Licencing Process
Once students have successfully completed their LL.B., there are still a number of steps to complete before they are eligible to practice law. They must become a member of the bar. In Canada and other Commonwealth countries, one is called to the bar after completing post law school training in a provincial law society program and undergoing an internship or articling. Each provincial law society or, as with Quebec, le Barreau du Quebec, has a licensing process that first must be successfully completed. In some provinces, though not Ontario, certain required courses must be taken during your LL.B. It is therefore advisable to investigate carefully should you be interested in practicing in a province other than Ontario. Please find below a summary of the Licensing Process in Ontario as regulated by the Law Society of Upper Canada (LSUC) as well as links to all other provincial and territorial Canadian Law Societies. If you are planning to be called to the bar in a province or territory outside of Ontario you are encouraged to check that province or territory’s website directly.
More information on the Licensing Process in general can be obtained from the Law Society’s website.
The Licensing Process in Ontario
In order to be eligible to participate in the Licensing Process students must have completed all the requirements of an LL.B. or obtained a Certificate of Accreditation from the National Committee on Accreditation. As of 2008 there are currently three mandatory requirements of the Ontario Licensing Process:
- Barrister Licensing Examination
- Solicitor Licensing Examination
- Articling term (ten months)
You must successfully complete all mandatory requirements and submit all required documents in order to be eligible to be called to the bar. According to the Law Society, licensing process candidates must be called to the bar within three years of submitting their application for licensing.. An illustration might help: typically applications go to the LSUC in November of your final year of law school (for example 2009). The three year clock would then start ticking on May 1st of the next year (in this example May 1st 2010) i.e. right at the end of your final year.
To obtain full details on the LSUC Licensing Process Policies please click here.
Examinations
The Licensing Examinations consist of a self-study Barrister Examination and a self-study Solicitor Examination. These examinations test entry-level competencies that have the most direct impact on the protection of the public and that influence an effective and ethical practice.
The Barrister Examination assesses competencies in the following areas: ethical and professional responsibility, knowledge of the law (public law, criminal procedure, family law and civil litigation) and establishing and maintaining the solicitor-client relationship.
The Solicitor Examination assesses proficiency in ethical and professional responsibility as well and then tests the knowledge of the law in the areas of real estate, business law, wills, trusts and estates administration and planning.
These examinations are a full day in length. The Law Society provides the necessary reference materials to study for the examinations. The licensing examinations are offered in June, November and March of each licensing year. The examinations are intended to be written during your articling term following strict guidelines regarding the time that the Articling Principal must follow.
The Articling Term
The Articling Term consists of a period of ten consecutive months (which may include a two week vacation). Articling can be either “Traditional”, which substantially deals with the laws and practice in the Province of Ontario, or “Non-Traditional”, essentially meaning anything else that has been approved and includes Joint Articles, National, International and Part-time Articles.
National or International Articles
National articles simply mean articling in Canada supervised by a lawyer in good standing who has been called to the bar in another Canadian jurisdiction having an experience that does not substantially deal with the law in the Province of Ontario.
International Articles mean articling outside Canada supervised by a lawyer in good standing who has been called to the bar in another jurisdiction or by a Principal who will be providing an experience that does not substantially deal with the law in the Province of Ontario.
In deciding whether or not to approve national or international articles, the Registrar will consider the length, nature, scope, diversity of the proposed legal experience and the relevance of the proposed legal experience to the legal skills, practices and systems ordinarily experienced during traditional articles. For more information on National or International Articles, please click here.
Part Time Articles
Students may be permitted to complete their articling term on a part time basis with approval from the Registrar. It is the students’ responsibility to find a principal who will hire them on a part time basis. The term must be equivalent to a ten-month period (including two weeks of holiday time). According to the Law Society, one full work day consists of a minimum of seven working hours, and no credit will be given for working days longer than eight hours. The Articles must be completed within the overall three year timeline for the completion of the Licensing Process. For more information on part time articles, please click here.
Joint Articles
Students who wish to diversify their articling experience may organize a joint articling program with two or more principals from different firms or associations. The joint articles may be either concurrent or consecutive and a “Joint Articles of Clerkship” form must be completed by all of the parties involved. For more information on joint articles, please click here.
Registering for Bar Admission
You should note that applications for the Licensing Process are generally available in October through the Student Services office. We will send an e-mail to all students who are in their final year of law school as soon as these become available.
Please find below web links to all other Canadian provincial and territorial Law Societies as well as the name of the licensing process and the general application deadlines. As this information may change without notice, we encourage all students to check directly with the law society in question in order to obtain the most up to date information.
Alberta
The CPLED Program (Canadian Centre for Professional Legal Education http://www.cpled.ca/)
http://www.lawsocietyalberta.com/
Application Deadline: May of final year
British Colombia
Law Society Admission Program (LSAP)
http://www.lawsociety.bc.ca/
Application Deadline: At least 30 days before you plan to start the process
Manitoba
The CPLED Program (Canadian Centre for Professional Legal Education http://www.cpled.ca/)
http://www.lawsociety.mb.ca/
Application Deadline: May of final year
New Brunswick
Procedure for Admission as Student-at-Law
http://www.lawsociety-barreau.nb.ca/
Application Deadline: On or before June 1st in the year an applicant enters Articles of Clerkship, or no later than six weeks prior to the commencement of the block of the bar admission course at which the applicant proposes to attend
Nova Scotia
Licensing Process
http://www.nsbs.ns.ca/
Application Deadline: At least 8 weeks prior to the commencement of articles
Newfoundland
Application for Admission as Student with the Society
http://www.lawsociety.nf.ca/
Application Deadline: Information unavailable
P.E.I.
Application for Admission to the Law Society
http://www.lspei.pe.ca/
Application Deadline:
i. PEI component- course is taught in the fall, applications due early October
ii. Nova Scotia component- 8 weeks prior to commencement of articles
Saskatchewan
The CPLED Program (Canadian Centre for Professional Legal Education http://www.cpled.ca/)
http://www.lawsociety.sk.ca/
Application Deadline: June of final year
Quebec
L'École du Barreau (http://www.ecoledubarreau.qc.ca/)
http://www.barreau.qc.ca/
Application Deadline: February of final year of studies
Northwest Territories
Admission as Student-at-Law
http://www.lawsociety.nt.ca/
Application Deadline: Bar admission course must be completed in another Canadian common law jurisdiction (most commonly Alberta). Student-at-law application and documents are due no later than 1 month following the date the Articles of Clerkship are signed.
Nunavut
Admission as Student-at-Law
http://lawsociety.nu.ca/
Application Deadline: Bar admission course must be completed in another Canadian common law jurisdiction. Application and documents due at least 10 weeks prior to the planned commencement of articles.
Yukon
Admission as Student-at-Lawhttp://www.lawsocietyyukon.com/
Application Deadline: Application and documents due well in advance of the planned commencement of articles; approval must be granted before commencement.