for further assessment.

To apply for this process, you:
- Do not need to provide a cover letter (just a résumé);
- Answer screening questions online. (Your answers to the screening questions will be assessed against the resume that you submit. Any noticeable information that cannot be supported by your resume will be deemed invalid and may result in your application being screened-out from this process.)

Tips for applicants:
- Please provide complete and thorough details of your education and experience.
- Do not assume that the screening board has any previous knowledge of your background, qualifications, or work history. You must be specific and provide concrete examples/details for each experience element, as applications will be screened only on the information provided.
- Failure to provide sufficient information may result in your application being screened out of the process.
- Your responses may be used to assess your ability to communicate effectively in writing.

You must meet all essential qualifications in order to be appointed to the position. Other qualifications may be a deciding factor in choosing the person to be appointed. Some essential and other qualifications will be assessed through your application. It is your responsibility to provide appropriate examples that illustrate how you meet each qualification. Failing to do so could result in your application being rejected.

The inventory will be updated every 90 days. You will receive a notice in your applicant account 7 days before the end of your active period to determine whether or not you wish to keep being considered for an additional 90 days.

Persons with a disability preventing them from applying on-line should contact us at 1-800-645-5605.

Work environment

Why should you join the Justice team?

The Department of Justice can offer you a rewarding career, where you are part of a team working to ensure that Canada has an accessible, efficient and fair system of justice.

The Department of Justice supports the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada in virtually every area of law, from the development of policy to the drafting of legislation, and from litigation to the provision of legal advice to other federal departments and agencies. The issues Justice lawyers deal with on a daily basis are often on the cutting edge of legal trends and have significant impacts on Canadian society.

The tradition of excellence at the Department of Justice is embodied in its culture, which values inclusiveness, fairness and respect for Canada's legal system.

The work of a legal assistants is multi-faceted, stimulating and enriching. Legal Assistants working for the Department of Justice have an opportunity to gain valuable work experience with Canada’s single largest legal organization. The working conditions and the experienced teams are assets for those who like challenges.

Department of Justice legal assistants work in a collaborative and mutually supportive team environment. Their contribution is essential to the achievement of the mandate of the Department, which is a leader in the field of justice.

Intent of the process

Depending on the needs of the organization, candidates may be randomly selected from the inventory for assessment purposes.

A pool of qualified candidates may be established and may be used to staff similar or identical positions with various linguistic profiles and requirements, security profiles and various tenures.

Positions to be filled: Number to be determined

Information you must provide

Your résumé.

In order to be considered, your application must clearly explain how you meet the following (essential qualifications)

A diploma or certificate from a law-related program (e.g. legal assistant, law clerk, paralegal assistant program or an equivalent program) from a recognized institution or an acceptable combination of education, training and/or experience.

Degree equivalency

Experience in providing legal assistant support to a legal practitioner

If you possess any of the following, your application must also clearly explain how you meet it (other qualifications)

Graduation with a degree from a recognized University

Degree equivalency

Experience providing legal assistant support to a civil litigation practitioner acquired during the last 3 years.

Experience providing legal assistant support to a prosecutor or criminal law practitioner.

Experience in Tax Law

Experience in Aboriginal Law

Experience in Property Law

Experience in Personal Injury Law

Experience working with evidence management software, such as Ringtail

Experience scheduling and organizing travel arrangements and in completing travel expense claims using the current Government of Canada travel system

Experience working in the Federal Public Service within the Minister of Justice portfolio (e.g. Public Prosecution Service of Canada, Courts Administration Service, etc.)

Experience working with National security agencies

The following will be applied / assessed at a later date (essential for the job)

Various language requirements
English Essential
French Essential
Bilingual Imperative: BBB/BBB, CBB/CBB, CCB/CCB, CCC/CCC

Information on language requirements

Knowledge of legal terminology and legal documents.
Knowledge of Canadian court rules as they apply to legal proceedings and procedures

Demonstrating Integrity and Respect
Thinking Things Through
Working Effectively with Others
Showing Initiative and Being Action-Oriented

Ability to draft routine correspondence and routine legal documents
Ability to format non-legal documents and/or legal documents
Ability to proof-read documents
Oral Communication: Presents and discusses ideas, concepts and issues in a clear, concise, and effective manner orally.
Written Communication: Presents and discusses ideas, concepts and issues in a clear, concise, and effective manner in writing.

The following may be applied / assessed at a later date (may be needed for the job)

The Department of Justice is committed to maintaining a representative workforce reflective of Canadian society. In support of achieving a diversified workforce and our employment equity goals, qualified candidates who self-declare in a staffing process as members of Aboriginal peoples, persons with disabilities, visible minorities and/or women may be selected for appointment to fulfill organizational needs.

Willingness and ability to travel as required

Willingness and ability to work overtime as required

Conditions of employment

Various security clearance levels such as reliability, secret and top secret

Medical Clearance* for positions located in the Department of Justice, Northern Regional Offices (Whitehorse, Yellowknife and Iqaluit) only

*The incumbent and his/her dependents may be required to obtain Health Canada medical clearance in accordance with the Isolated Posts and Government Housing Directive.

Other information

The Public Service of Canada is committed to building a skilled and diverse workforce that reflects the Canadians we serve. We promote employment equity and encourage you to indicate if you belong to one of the targeted groups when you apply.

Information on employment equity

We will only accept on-line applications received via the jobs.gc.ca site.

CANDIDATES WILL NOT BE SOLICITED FOR INCOMPLETE OR MISSING INFORMATION.

Proof of education, in the form of a diploma, degree, or official transcripts, will be requested at the assessment stage of this process. Candidates with foreign credentials must provide proof of Canadian equivalency. Consult the Canadian Information Centre for International Credentials for further information at http://www.cicic.ca/.

Proof of citizenship will be required.

A written test may be administered.

Interviews may be administered.

Reference checks may be administered.

As part of the selection process, the use of online, innovative tools may be used for testing purposes. As a result, selected candidates will require access to a device that has internet capabilities.

Communication for this process will be sent via email. It is the responsibility of the candidate to ensure accurate contact information is provided and updated as required and to update their personal information when it changes. Candidates who apply to this selection process should include an email address that accepts email from unknown users (some email systems block these types of email).

Time sensitive correspondence may be transmitted via e-mail and it will be the candidate's responsibility to ensure they check their e-mail regularly. Failure to respond to communications may result in elimination from this process.

Testing/interviews will be conducted at locations of the employer's choice and may require candidates to travel to the test/interview location. Please note that candidates (including employees of the Public Service) will not be considered to be in travel status or on government business and that travel costs will not be reimbursed. Consequently, candidates will be responsible for travel costs.

Candidates may be required to meet some asset qualifications or the organizational needs, depending on the requirements of the specific position being staffed.

Other considerations may be a deciding factor in choosing the person to be appointed from the pool (i.e. other qualifications deemed relevant, organizational needs, and/or operational needs).

Persons are entitled to participate in the appointment process in the official language of their choice.

If you require any accommodations (e.g. an alternative method of assessment, a technical aid, accessibility requirements, etc.) at any stage of the assessment process, please contact us so that we can take the appropriate measures to facilitate your full participation.

The Public Service of Canada is committed to building a skilled, diverse workforce reflective of Canadian society. As a result, it promotes employment equity and encourages candidates to indicate voluntarily on their application if they are a woman, an Aboriginal person, a person with a disability or a member of a visible minority group.

For Current Federal Public Service employees:

Please identify clearly your substantive group and level, your employment status, and Personal Record Identifier (PRI) on your application.

Employees at the same group and level or equivalent may be considered for deployment or secondment.

An assignment or acting appointment or secondment requires approval of your supervisor.

Preference

Preference will be given to veterans and to Canadian citizens, in that order.

Information on the preference to veterans

We thank all those who apply. Only those selected for further consideration will be contacted.