Career Search #1: Crown Attorney

Occupation Researched: Crown Attorney

1. Duties and Responsibilities for this occupation:

a) Represent the Crown or state and Criminal Justice Branch of the Ministry
of the Attorney General
b) Prosecute the criminal charges laid by police officers and decide whether
or not charges should be approved
c) Are quasi-judicial officers and are obligated to act fair and justly,
exercising careful judgement in presenting the case, publics interest
d) adequately prepare for each case, and conducting plea and sentence
negotiations
e) Able to think on ones feet
f) Providing legal advice to police as they conduct criminal offence
investigations
g) examination and cross-examination of witnesses
h) Decisions are governed by the law, such as Canadian Charter of Rights
and Freedoms, Nova Scotias Public Prosecutions, and Law Society's
Code of Conduct
extra ) Checking the facts and documents for each case considering if there is enough
evidence to convict
Advising which charges are suitable explaining decisions to defence lawyers, witnesses,
the police and other agencies deciding if evidence is reliable and can be used in court
preparing the case for the prosecution making sure that all relevant evidence is put before
the court presenting the case to a panel of magistrates or judges, or to a judge and jury,
depending on the court questioning the defendant and witnesses if the defendant denies
the offence summing up the case for the prosecution at the end taking part in the
development and training of other prosecutors and caseworkers representing the CPS at
casework conferences

2. Helpful Past Experiences for this occupation:

a) A practising member of Nova Scotias Barrister Society for at least six
years prosecution or related criminal law experience
b) Thorough understanding of prosecution process, criminal procedures,
evidence, and substantive criminal law

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 c) Prior requirements before becoming a prosecutor or criminal lawyer: law
degree, articling, Bar admissions test, be lawfully entitled to work in
Canada

3. Abilities, Skills, Personal Qualities needed for this occupation:

a) Be able to come up with reasonable solutions in a short amount of time
b) Perseverance, open-minded, keen to learn
c) Good communication skills; be able to write, read and speak well,
negotiate
d) Analytical
e) Interpersonal skills: developing trusting relationships with everyone they
work with; teamwork
f) Research skills
g) Comfortable working with variety of people from different backgrounds,
families, cultures, etc.
h) Creative in their problem solving

4. Referring to number 3, do YOU possess the same abilities, skills, and personal
qualities that this Occupation requires? If yes, which do you possess?
a) I believe that I am open-minded and always keen to learn
b) I am certain that I am comfortable working with a variety of people
c) I believe I have a degree of interpersonal skills and works well with others

5. Which items from number 3 would you at this age still need to improve on or acquire?
a) Having good communication skills
b) Research skills
c) Coming up with reasonable solutions in short periods of time
d) Analytical

EDUCATION

6. What are the entrance requirements for the post secondary training that is needed?
(e.g. High school diploma? What specific courses are required?)

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 Post-secondary education entrance requirements differ from each applicant, as the
first step in becoming a lawyer starts with getting a bachelor degree majoring in either
Art or Science. After that, you must pass the LSAT, and if you pass, then you can attend
law school. After graduating from law school you must complete your Provinces Bar
Admission Course and Articling. After you complete it, you are a lawyer. However, to
become a crown attorney, you have to first practise in criminal law (although very few
are accepted straight out of civil law). Then you can become a crown attorney.
In order to receive a BA (Bachelor of Art) - varies by each province/ university-
you ought to have the following requirements:
- a highschool diploma
- ELA with at least 60%, math at least 50%; other courses with at least a
65% average
In order to receive a BS (Bachelor of Science) - varies by each province/
university- you ought to have the following requirements:
- a highschool diploma
- ELA with at least 65%, math/ calculus at least 65%, science course(s)
(Biology, Physics, Chemistry 65%); and other courses with at least a 65%
average

7. What institution(s) provide education/training?

Most universities across Canada provide BAs and BSs, such as Acadia,
Concordia. After passing the LSAT, you can attend law school. There are many law
schools in Canada, such as Dalhousies Schulich School of Law, Western Law School.

8. How long will the program take to complete?

It usually takes at least three years to finish an undergraduate degree, depending
on the university/ province. You go to law school for another (usually) three years.
9. What are the results of the program? (Licence, certificate, diploma, degree?)
University: The result is a bachelors degree in a certain field
Law School: again, it varies in which program you study. Most common
examples are: Juris Doctor degree; Masters of Law degree (LLM); Masters of Common
Law degree; Doctor of Philosophy in Law (PhD)

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 10. What are the costs? Per year and total years? Include books, tuition, living
expenses, etc.
Again, it varies at each university/ law school. Here is an example of a 2016-
2017 student

School: 1st Year 2nd Year 3rd Year 4th Year Additional Total
Expenses (combined)

McGill $11,341 (tuition) $11,341 (tuition) $11,341 (tuition) $11,341 (tuition) $4000 $101,779
University $14,015 (living) $12,800 (living) $12,800 (living) $12,800 (living) (in total)
(Bachelor) total: $25,356 total: $24,141 total: $24,141 total: $24,141

Dalhousie $25,212 (tuition) $25,212 (tuition) $25,212 (tuition) ------- NA------- $4000 $117,436
Schulich School $12,600 (living) $12,600 (living) $12,600 (living) (in total)
of Law

PAY

11. What is the starting salary or salary range?

The starting salary varies by office, however most starting ranges are around
$58,000. For senior level attorneys, they can earn up to $200,000.

12. What are the benefits or extras? (Dental plans, pension plans, isolation pay, etc.)
The benefits may (varies by office) include: dental plan, health benefits, pension
plan, holidays, parental/ disability leave, insurance.

13. What are the possibilities for advancement?

The first step in becoming a crown prosecutor is to practise law as a lawyer. Most
crown prosecutors start in the criminal lawyer field. However some may have worked as
caseworkers. Then they get selected by the attorney general and become a crown
prosecutor. There are junior and senior crown prosecutors. As they are civil servants, they
will be appointed if they complete their cases successfully. They can advance to
becoming an attorney general, and from there can even become the prestigious Minister
of Justice and Attorney General of Canada.

WORKING CONDITIONS

14. Where will you work? (Indoors/outdoors? Rural/city? Institution? Office Building?)
A crown attorney works indoors, in an office or court setting. You can work in
cities or rural towns, eg: Kentville Provincial Court. A crown attorney represents the
government, thus they work for the provincial government, and therefore in government
buildings.

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15. What are the work hours? (Hours, shift work? Overtime? Weekends? Evenings?
Nights?)
Most crown attorneys work five days a week, from 9am - 5pm, however many
times they can work more or less, depending on the case. A crown attorney has to be very
flexible in their schedule.

16. Is this occupation full-time year round or seasonal?

As a crown attorney, the work is full-time year round. However, that does not
mean all of the work is done in a courtroom, as much of it can be done in the office.

17. What are some of the other working conditions? (Noise? Dust? Outdoors? Alone?
High Stress? Competitive? Lot of travel? etc.)
A crown attorney is a very difficult, competitive job. A crown attorney is
representing the government and the public interest, and have to persecute individuals to
societys standards. It can be a very controversial job, but is also very rewarding, as a
crown attorney justifies a persons actions for better or for worse. There should not be too
much traveling, but this job can become very high stress during court cases that are very
difficult to provide both legal, lawful, and in the publics best interest.

JOB POSSIBILITIES

18. What kind of job can you expect to start with?

Before becoming a crown attorney, you have to begin working as a caseworker,
criminal lawyer, or some type of lawyer that preferably deals with criminology.

19. Can you find work in Nova Scotia? Where?

Yes, there are crown attorney positions in Nova Scotia, such as the Kentville
Provincial Court.

20. What is the employment outlook for the future? (Use labour market web site)
Pretty good. However, it depends if there is position needed, in which province,
etc.

OTHER OPTIONS

21. What similar occupations could you consider? (Give at least two)
a) Solicitor
b) Paralegal
c) Judicial Clerk

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ESTABLISHING A PLAN

22. If you were to pursue this occupation choice, what educational institution would you
attend? What faculty would you enter or field of study? If you are looking at an
apprenticeship program, which employer would you approach to take you on as an
apprentice? What technical/college would you go to?
If I were to pursue becoming a crown attorney, I would be attending university,
preferably studying political science or criminology. Then I would take my LSAT, and if
passing, attending law school. There many choices in Canada, and Acadia includes both
political science and criminology. Dalhousie has its own law school- Schulich. Thus, I
can complete all of my education in Nova Scotia if I wished to.
I would definitely be looking into a Co-op program when I am in university for
undergraduate. If I studied in Nova Scotia, I would be looking for a Co-op
opportunity presumably in the Kentville Court. In law school I would try to work
in firms during the summer.

SUMMARY

Occupation Researched: Crown Attorney

Evaluate this occupation choice: does it match your values, skills, abilities, interests,
education, etc. which you evaluated? Does it at this time, seem to be a good occupation
choice for you? Include final comments regarding this occupation choice.

I believe that pursuing a career as a crown attorney would certainly be interesting,

litigating cases representing the government and public interest. There is not too much
time spent in school, which is compromisable compared to some other occupations out
there. At this time, I do not believe that I have enough experience dealing with law, thus
this would not be the job for me. However, if I planned to take this route, I certainly
would study up law related materials to understand the whole process better.

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