Hosting your students at a licensed paralegal firm
We host school-approved field and co-op placements, each supervised by a licensed paralegal in good standing. This page sets out who we can host, what a student may and may not do, the paperwork in the order we need it, and how to reach us.
Or call 647-200-3526
Who we are
The firm your student would be placed with, so you can check it before you agree anything.
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 don’t grant credit: your school does, and evaluates the student. The Law Society accredits paralegal programs, not placement hosts, so no placement with us 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
What we can offer as a host
Supervised support work within the paralegal scope of practice, arranged with you for each student.
Direct supervision
A licensed paralegal in good standing supervises the student directly and takes professional responsibility for the student’s work.
Paralegal-scope support work
Legal research, drafting for review, Small Claims Court, Landlord and Tenant Board, provincial offences and tribunal forms prepared for review, file organization, and observing client meetings and hearings.
In the office first
Some or all of a placement may need to be at our office, 1099 Kingston Road, Pickering, because direct supervision and client confidentiality come first. Any remote part is by agreement with you.
Hours as your program requires
Accredited paralegal programs usually set 240 hours, or 120 for programs that began before September 1, 2024. We agree a schedule that covers your program’s hours.
No fee
There is no fee to the school or the student, and a placement is never offered in exchange for a fee.
The areas NEO works in
The areas on our services and prices list within the paralegal scope. What a student sees depends on the files open during the placement.
Who we can host, and who we can’t
Students whose school approves the placement as part of their program, with your written placement agreement or approval.
We can host students in
- Law Society of Ontario accredited paralegal programs, for the field placement hours the program requires.
- Other Ontario college programs with a placement for credit, for example law clerk or legal office administration.
- University programs, including law school (JD), where the school approves a placement supervised by a licensed paralegal.
- Programs at private career colleges registered in Ontario, where the college approves the placement.
- High school co-op through the school board. A student under 18 comes only through the board, with a parent or guardian contact.
Outside those limits
- Outside a school-approved program, any work with us would be a paid position, at not less than Ontario minimum wage. So would hours beyond what your school approves.
- JD students do support work within the paralegal scope only, with no appearances. The placement is not articling and does not count toward lawyer licensing, which needs a lawyer as principal.
- We can’t promise a placement for every student who asks: it depends on supervision, office capacity and our conflict check.
Supervision and limits
A student is a non-licensee under the Law Society’s By-Law 7.1 and the Paralegal Rules of Conduct (rule 8.01). The supervising paralegal directs and reviews everything the student does. Students:
- give no legal advice, take no instructions and negotiate nothing;
- give or accept no undertakings, and sign only routine correspondence;
- are never called a paralegal, agent or legal advisor, and are introduced as students;
- see no client file before signing the confidentiality undertaking and conflict-of-interest declaration.
Appearances: only students in an accredited paralegal program, at the supervisor’s discretion, with express instructions and direct supervision, identified as a “paralegal student”, where the court or tribunal allows it. Never promised. The rules, with sources.
The paperwork, in order
What we arrange with you, from the agreement before the first day to your evaluation forms at the end.
Your placement agreement or approval
Your school’s written placement agreement or approval, or for high school co-op the board’s Work Education Agreement, signed before the first day. We review your school’s standard host agreement and, where it fits, sign it before the student starts.
Workplace insurance and injury reporting
Confirmed through your school. For approved unpaid placements in publicly funded college and university programs, the Ontario government arranges coverage through the school; private career colleges, please confirm how yours is arranged. We agree the injury-reporting steps with you, using your school’s forms and the firm’s WSIB account (Workplace Safety).
Confidentiality and conflicts
The student signs a confidentiality undertaking and a conflict-of-interest declaration (co-signed by a parent or guardian for a student under 18), and we run our conflict check. No client file before then.
A named supervisor
We name the supervising licensed paralegal in good standing to you and to the student before the first day.
An hours log
We keep a log of the student’s hours, so the total can be checked against what your program requires.
Your attendance and evaluation forms
The supervising licensee completes your school’s attendance and evaluation forms and sends them from the firm’s own email address.
What we have on file before the first day
- Your school has confirmed that this placement is part of your program, approved for credit.
- Your school’s written placement agreement or approval (for high school co-op, the school board’s Work Education Agreement).
- Workplace insurance confirmed through your school, and the injury-reporting steps agreed.
- Your signed confidentiality undertaking (co-signed by a parent or guardian for a student under 18).
- Your signed conflict-of-interest declaration, and our conflict check against the firm’s clients.
- A licensed paralegal in good standing named as your supervisor, your tasks set as supervised support work only, and the hours log and your school’s forms set up.
- For a student under 18: the placement is through the school board’s co-op program, and a parent or guardian contact is on file.
During and after
- We tell you promptly about any attendance or conduct concern, or if the placement has to end.
- We complete mid-term and final evaluations as your program sets them.
- The student’s confidentiality undertaking continues after the placement ends.
- We don’t promise the student a job or a reference.
Privacy
- We use your contact details only to arrange and evaluate the placement.
- A student’s online enquiry is kept as the form’s privacy notice says, for up to 12 months, unless the student goes on to a placement or a role with us.
- We never add you or your students to a mailing list.
See our Privacy Policy and our Workplace Safety and WSIB policy.
How to reach us
Email info@neolegalservices.com with:
- your school, the program, and your name and role;
- the hours the program requires and the dates;
- your placement or host agreement and the forms you use.
Please send no student personal information beyond what the arrangement needs. Students can also ask online at the student enquiry.
Questions placement coordinators ask
Is there a fee?
No. There is no fee to ask, and none for a placement, for the student or the school. A placement is never offered in exchange for a fee.
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.
Who supervises the student?
A licensed paralegal in good standing with the Law Society of Ontario, named to you and the student before the first day. They direct and review the student’s work and are responsible for it. You can check any licensee on the Law Society directory.
Can students appear in court or at a tribunal?
Only students in a Law Society of Ontario accredited paralegal program, at the supervising paralegal’s discretion, with express instructions and direct supervision, on a suitable matter where the court or tribunal allows it. They identify themselves as a “paralegal student”. It is never promised. Students in any other program, including high school, university and law school, observe only.
How many hours can a placement be?
We agree a schedule with you that covers the hours your program requires. For Law Society of Ontario accredited paralegal programs that is usually 240 hours, or 120 for programs that began before September 1, 2024.
Can part of the placement be remote?
By agreement with you. 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.
Do you take law students (JD)?
If the law school approves a placement supervised by a licensed paralegal. JD students do support work within the paralegal scope only, with no appearances, and the placement is not articling and does not count toward lawyer licensing.
Do you sign our host agreement?
Send us your school’s standard host or placement agreement. We review it and, where it fits, sign it before the student starts. If anything in it doesn’t fit the limits on what a student may do at a licensed paralegal firm, or what we can take on as a host, we raise it with you first.
How is workplace insurance handled?
Through your school. For approved unpaid placements in publicly funded college and university programs, the Ontario government arranges coverage through the school. High school co-op uses the board’s Work Education Agreement. Private career colleges, please confirm how yours is arranged. We agree the injury-reporting steps with you before the first day; the firm’s WSIB account is on our Workplace Safety page.
Who completes our evaluation forms, and from which email?
The supervising licensed paralegal completes them and sends them from the firm’s own email address, never a personal account. We complete mid-term and final evaluations as your program sets them.
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.
General information only
NEO Legal Services Professional Corporation is a licensed paralegal firm (Mo. Farooqui, Licensed Paralegal, LSO licence P21785), not a law firm. This page is general information for schools, not legal or employment advice, and it is not an offer to host any particular student. Each placement is arranged with the school, and the school’s agreement governs it. Workplace insurance is confirmed with your school for each placement.
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