The organized person every lawyer depends on. A year of college, then steady office work in any city.
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Pay, the path, pros and cons and the facts on one printable page. Good for a wall or a guidance counsellor.
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What you earn and what it costs to get there.
Typical
$57,000
Entry level
$39,000
Senior, big firm
$87,000
Job Bank's national median is $27.47 an hour, about $57,000 a year full time. Alberta pays the most, with a median near $32 an hour. Large downtown firms in Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver pay above the range for experienced litigation or corporate assistants.
$19 to $24 an hour
About $39,000 to $50,000 a year
Small-town and small-firm jobs start near the bottom. Large firms and government legal departments start higher and add bonuses.
$70,000 to $87,000
10-plus years, specialized in litigation, corporate or real estate
Some senior assistants move into law clerk or office manager roles that pay more again.
Tuition, fees, exams and kit. Not rent, food or travel
The low end is a short public college certificate of about eight months. The high end is a two year diploma at a higher tuition college. Private career colleges charge considerably more for the same certificate, so compare carefully and check that the program includes a real placement. There is no licence fee and no exam at the end.
Private career colleges charge more. Check that a program includes a real placement.
Health and dental at most firms
Pension
Government and large-firm jobs; small firms often have none.
Paid overtime or time off after trials
Stable, city-based work
Every city with a courthouse has law offices hiring.
The exact path from high school to qualified.
A short college program, then learn the firm's way of doing things.
High school diploma
Grade 12
English, keyboarding and business courses. Many programs test your typing speed.
Legal assistant program
8 months to 2 years
A college certificate or diploma in legal administration. Vancouver Community College runs a 25-week certificate; Ontario and Alberta colleges run 1 and 2-year diplomas. You learn court forms, legal terms, billing and document software.
Placement
2 to 6 weeks
Most programs end with a few weeks in a real law office. Many students are hired from it.
First job
After graduation
Junior assistant supporting one or two lawyers. Firms train you on their systems.
English
Every document must be perfect.
Keyboarding or business technology
Programs want about 50 words a minute coming in; employers like 80.
Law
Learn the vocabulary early.
Accounting
Trust accounting and billing are part of the job.
Anyone can be hired as a legal assistant in most of Canada; the college diploma is what employers look for. Quebec regulates the related title of legal stenographer through the Barreau du Québec, the province's law society. In Ontario, the Institute of Law Clerks of Ontario offers courses and membership for assistants who want to move up to law clerk work, but it is optional.
Things you don't need, but that help.
Litigation
Court deadlines, filings, trial prep. The busiest and best paid.
Corporate and securities
Minute books, filings, big-firm work.
Real estate
Closings, title searches, high volume.
Law clerk
Take on more of the legal drafting. In Ontario the Institute of Law Clerks of Ontario runs the courses.
French
Federal courts, Ottawa and Montreal firms.
Software skills
Document management and electronic filing systems.
Discretion
You will see confidential things every day.
Day to day, pros and cons, where you'd work.
Open the lawyer's calendar and email, then draft and format letters, affidavits and contracts, file documents with the court online, book examinations and meetings, chase signatures, enter billable time and send invoices. Litigation days are deadline-driven: a filing due at 5pm sets the pace. Corporate days are quieter and more about precision.
The good
The hard parts
Things people don't tell you.
Alberta's career guide says employers prefer legal assistants who type about 80 words a minute. The average adult types roughly 40.
The Institute of Law Clerks of Ontario has run courses and supported law clerks since 1968, and now has more than 1,200 members. Many started as legal assistants.
In Quebec, legal stenographers are regulated by the Barreau du Québec, the province's law society. Everywhere else in Canada, no licence is needed.
Last checked September 2026. Pay figures are typical full-time annual amounts in Canadian dollars, based on Government of Canada Job Bank wage data and published salary grids. They vary by province, employer and experience. Tuition is for domestic students.