4112 – Lawyers and Quebec notaries
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 unit group.
Profile
Index of titles
Example titles
- Administrative lawyer
- Advisory counsel
- Articling law student
- Assistant corporate counsel
- Assistant Crown attorney
- Assistant general solicitor
- Assistant legal advisor
- Assistant regional counsel
- Associate counsel
- Associate lawyer
- Associate legal advisor
- Associate legal counsel
- Attorney
- Attorney-at-law
- Attorney’s assistant chief agent
- Barrister
- Barrister and solicitor
- City attorney
- City solicitor
- Civil lawyer
- Claim attorney
- Commercial law notary
- Commercial lawyer
- Contract counsel
- Corporate counsel
- Corporate notary (Quebec)
- Corporation lawyer
- Counsel
- Counsellor-at-law
- Counsellor-lawyer
- County attorney
- Criminal lawyer
- Crown attorney
- Crown corporation counsel
- Crown counsel
- Crown prosecutor
- Defence counsel
- Departmental solicitor
- Deputy city solicitor
- Family and estates lawyer
- General counsel
- General solicitor
- Immigration lawyer
- Industrial lawyer
- In-house legal counsel
- Insurance lawyer
- Intellectual-property lawyer
- Judicial assistant – Supreme Court
- Labour lawyer
- Law and corporate affairs adviser
- Law partner
- Lawyer
- Legal advisor
- Legal advocate
- Legal aid lawyer
- Legal attaché
- Legal counsel
- Legal officer
- Legislative adviser
- Legislative counsel
- Litigator
- Municipal solicitor
- Notary (Quebec)
- Patent counsel
- Patent lawyer
- Patent solicitor
- Prosecuting attorney
- Prosecutor
- Quebec notary
- Queen’s Counsel
- Real estate lawyer
- Regional attorney
- Regional Crown prosecutor
- Review lawyer
- Solicitor
- Special prosecutor
- Staff counsel
- Staff lawyer
- Staff solicitor
- Student-at-law
- Tariff counsel
- Tax attorney
- Tax lawyer
- Title lawyer
- Trademark lawyer
Main duties
This group performs 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.
Employment requirements
Lawyers
- Two to three years of undergraduate studies or, in Quebec, completion of a college program and a bachelor’s 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 bachelor’s degree from a recognized law school and a Diploma of Notarial Law (D.D.N.) or a master’s 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.
Additional information
- Lawyers wishing to practise in another province or territory may be required to pass examinations set by the provincial or territorial law society.
Exclusions
- Legal department directors (in 0114 Other administrative services managers)
- Legal firm managers (in 0125 Other business services managers)
- Notaries public and trademark agents who are not lawyers (in 4211 Paralegal and related occupations)
- Patent agents who are not lawyers or Quebec notaries (in 4161 Natural and applied science policy researchers, consultants and program officers)