The BCPA is an advocate to help paralegals get the most out of their profession. The Board of Directors represents paralegals across the province with regional directors in the lower mainland, interior, okanagan, and Vancouver Island. Members include paralegals working at law firms, in-house legal departments, government ministries, contractors working for lawyers, as well as students enrolled in paralegal programs, educational administrators and others. The definition of a paralegal according to the BCPA Bylaws is as follows:
“Paralegal” means a person with education, training and knowledge of the substantive and procedural aspects of law, who is employed or retained by or for the purposes of working with a Member of the Law Society in a capacity or function which involves the performance of legal work, under the ultimate direction and guidance of a Member of the Law Society, or duties of specifically-delegated substantive legal work which requires sufficient knowledge of legal concepts that in the absence of the paralegal the Member of the Law Society would perform.
Membership Categories & Requirements
Our memberships run from January 1st to December 31st and are not pro-rated. Memberships purchased on October 1st or later will be for the rest of the current calendar year and all of the following calendar year (i.e., October 1st, 2023 – December 31st, 2024), apart from student memberships which roll overs start from September 1st.
VOTING MEMBER QUALIFICATION AND REQUIREMENTS
VOTING - $105.00
1) The applicant MUST be currently employed as a paralegal in BC and have successfully completed all requirements of a paralegal program at either:
a) Capilano University;
b) Vancouver Community College; or
c) University of the Fraser Valley.
OR
2) If you do not meet criteria #1, the applicant MUST be currently employed as a paralegal and have a minimum of five (5) years of employment as a paralegal in BC.
*If you do not see your school above, click here for policy information on paralegal programs offered by institutions not endorsed by the BCPA.
VOTING REQUIREMENTS
Voting 1): Must upload your diploma, certificate or transcript from either a) - c) above to your membership profile. Must upload signed declaration form (sign bottom portion only) acknowledging that you are bound by the Code of Ethics and the Bylaws of the Association.
Voting 2): Applicant's supervising lawyer must sign the top portion of the declaration form confirming years of employment and acknowledging the Code of Ethics and the Bylaws of the Association. Applicant must sign bottom portion of declaration and upload it to profile.
NON-VOTING MEMBER QUALIFICATIONS AND REQUIREMENTS
STUDENT - $30.00
The applicant MUST be enrolled in a paralegal training program at either:
1) Capilano University;
2) Vancouver Community College; or
3) University of the Fraser Valley.
Please do not select this category if you are not a student at the above-noted schools. Please refer to Affiliate #4 or reach out to our administrator for clarity.
*If you do not see your school above, click here for policy information on paralegal programs offered by institutions not endorsed by the BCPA.
STUDENT REQUIREMENT
Applicant's program director must sign the middle portion of the declaration form acknowledging the Code of Ethics and the Bylaws of the Association. Applicant must sign bottom portion of declaration and upload it to profile.
AFFILIATE - $105.00
The applicant MUST meet one of the following criteria:
1) Currently employed as a paralegal with less than five (5) years employment as a paralegal in BC;
2) Successfully completed a paralegal program and is not currently employed as a paralegal;
3) A member of the Law Society of BC or another Law Society (approval at the discretion of the Board);
4) A paralegal student at an educational institution endorsing paralegals other than Capilano University, Vancouver Community College, or University of Fraser Valley.
AFFILIATE REQUIREMENTS
Affiliate 1): Applicant's supervising lawyer must sign the top portion of the declaration form confirming the number of years the Applicant has been employed as a paralegal by the firm and acknowledge the Code of Ethics and the Bylaws of the Association. Applicant must sign bottom portion of form and upload form to profile.
Affiliate 2): Applicant must upload diploma, certificate or transcript to profile. Must upload signed declaration form (sign the bottom portion only) acknowledging the Code of Ethics and the Bylaws of the Association.
Affiliate 3): Applicant must upload Law Society of BC membership to profile. Must upload signed declaration form (sign the bottom portion only) acknowledging the Code of Ethics and the Bylaws of the Association.
Affiliate 4): Applicant's program director must sign the middle portion of the declaration form acknowledging the Code of Ethics and the Bylaws of the Association. Must sign bottom portion of declaration and upload form to profile.
CORPORATE - $400.00
Corporate membership is for legal industry organizations or corporations that support the purposes of the Association. Corporate membership includes 2 (two) employees such as the company’s legal related businesses’ Human Resources, Administrator, Managing Partner, or Recruiter roles for example, This category is not intended to provide a means for a firm to extend membership privileges to employees who would otherwise qualify as voting, student, or affiliate members. If corporate members would like to add additional employees to their membership, there is a fee of $105 per additional employee.
Your paralegals require their individual memberships, whether they are students, affiliate or voting members. This way, your paralegals will benefit from having their own website access, receive e-mails that are specific to their membership status, benefit from registering for educational courses, annual AGM (if applicable), conferences and spring, summer and fall events at rates that are specific to their membership status.
Members must abide by the BCPA Code of Ethics.