How to Get a Legal Assistant Career Without Prior Experience

You think it’s the classic Catch-22: you need experience to get a legal job, but you need a job to get legal experience. You’re probably frustrated and confused, wondering how you’re going to have time for volunteer work or internships while balancing your family duties and full-time job. 

Fortunately, you can become a legal assistant without needing years of experience in the industry. In fact, that’s exactly what many legal assistants have already done. 

Employers in the legal field are looking for skills and training. Here’s exactly how you can start a legal career without prior experience:

Listen to: How to Get a Legal Assistant Career Without Prior Experience

Why a Legal Assistant Career is a Great Choice

A legal assistant career often appeals to people looking for stability and a chance to do meaningful work in a purpose-driven role. Here’s why:

Growing Demand Across Canada

The legal industry is established, prominent, and projected to continue growing. Across Canada, law firms are expanding into new areas of practice, experienced legal assistants are retiring, and other reasons are resulting in more openings and a good career outlook for skilled workers in the field. 

With this growth comes an ongoing demand for qualified legal assistants, and not enough trained individuals to fill the gaps. In fact, 86% of Canadian hiring managers report difficulties finding skilled legal talent. 

This means that with the right training on your resume, you could quickly be hired into a legal setting such as a private law firm, corporate legal department, real estate office, or government agency.

Competitive Salaries from Day One

Legal assistants across the country can expect a competitive salary from the day they enter the field, with the average annual salary being around $53,000. 

Employers are willing to pay well from day one for qualified legal assistants who are ready to play a direct role in the efficiency of a legal team. The right training in this field can mean you’re equipped to contribute to a firm’s profitability by ensuring the accuracy of legal documentation and improving the operations of legal offices through filing and registration in areas like civil litigation, as well as family, corporate, and real estate law. 

Because the accuracy of these duties directly impacts legal office operations, legal assistants are incredibly valuable members of the legal team, and your salary can reflect that.

Entry-Level Legal Assistant Roles That Welcome New Graduates

With the legal knowledge, skills, and experience you obtain through the right diploma program and practicum, you’ll be ready for roles that law firms and legal departments are actively hiring for. 

Job titles that are available to recent graduates with no experience include legal assistant, legal secretary, and legal administrative assistant. In these roles you’ll find yourself handling legal files, preparing and filing court forms, managing calendars, preparing correspondence, and performing other important duties. 

Legal assistants often spend more time supporting lawyers and legal teams, while legal secretaries place more emphasis on secretarial work. Legal administrative assistants perform more administrative duties in law firms and other legal settings. Despite these differences, the terms are often used interchangeably, and responsibilities will vary by employer.

Legal Assistant Skills That Make You Valuable

To stand out as a candidate for a legal assistant role, employers are looking for the skills you bring to the table. These skills include both technical abilities and transferable soft skills that you can develop through the right training. Essential technical skills in this field include: 

• Knowledge of legal terminology in areas such as civil law, family law, wills and estates, criminal law, and environmental law 
• Technical proficiency in legal software and tools like PCLaw and Microsoft Office 
• Critical thinking and legal research ability to find, assess, and organize legal information 

Valuable soft skills for legal assistant work can be qualities you may already possess or that you’ll develop through training, such as: 

• Integrity and confidentiality when managing sensitive client and case data 
• Attention to detail to make sure every document, date, and filing is accurate 
• Communication and interpersonal skills for working effectively with lawyers, clients, and other colleagues 
• Organization and time management to keep complex workloads moving on time 

Demonstrating these skills, positioned strategically on your resume, will make you stand out when applying for legal assistant roles, even without prior experience. That’s where a Professional Legal Assistant diploma from Sundance College comes in. 

The program combines career-focused legal training with career-building support from an experienced Career Services team. Through courses on career management and a lifetime access to their insights, the Career Services team will help you identify the skills you already have, those you’re still developing, and help you position them on your resume to showcase them to employers: 

“Our team sits down with students to review their transferable skills and strengths. These are the things hiring managers are looking for on resumes.” – Tim H., Assistant Education Manager, Career Services 

As you progress through the program, you’ll continue to develop these sought-after professional skills through hands-on projects and a 5-week practicum placement in a legal setting. 

How to Leverage Practicums

Along with developing essential technical and professional skills, the real-world practicum included in your training provides real legal experience that employers value.  

During your practicum, you’ll work in an actual legal environment such as a law firm, corporate office, or government department where you’ll be able to apply everything you’ve learned during your studies. 

This hands-on experience doesn’t just reinforce your training and prepare you for your new legal career, it also gives you industry experience to leverage on your resume and in interviews. Combining this experience with your new skills, as well as the resume support and interview prep you receive from our Career Services team will help you stand out as a skilled, job-ready candidate.

How Sundance College Fast Tracks Your Legal Career

Sundance College’s Professional Legal Assistant program equips you with the skills, knowledge, and experience you need to enter the legal field in under a year.  

In less than a year, you’ll develop the skills and technical knowledge you need in areas like family law, real estate law, legal software, and more. The program also includes a 5-week practicum that allows you to put your new skills and knowledge into practice and gain crucial industry experience. 

As part of your studies, you’ll also benefit from: 

• Industry-experienced legal instructors. You’ll be learning from people who’ve worked in the legal field and bring real-world insight to the classroom. 
• Lifetime access to our Career Services team. You’ll have the support and services you need to transition from education to employment. 

Industry Recognition Through AAPP Endorsement

Sundance College’s Professional Legal Assistant Diploma program has been endorsed by the Alberta Association of Professional Paralegals (AAPP) as meeting the education standard required for Legal Support Professional membership. 

This endorsement means our students complete training that aligns with the competencies and professional standards established by Alberta’s association for legal assistants. 

This combination of training, experience, and support contributes to student success and has helped 84% of our graduates find employment in their field within six months.

Success Story: From No Experience to Employed 

Christina B. graduated from our Professional Legal Assistant program and is now working for the Government of Alberta as a legal assistant to the Crown prosecutor, a role she proudly calls her dream job. Christina says her training is what made it possible:

“I love how in-depth it went into case law. And it fully taught me to do legal research and write about it. The instructors were top tier. Their support built me up to have such a high-profile career and got me where I am.”

That’s just one real-world example of Sundance College’s Professional Legal Assistant program providing students with the experience and skills needed to achieve career change success. 

It IS possible to build a legal assistant career without prior experience, and many Sundance College graduates have proven it. In just 45 weeks you’ll have graduated with the knowledge, skills, practical training and support system you need to achieve legal career success quickly. Industry-experienced instructors and hands-on practicum training will have you ready for the real world in under a year! 

Read more about how our Professional Legal Assistant program prepares you for a successful career in the legal field.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

• What qualifications do I need to become a legal assistant?

  Employers look for candidates who have completed a Legal Assistant diploma program that includes both classroom learning and a practicum. Sundance College students graduate with legal assistant requirements, including a solid foundation in areas such as family law, real estate law, civil litigation, and corporate law. They’re also trained in legal software and document preparation. This combination of theory and hands-on experience equips graduates with the skills needed to succeed in entry-level legal careers.

• Can I work as a legal assistant without a diploma?

  Employers in the legal field are looking for candidates with the skills, legal knowledge, and experience that shows they can contribute to the workplace from day one. A Professional Legal Assistant diploma endorsed by the Alberta Association of Professional Paralegals (AAPP) proves to employers that you have what they’re looking for.

• How long does it take to be ready for a legal assistant career?

  With Sundance College’s Professional Legal Assistant diploma program, you can be job-ready in just 45 weeks. That includes a 5-week practicum to give you real-world experience, so you’ll have the skills, knowledge, and experience you need to stand out to employers and begin a legal career immediately.

• What’s the career outlook for legal assistants?

  The career outlook for legal assistants in Canada is strong and steadily growing. As law firms, corporations, and government departments take on more complex legal work, they’re relying on trained legal assistants to keep cases, contracts, and documentation organized and on track.

• Do law firms hire legal assistants with no experience?

  Yes, many firms welcome entry-level candidates, provided that they have formal preparation. The right diploma program will make you stand out to employers from day one. As a Sundance College graduate, you’ll be proficient in legal research, software, documentation, and communications. Your included practicum will allow you to demonstrate these skills in a real law office and discuss the experience in interviews.

• Is online training a good option for future legal assistants?

  Yes, online legal assistant training offers flexibility and convenience. At Sundance College you can learn at your own pace, on your own time, balancing your studies with other commitments while gaining career focused skills for an entry-level legal assistant role.