Description of Occupation

The occupation I chose is a lawyer. Lawyers and Quebec notaries advise clients on legal matters, represent clients before administration boards and draw up legal documents such as contracts and wills. Lawyers also plead cases, represent clients before tribunals and conduct prosecutions in courts of law. Lawyers are employed in law firms and prosecutor's offices. Quebec notaries are employed in notary offices. Both lawyers and Quebec notaries are employed by federal, provincial and municipal governments and various business establishments or they may be self-employed. Articling students are included in this group. if you become a lawyer, there's a very good chance you'll be putting in a lot of hours. Lawyers spend a lot of time researching and studying the laws--especially if they work in private practice. Lawyers work in offices, libraries, and courtrooms. Some duties of lawyer include:

• Advise clients of their legal rights and all matters related to law
• Research legal precedents and gather evidence
• Plead clients' cases before courts of law, tribunals and boards (lawyers only)
• Draw up legal documents such as real estate transactions, wills, divorces and contracts, and prepare statements of legal opinions
• Negotiate settlements of civil disputes (lawyers only)
• Perform administrative and management functions related to the practice of law
• May act as mediator, conciliator or arbitrator
• May act as executor, trustee or guardian in estate and family law matters.
• Lawyers and Quebec notaries may specialize in specific areas of the law such as criminal law (lawyers only), corporate law, contract law, taxation law, administrative law, international law, commercial law, real estate law, family and estate law, intellectual property law and labour law.

Work prospects will continue to be good because the employment growth rate will likely be average because the high cost of legal services may lead people to use alternative dispute resolution processes that do not necessarily involve lawyers. As well, use of computerized legal databases may lead to greater demand for paralegal technicians at the expense of lawyers. The retirement rate will likely be below average, and the number of retiring workers should not contribute significantly to job openings. The number of job seekers will likely match the number of job openings. The average wage is $123,632.00 per year. Useful experiences include Lawyers and Quebec notaries advise clients on legal matters, represent clients before administration boards and draw up legal documents such as contracts and wills. Lawyers also plead cases, represent clients before tribunals and conduct prosecutions in courts of law. Lawyers are employed in law firms and prosecutor's offices. Quebec notaries are employed in notary offices. Both lawyers and Quebec notaries are employed by federal, provincial and municipal governments and various business establishments or they may be self-employed. Articling students are included in this group. if you become a lawyer, there's a very good chance you'll be putting in a lot of hours. Lawyers spend a lot of time researching and studying the laws--especially if they work in private practice. Lawyers work in offices, libraries, and courtrooms.

Lawyers and Quebec notaries perform some or all of the following duties:

• Advise clients of their legal rights and all matters related to law
• Research legal precedents and gather evidence
• Plead clients' cases before courts of law, tribunals and boards (lawyers only)
• Draw up legal documents such as real estate transactions, wills, divorces and contracts, and prepare statements of legal opinions
• Negotiate settlements of civil disputes (lawyers only)
• Perform administrative and management functions related to the practice of law
• May act as mediator, conciliator or arbitrator
• May act as executor, trustee or guardian in estate and family law matters.
• Lawyers and Quebec notaries may specialize in specific areas of the law such as criminal law (lawyers only), corporate law, contract law, taxation law, administrative law, international law, commercial law, real estate law, family and estate law, intellectual property law and labour law.

Work prospects will continue to be good because the employment growth rate will likely be average because the high cost of legal services may lead people to use alternative dispute resolution processes that do not necessarily involve lawyers. As well, use of computerized legal databases may lead to greater demand for paralegal technicians at the expense of lawyers. The retirement rate will likely be below average, and the number of retiring workers should not contribute significantly to job openings. The number of job seekers will likely match the number of job openings.

The average wage is $123,632.00 per year. 

Employment requirements are:

• Two to three years of undergraduate studies or, in Quebec, completion of college program
• and A bachelors degree from a recognized law school and Successful completion of the bar examination and completion of a period of articling are required.
• Licensing by the provincial or territorial law society is required.
• Notaries (Quebec)
• A bachelors degree from a recognized law school and a Diploma of Notarial Law (D.D.N.)
• A masters degree of law with specialization in notarial law and A 32-week vocational training program are required.
• Registration with the Corporation of Notaries is required.

Some useful experiences and educational requirements are:

• Leadership
• Community involvement
• Interpersonal skills
• Committee workk
• Social Studies (Law)
• English (Communication)
• Family Studies
• Math

Information about Post-secondary Programs

The post-secondary program i chose is a Bachelor of Civil Law/Bachelor of Laws from McGill university. The B.C.L./LL.B. program is an opportunity to learn the Civil Law and Common Law traditions within a single, integrated course of studies. Its duration is flexible: at a normal pace of 15 credits per term, the program can be completed in 7 terms or three and a half years.It is possible to accelerate the completion of the program by taking one additional course in the Winter term of first year, by completing Summer credits, and by taking a higher number of credits during the regular academic year, up to a maximum of 18 credits. The length of the program is 3.5 or 4.5 years. The tuition is $7,565.70. Prerequisites include: minimum of two years of university studies (60 credits).

Reflection on my Academic Goal

One of my goals that I have completed is to get an 85% average on my report card this school year. Although I have only recently completed the goal setting activity, I have had this goal in mind since before the beginning of the school year, which gave me a head start and allowed me to achieve this even sooner than I imagined. However, I must say that the goal setting activity did help me a lot in making me set other goals, interrelating them to each other, and most importantly, planning how to achieve it. This part of the exercise helped me the most, by requiring me to develop a strategy to complete the goal.In doing this I was able to achieve m goal. Furthermore, The S.M.A.R.T. (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely) allowed me to discern which of my goals were actually feasible in the long run, and focus on those, rather than having twenty unachievable goals.

myBlueprint Reflection

In all aspects of life it is important to plan ahead. This is especially true when what you are planning will affect you for the rest of your life, such as a career. Using the myBlueprint career planner, I have been able to figure out not only what career I might want to consider, but also how to go about it. Doing this activity has shown me that I have to start planning my future as early as I can to be successful. I have to choose my courses carefully as early as grade 10; this was something I had not considered before. The goal-setting component of this activity was also very helpful. It made me think about whether a goal is realistic, and also the steps I need to take to achieve it. As I said before, it is important to start planning for the future early. Planning for my life after high school, even as far as a career, has allowed me to work backwards and decide what university and high school courses I need to take in order to be considered for such a position. Although I am currently only in grade 10, next year the course selection will be much more diverse, offering multiple science, math, language and humanity courses, and registration is in only one month, which means I really have to start thinking about this. Doing this activity, I have worked backwards from my preferred area of study (law); I have correctly chosen the courses, which would make me eligible for these programs. As I have learned, a persons plan after high school very much depends on what courses they choose in high school, because this is when they gain the knowledge required for any future plans, this is why some high school courses can be very specific. This activity has helped me decide which post-secondary pathway I will consider, university. Although I went into this activity having a pretty good idea of what I wanted to do after high school, it allowed me to see more specifically which universities and which courses I might want to consider. It did make me think about where I was going in more depth than I had before. Overall this activity has given me a good idea of what I want to do with my life both after high school and after university, but more importantly I has shown me how to go about this, with such things like: which courses I need to take, what extra-curricular activities would be beneficial and so forth. This course has also been very helpful to me in choosing a life path. It was placed very well, right before registration for grade 11, allowing me to choose my courses more wisely than I would have. Grade 11 is the most deciding year when it comes to university, because all the grade 12 courses have grade 11 prerequisites and taking this course and doing this activity have allowed me to understand this connection. Now I feel more confident in choosing those courses and understanding the impact this will have on my future. Overall this activity was very helpful and allowed me to successfully plan my future.