Paralegal (Litigation)

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 specialized accommodation. All information received in relation to accommodation will be kept confidential.

Assessment accommodation

Persons requiring accommodation preventing them from applying on-line should contact the contact person identified below prior to the closing date.

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.

On October 6, 2021, the Government of Canada announced details of its plans to require vaccination across the federal public service.

As per the new Policy on COVID-19 Vaccination for the Core Public Administration Including the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, federal public servants in the Core Public Administration and members of the RCMP must attest to their vaccination status. The requirement for employees to be fully vaccinated applies whether they are teleworking, working remotely or working on-site. This is a condition of employment and it applies to indeterminate (permanent), determinate (term), casual, and student hiring. Should you reach the point in the selection process where it is necessary to verify terms and conditions of employment then the hiring manager or a human resources representative will contact you in order to complete an attestation.

Intent of the process

A pool of qualified candidates will be established, and the results of this process will be used to staff similar or identical positions with various tenures, various security clearance levels, conditions of employment and/or various language requirements.

The positions to be filled are in the following locations: 25 in Toronto, 2 in Vancouver, and 3 in Montreal.

Positions to be filled: 30

Information you must provide

Your résumé.

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

EDUCATION:
Successful completion of two years of a post-secondary program with acceptable specialization in social science, statistics, library/archival work or a law-related field or an acceptable combination of education, training and/or experience.

Degree equivalency

EXPERIENCE:
Experience* conducting paralegal litigation activities**.

* Experience is defined as the depth and breadth of experience normally associated with having performed a broad range of activities over a period of approximately four (4) years.

**Examples of paralegal litigation activities can include, but are not limited to: drafting legal documents, i.e., affidavits, demand letters, litigation hold letters, complex bill of costs, simple contracts, real property documents, pleadings, motions, legal research memorandum; coordinating the collection of documents, in collaboration with client departments and stakeholders; reviewing documents to determine facts and legal issues, relevancy and apply common privileges along with conducting basic coding, etc.; management of the evidence management system such as: document clean-up, quality control, etc.; legal and factual research including the use of legal databases.

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

Various language requirements
Bilingual Imperative, English Essential and/or French Essential

Information on language requirements

KNOWLEDGE:
Knowledge of civil litigation rules, procedures and practices.

Knowledge of legal research methodologies and resources.

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

ABILITY :
Ability to identify and analyze factual and legal issues
Oral Communication: Strong communication skills to present and discuss ideas, concepts and issues in a clear, concise, and effective manner orally.
Written Communication: Strong communication to present and discuss 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)

EDUCATION:
Paralegal or Law Clerk degree or diploma or certificate or diploma of collegial studies (DCS) in paralegal studies from a recognized institution.

Degree equivalency

EXPERIENCE:
Experience in managing and producing documents manually and electronically.

Experience working on files relating to real property law or federal real property transactions.

Experience in civil litigation.

Experience in aboriginal law.

Experience in personal injury law.

Experience in immigration law.

Experience in tax law.

Experience in tax recovery.

Experience in administrative law.

Experience working in a criminal litigation environment.

KNOWLEDGE:
Knowledge of the litigation process, including document collection, analysis and organization.

ORGANIZATIONAL NEEDS:
The Department of Justice believes that to be able to effectively serve the public, its workforce needs to reflect the diversity of the Canadian population. Diversity is a great source of strength in driving Canada’s Legal Team in ensuring that Canada’s justice system is as fair, accessible and efficient as possible. The Department is committed to a representative workforce that represents the Canadian public we serve. If you are a woman, an Indigenous person, a person with a disability or a member of a racialized group* and are interested in bringing in different perspectives and insights we encourage you to self-declare in this staffing process. This self-declaration information can be factored into departmental strategies and selection decisions to address our commitment to eliminate gaps for these groups.

* Please note that this group is currently designated as members of visible minorities in the Employment Equity Act and the self-declaration form.

OPERATIONAL REQUIREMENTS:
The following requirements can be accommodated based on a persons’ needs or status.

Willingness and ability to travel as required.

Willingness and ability to work overtime as required.

Conditions of employment

Reliability and Security:
Various security clearance levels such as reliability, secret and top secret.

All employees of the core public administration are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and attest to their vaccination status unless accommodated based on a medical contraindication, religion, or another prohibited ground for discrimination as defined under the Canadian Human Rights Act.

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 designated groups when you apply.

Information on employment equity

In order to self-declare, please ensure to check off the appropriate box within the online application under the Employment Equity section. To learn more about self-declaring, we encourage you to consult the following website: https://www.canada.ca/en/services/jobs/opportunities/government/self-declaring-because-we-care.html

Applying for Government of Canada jobs: What to expect: https://www.canada.ca/en/public-service-commission/jobs/services/gc-jobs/applying-government-canada-jobs-what-expect.html

We will only accept on-line applications received via the GC Jobs site.
CANDIDATES WILL NOT BE SOLICITED FOR INCOMPLETE OR MISSING INFORMATION.

Please note that if appointed to bilingual positions, candidates will be entitled to $800 bilingualism bonus per year.

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 or permanent residency will be required.

A written test may be administered.

Interviews will 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.

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.

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 first and then to Canadian citizens and permanent residents, with the exception of a job located in Nunavut, where Nunavut Inuit will be appointed first.

Information on the preference to veterans

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