Paralegal, Immigration

Dentons is designed to be different. Our firm leads the way in a rapidly changing legal marketplace. We challenge the status quo and deliver consistent results as well as uncompromising quality and value to our clients. Our global presence is renowned as a firm with over 21,000 individuals in more than 200 offices serving clients across 80+ countries.  

Dentons Canada is committed to its people and communities. We are consistently recognized as an employer of choice having received numerous awards including being selected as one of Canada’s Top 100 Employers (2024); Canada’s Top Employers for Young People (2024), and Canada’s Best Diversity Employers (2024).

This role is an opportunity for you to join the world’s largest law firm, a firm that offers opportunities to build your career while growing your skills and deepening your expertise.

POSITION SUMMARY

Our Vancouver office is currently seeking an Immigration Paralegal to join our team. The Paralegal will offer a blend of skills and experience providing immigration and practice support within a team where collegiality and collaboration are key elements of how we work at Dentons. The position will require a confident and reliable individual to manage multiple tasks and changing priorities. The successful applicant must be team-orientated and accustomed to working as a team with other paralegals and legal assistants.

RESPONSIBILITIES 

• Preparing temporary residence, permanent residence, citizenship and permanent resident card applications for submission to Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada, the Canada Border Services Agency, Service Canada and Canadian visa offices abroad
• Applications include:  Word Permit, Labour Market Impact Assessment, Temporary Resident Visas, Access to Information and Privacy, Express Entry Economic Classes, BC Provincial Nominee Program and Spousal Sponsorship
• Coordinating the application process including evaluating applications to identify category qualifications, researching the processes and requirements for different types of applications
• Manage the lifecycle of applications including, document collection, drafting, reviewing, editing and submission of packages
• Collect information and documentation from clients
• Responding to basic and complex client inquiries to ensure that applications are processed and any challenges are dealt with
• Ensuring lawyers are advised of client related issues
• Using available resources, draft complete application packages for review by supervising lawyers
• Ensure that applications are filed in a timely manner
• Draft emails in response to queries by clients and notify them of updates to their applications
• Delegate work, as appropriate, to support staff 
• Follow up with immigration authorities on pending applications

REQUIREMENTS

• Minimum of 3 years’ experience working as a paralegal in an immigration law firm practice 
• An in depth understanding of Canadian immigration categories
• High level of professionalism to handle sensitive and confidential information.
• Ability to multi-task and take on a variety of projects and manage multiple high-volume engagements.
• Ability to work independently in a fast-paced, dynamic team-oriented environment.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Strong computer skills, particularly with Windows-based systems including Microsoft Word, Excel and Outlook
• Strong organizational, fact-finding and problem solving skills
• Self-motivated and proactive in assisting clients, lawyers and colleagues
• Ability to handle pressure and remain calm when working within time constraints
• Commitment to privacy and ethics 
• Paralegal certification preferred

We thank all applicants for their interest, however, only those selected for an interview will be contacted. 

The expected salary range for this role is $65,000 - 75,000, comensurate with experience. At Dentons we are committed to offering equitable and competitive pay, we achieve this by aligning internal salary ranges for specific roles to similar positions in the external market. In the normal course, our practice is to hire, transfer and promote employees within the entry part of our range, adjusting as needed based on the prior experience, skills and competencies required for the role along with any market differentials. 
 
Recognizing our exceptional talent means providing a comprehensive total rewards package beyond a competitive salary. We have curated our employee benefits portfolio to offer inclusive and comprehensive wellbeing and developmental programs for our people. With extended benefits and mental health plans, paid time off, savings plans, fitness subsidy, parental leave top up and more, our benefits are flexible, aligned to our core values and supports the various needs of our people. Additionally, our personal and professional development programs include people networks, mentorships, and leadership series programming to help people grow their career. 

Note: Availability of the benefits and perks may be subject to your location and employment type and may have certain eligibility requirements. Dentons reserves the right to alter these programs and offerings in whole or in part at any time without advance notice.

Equal Opportunity Statement

At Dentons Canada, inclusion, diversity and equity (ID&E) are not just ancillary values, they are foundational to our business. We believe that ID&E is essential to the shared success of our team and our clients. Our forward-thinking and inclusive culture supports the professional development of all our people, enhances the leading services we offer to our clients, and informs our commitment to make a positive impact in the communities where we live and work. As a testament to our commitment to ID&E, we have been recognized as one of Canada’s Best Diversity Employer’s for 12 consecutive years (2011-2022), as well as one of Canada’s Top Employers for Young People (2022) for the fifth time.

Dentons Canada is an equal opportunity employer and we welcome your application. All employment decisions, including hiring, will be made without regard to age, ancestry, citizenship, colour, creed, disability, ethnic origin, family status, gender assigned at birth, gender identity, marital status, place of origin, race, sexual orientation or any other characteristic protected by applicable human rights legislation.

We are committed to providing you with an inclusive, barrier-free and accessible workplace to support your success. Should you require accommodation during the recruitment process, for example as a result of a disability, please contact us at careers.canada@dentons.com.