September 4, 2009 | Manitoba

With so many police and lawyer television dramas on television, it is important to realize that there is an invisible set of engines which make the court system work. These are the Legal Administrative Assistants who prepare the letters, produce the documents and expedite activities to help their lawyers serve their clients. CDI

College in Winnipeg has been a long time provider of Legal Administrative Assistants for the Winnipeg legal community.

Winnipeg lawyers, realtors, bankruptcy agents, and the public sector benefit from CDI College's finely trained legal assistants who bring a high quality of performance to match their extensive education.

"If you go to any major law firm in the city or even different branches of the Manitoba justice system, there is a great chance of running into a CDI Graduate or a Practicum Student," explained Tahl East, Campus Director. "We are represented in every major firm along with many of the small and medium law firms in the community."

The CDI College Legal Administrative Assistant program is a rigorous training exercise that trains students to meet and exceed the expectations and needs of lawyers and their staff. Students are trained in understanding the Common Law system of Canada as well as the Court Procedures from the Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench.

"We want all our graduates to be the best they can be." East said, "And we work very hard to ensure the high quality of education so that we continue to be the legal industry's pick of choice."

The key to a good legal education is a great legal instructor. This is definitely the case at CDI College's Winnipeg Campus. Tyler Warren is not only the legal administrative assistant instructor but he is also a lawyer who is a practicing member of both the Manitoba and Upper Canada (Ontario) Bar Association. Warren's main areas of practice include Immigration and Tort Law.

Students from the Legal Administrative Assistant Diploma Program undergo extensive training in many areas of the legal profession including Legal Office Procedures. This component focuses on learning about day-to-day organization, management and procedures of a legal office. This includes preparing legal documents, filing systems and working with trust accounting concepts and procedures.

"One of the most highly valued abilities of legal administrative assistants is being able to prioritize and manage workloads for themselves, but also work with other members of a dynamic legal team," Warren said, "Our graduates are very strong at this, forming the vital link between lawyer and client."

CDI students also undergo training in the areas of Wills and Estates, Civil Law, Commercial and Corporate Law as well as Real Estate Law.

"With Winnipeg's real estate market continuing to be strong, many of the people helping you buy or sell a house, could be one of our CDI College graduates." East said.

With strong emphasis on basic communication skills including Business Editing and Proofreading, Legal

Administrative Assistants who graduate from CDI College acquire valuable tools which Winnipeg employers require. Legal Administrative Assistants students also benefit from a practicum placement with a law firm or public sector department. This experience will expose participants to the 'real world' while allowing them the opportunity to work alongside practicing lawyers and their staff.

"Some of our practicum host employers have included Aikins Law Offices, Thompson Dorfman Sweatman, Pitblado Law," said East. "Congratulations goes to Manitoba Prosecutions who received CDI

College's Practicum Partnership Award recipient at the Spring 2009 Convocation."

Legal Administration is not just about working on preparing documents, forms and learning about complicated legal terminology. It can also be fun and hands-on.

"We have tours to the Manitoba Courts and the Land Titles Office," said Warren "What is more exciting is that we hold a Moot or Mock Court Session every year where students participate as the judge, learned counsels and jury. It is a great success each time we hold the CDI College Moot Court."

Winnipeg Legal Administrative Assistants from CDI College have a terrific opportunity to break into the legal field and become active members of the exciting and fast paced world of law as well as build new careers for themselves.

For more information on the Legal Administrative Assistant program, head to http://www.cdicollege.ca/Programs-and-Courses/School-of-Business