Student placements at a licensed paralegal firm
We are a licensed paralegal firm in Pickering. We offer supervised field and co-op placements to students whose school approves the placement as part of their program: high school co-op through the school board, Ontario colleges, universities and registered private career colleges. We arrange each one with your school’s placement coordinator, and you work under the direct supervision of a licensed paralegal in good standing.
Who we are
The firm you would be placed with, so you and your placement coordinator can check it first.
NEO Legal Services Professional Corporation is a paralegal professional corporation in Pickering, Ontario. Its principal, Mo. Farooqui, is a paralegal licensed by the Law Society of Ontario. The firm provides legal services only through licensees, and only in the matters a licensed paralegal is permitted to handle.
We are not a law firm, and we do not hold ourselves out as lawyers.
We are not a school. Your school decides credit and evaluates you. The Law Society accredits paralegal programs, not placement hosts, so no placement is “LSO-approved”.
- Licensee
- Mo. Farooqui, Licensed Paralegal
- LSO licence
- P21785 · Check the Law Society directory
- Supervision
- A licensed paralegal in good standing, named to the student and the school before the first day
- Office
- Unit 236, 1099 Kingston Road, Pickering, ON L1V 1B5
- Phone
- 647-200-3526
Who this is for
Students in a program that requires or approves a placement for credit. Your school approves the placement, not us.
A placement may suit you if you are in
- A Law Society of Ontario accredited paralegal program with a field placement. We host these for the hours your program requires (usually 240 hours, or 120 for programs that started before September 1, 2024), supervised by a licensed paralegal in good standing.
- Another Ontario college program that gives credit for a placement, for example law clerk or legal office administration.
- A university program that gives credit for a placement, including law school, where your school approves a placement with a paralegal firm.
- A program at a private career college registered in Ontario, where the college approves the placement.
- High school co-op through the school board that runs your school.
In every case your school approves this placement as part of your program, and we have the school’s written placement agreement or approval before you start.
Not in a school-approved program?
Then any work with us would be a paid position, at not less than Ontario minimum wage. Outside an approved program we never take anyone on without pay. You can join our talent list instead: send the student form and choose “None of these”. We may contact you if a suitable paid role opens, but we can’t promise that one will.
- Under 18: only through your school board’s co-op program, with a parent or guardian’s contact details. Please ask your co-op teacher to contact us.
- Licensed paralegals: see For Paralegals.
- Ontario lawyers: see For Lawyers.
Which way should you go?
Three quick questions. Nothing you choose is sent to us, and the answer is a guide, not a decision.
Answer the questions above to see which way to go. Nothing you choose here is sent to us.
What you would do, under supervision
Supervised support work within the paralegal scope of practice. A licensed paralegal directs and reviews your work and is responsible for it.
You may
- Legal research, and short memos on what you find, for the supervising paralegal.
- Drafting letters, forms and other documents for the paralegal to review and sign.
- Preparing court and tribunal forms, for example for Small Claims Court, the Landlord and Tenant Board or a provincial offences matter, for review.
- Organizing files, building chronologies and reviewing documents.
- Routine administrative correspondence, such as booking and confirming appointments.
- Keeping calendars and tracking deadlines and limitation periods.
- Observing client meetings when the client agrees, and observing hearings, and taking notes.
You may not
- Give legal advice to a client or anyone else.
- Act as anyone’s legal representative, or use any title that suggests a Law Society licence. You are introduced as a student.
- Take instructions, accept a retainer or quote a fee without the paralegal’s approval.
- Negotiate with another party without approval, or give or accept an undertaking.
- Sign anything other than routine correspondence, or send a document the paralegal has not reviewed.
- Make the final decision on any matter, or work outside the paralegal scope of practice.
- See any client file before your confidentiality undertaking and conflict-of-interest declaration are signed.
Students do not give legal advice and are not anyone’s legal representative
Court and tribunal attendance is at the supervising paralegal’s discretion. You may observe hearings. Only students in a Law Society of Ontario accredited paralegal program may, with the supervising paralegal’s express instructions and direct supervision and where the court or tribunal allows it, make a limited appearance on a suitable matter, identified as a “paralegal student”. No appearance is ever promised.
What you may learn
The practice skills behind every file, learned under supervision.
Intake and conflict checks
How a new enquiry becomes a file: intake, the conflict check, and how a file is opened, kept and closed.
Research and writing
Finding and reading Ontario statutes, regulations and case law, and writing up what you find clearly.
Drafting for review
Letters, forms and other documents drafted for the supervising paralegal to review and sign.
Court and tribunal procedure
How Small Claims Court, the Landlord and Tenant Board and other tribunals work, from the first form to the hearing.
Observing meetings and hearings
Sitting in on client meetings when the client agrees, and on hearings, and taking notes.
Deadlines and file management
Keeping calendars, tracking limitation periods and keeping a file in order.
Where NEO works
The areas on our services and prices list that are within the paralegal scope of practice. What you see depends on the files open during your placement.
How a placement starts
Nothing is arranged until your school has approved the placement in writing, and either of us can decide not to go ahead before you start.
You ask, and a person reads it
Tell us about your school, your program and the placement it needs in a short online enquiry. A person at NEO reads every one and replies by email, whatever the answer.
We contact your placement coordinator
If it looks like a fit, we talk with you and your placement coordinator or co-op teacher about the hours, the dates, your learning goals and your school’s forms.
Your school approves the placement in writing
We need your school’s written placement agreement or approval for this placement (for high school co-op, the school board’s Work Education Agreement). Your word alone is not enough, and nothing is arranged before we have it.
Workplace insurance, through your school
Your school confirms how workplace insurance is arranged for the placement, and we agree with your school the steps to follow if anyone is hurt.
All 8 steps, what must be on file first, and an hours planner
No fee, no obligation, and no promises
- There is no fee to ask about a placement or for a placement, and a placement is never offered in exchange for a fee.
- Asking commits neither of us. Either of us can decide not to go ahead before the placement starts, and once it starts your school’s agreement governs it.
- We can’t promise a placement, any court or tribunal attendance, a job or a reference.
- Outside a school-approved program, any work is paid at not less than Ontario minimum wage.
What we ask of you
The same care we expect from everyone who works on a client’s file.
Enrolment in an approved program
You are enrolled in a program that requires or approves this placement, and you stay in good standing with your school throughout. Tell us straight away if that changes: the placement ends if your school stops approving it or you leave the program.
Confidentiality
Everything about our clients stays confidential, during the placement and after it ends. You sign a confidentiality undertaking and a conflict-of-interest declaration before you start.
Professionalism
Introduce yourself as a student, be on time, follow your supervisor’s instructions and the firm’s privacy and security practices, and ask whenever you are unsure.
Availability
Agree a schedule with us and your school that covers the hours your program sets, and give us as much notice as you can if it needs to change.
Eligibility to take part
If you are an international student, check with your school that your permit allows the placement (some programs need a co-op work permit). We don’t ask for your immigration documents.
Questions students ask us
Is the placement paid?
A placement your school approves as part of your program is unpaid, which Ontario’s Employment Standards Act allows for these school programs. That is the only kind of unpaid work we offer. If you are not in such a program, any work with us would be a paid position, at not less than Ontario minimum wage. Any hours beyond what your school approves, or any work outside the placement, would be paid work too. There is never a fee for a placement.
I’m not in a school program. Can I still get experience with you?
Not without pay. Under the Employment Standards Act, someone who does work for a business, or is trained in the skills its team uses, is generally an employee unless their school has approved the placement. So outside an approved program, we take people on only in paid roles, at not less than Ontario minimum wage. You can join our talent list by sending the student form and choosing “None of these” (or, if your program has no placement, answering “No”). We may contact you if a suitable paid role opens, but we can’t promise that one will.
How many hours is a placement?
The hours are set by your school’s program, and we agree a schedule with you and your placement coordinator. For a Law Society of Ontario accredited paralegal program, the field placement is usually 240 hours (120 hours for students whose program started before September 1, 2024). Your school will confirm what applies to you. The hours planner gives a rough idea of the weeks it could take.
Is it in the office or remote?
We decide that with you and your school for each placement. Direct supervision and client confidentiality come first, so some or all of a placement may need to be at our office, Unit 236, 1099 Kingston Road, Pickering, ON L1V 1B5. Any remote part is by agreement.
Who supervises me?
A licensed paralegal in good standing with the Law Society of Ontario, named to you and your school before you start. They direct and review your work and are responsible for it. You can check any licensee on the Law Society directory.
Will I go to court or a tribunal?
You may observe hearings with your supervising paralegal. If you are in a Law Society of Ontario accredited paralegal program, the supervising paralegal may, at their discretion, with express instructions and direct supervision, let you make a limited appearance on a suitable matter (for example asking for an adjournment or setting a date), where the court or tribunal allows it. You would identify yourself as a “paralegal student”. This is never promised. Students in any other program, including high school, university and law school, do not appear for anyone.
Will I work with clients or give advice?
You may observe client meetings when the client agrees, and help prepare documents for the paralegal. You will not give legal advice, take instructions or act as anyone’s representative: a licensed paralegal supervises your work directly and is responsible for it.
What do I sign before I start?
A confidentiality undertaking and a conflict-of-interest declaration, and we run a conflict check. You will not see any client file until both are signed. Your school’s own placement agreement is signed too, before your first day.
I’m in law school. Can I do a placement here?
You can ask, if your law school will approve a placement supervised by a licensed paralegal. You would do support work within the paralegal scope only. Law students’ rights to appear depend on supervision by a lawyer, so you would not appear here, and lawyer licensing requires a lawyer as your principal, so a placement with us is not articling and does not count toward lawyer licensing.
I’m under 18. Can I apply?
Only through your school board’s co-op program, with a parent or guardian’s contact details. Please ask your co-op teacher to contact us at info@neolegalservices.com. The online form is for applicants 18 and older.
Will you give me a reference?
We complete your school’s attendance and evaluation forms. Anything more, such as a reference letter, is at the supervising paralegal’s discretion and is not promised.
Could a placement lead to a job?
We can’t promise that it will. If we have a paid role open, you are welcome to apply for it like anyone else.
What happens to my information?
We use your enquiry only to consider you for a placement (or, outside an approved program, for paid roles) and to contact you and your school’s placement office about it. Only NEO’s principal and the people the principal has authorized see it. We keep it for up to 12 months after we decide (on the talent list, up to 12 months after you send it), then delete it, unless you go on to a placement or a role with us. To see, correct, withdraw or delete it sooner, email info@neolegalservices.com. We never add you to a mailing list. See our Privacy Policy.
Is NEO a law firm? Is this an LSO-approved placement?
No to both. NEO Legal Services Professional Corporation is a licensed paralegal firm, not a law firm. The Law Society of Ontario accredits paralegal education programs, not the firms that host placements, so no placement is “LSO-approved”. The student’s school approves the placement and decides the credit.
General information only, not legal or employment advice. NEO Legal Services Professional Corporation is a licensed paralegal firm regulated by the Law Society of Ontario, not a law firm. Each placement is arranged with the student’s school, and the school’s agreement governs it.
Where to next
Each page covers one part of a student placement.
Licensed paralegals: For Paralegals · Ontario lawyers: For Lawyers
General information only
This page describes student placements at our firm. NEO Legal Services Professional Corporation is a licensed paralegal firm (Mo. Farooqui, Licensed Paralegal, LSO licence P21785), not a law firm. It is general information, not legal or employment advice, and it is not an offer of a placement or a job. A placement is arranged only with your school, under its written placement agreement or approval, and your school’s agreement governs it. Sending an enquiry does not create a lawyer-client or paralegal-client relationship, so please don’t include details of any legal matter.
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