Purpose

This specialist program is intended for graduates of the Administrative Assistant Program as well as experienced administrative assistants wishing to work in the legal field. Graduates may find employment in a variety of positions, including junior legal administrative assistant or a legal office support employee in the following organizations: law firms, legal departments of large corporations, real estate companies, insurance firms, financial organizations and government agencies.

Upon successful completion of the 11 courses comprising this program, the student will receive a VCC certificate, if the student achieves a GPA of 2.33 or higher.

Duration

This certificate program can be taken over an extended period of time to a maximum of three years. However, there is a start and end date for each course within the program.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this program, graduates will be able to:

1. Apply time management principles

2. Set priorities

3. Create, edit, print, store and retrieve legal documents and correspondence using computers

4. Perform legal administrative assistant duties and procedures in the areas of general law, litigation, conveyancing, family law, corporate procedures, and wills and estates

Admission Requirements

Successful completion of the Vancouver Community College Administrative Assistant Program or equivalent program completed in the English language; OR

Minimum of one year’s administrative assistant experience as verified by employer, and the following:

• Grade 12 completion, or equivalent
• English 12 with a C, or English Language Proficiency, or equivalent
• A tested keyboarding speed of 50 gross words per minute on a 5-minute test with a maximum of 5 errors
• Certified course completion, or experience using word processing software (MS Word preferred) as verified by an employer

Program Requirements

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
LGAP 1102	Legal Office Procedures	1.5
LGAP 1103	Intro to the Canadian Legal Sy	1.5
LGAP 1100	Litigation Procedures 1	2
LGAP 1105	Corporate Procedures 1	2
LGAP 1104	Conveyancing Procedures 1	2
LGAP 1106	Wills & Estates	2
LGAP 1200	Litigation Procedures 2	2
LGAP 1101	Family Litigation Procedures	2
LGAP 1205	Corporate Procedures 2	1
LGAP 1204	Conveyancing Procedures 2	2
Total Credits		18

This guide is intended as a general guideline only. The college reserves the right to make changes as appropriate.

Evaluation of Student Learning

An evaluation of the learning progress of each student is prepared by the instructor. This evaluation is by theory and practical examinations, and assessment of practical assignments.

Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR)

Prior learning assessment and recognition is not available for this program.

Transcript of Achievement

The evaluation of learning outcomes for each student is prepared by the instructor and reported to the Student Records Department at the completion of semesters.

The transcript typically shows a letter grade for each course. The grade point equivalent for a course is obtained from letter grades as follows:

Grading Standard

Transcript of Achievement

Grade	Percentage	Description	Grade Point Equivalency
A+	96-100		4.33
A	91-95		4.00
A-	86-90		3.67
B+	81-85		3.33
B	76-80		3.00
B-	71-75		2.67
C+	66-70		2.33
C	61-65		2.00
C-	56-59		1.67
D	51-55	Minimum Pass	1.00
F	0-50	Failing Grade	0.00
S	70 or greater	Satisfactory – student has met and mastered a clearly defined body of skills and performances to required standards	N/A
U		Unsatisfactory – student has not met and mastered a clearly defined body of skills and performances to required standards	N/A
I		Incomplete	N/A
IP		Course in Progress	N/A
W		Withdrawal	N/A
Course Standings
R		Audit. No Credits	N/A
EX		Exempt. Credit Granted	N/A
TC		Transfer Credit	N/A

Grade Point Average (GPA)

1. The course grade points shall be calculated as the product of the course credit value and the grade value.

2. The GPA shall be calculated by dividing the total number of achieved course grade points by the total number of assigned course credit values. This cumulative GPA shall be determined and stated on the Transcript at the end of each Program level or semester.

3. Grades shall be assigned to repeated courses in the same manner as courses taken only once. For the purpose of GPA calculation of grades for repeated courses, they will be included in the calculation of the cumulative GPA.