Applying for a Reduction of the Length of an Articling Placement

An abridgement of the experiential training requirement is only available for candidates who choose to article. The Law Practice Program cannot be reduced or shortened. Applications for an abridgement of a candidate’s entire articling term will not be accepted.   Before submitting their application, candidates must review the relevant sections of the Licensing Process Policies and the guidelines contained on this webpage to ensure that they understand the criteria used to assess abridgement requests.

Types of abridgements

There are two ways to reduce the length of the articling term:  

• an abridgement based on compassionate grounds; or
• an abridgement based on prior legal experience.

Abridgement based on compassionate grounds

The Law Society may approve an abridgement of a candidate’s articling term based on compassionate grounds for a period of up to six weeks.

Compassionate grounds may include family responsibilities, prolonged illness or injury, or any other ground deemed compassionate by the Law Society. The request should be submitted after the candidate has taken the time off.

To apply for an abridgement based on compassionate grounds, candidates must complete the application, attach supporting documentation, and submit the application and supporting documentation through their online account. 

The granting of an abridgement based on compassionate grounds is discretionary and assessed on a case-by-case basis.

Abridgement based on prior legal experience

Overview

The Law Society may approve an abridgement of a candidate’s articling term based on prior legal experience as specified in the relevant sections of the Licensing Process Policies and as set out below.

The general process for an abridgement of the articling term based on prior legal experience is as follows:

1. The candidate submits the abridgement application and all of the candidate’s supporting documents.
2. Third parties submit supporting documents.
3. The Law Society reviews the application and supporting documents.
4. As appropriate, the Law Society sends questions or requests for additional documentation to the candidate or the candidate’s referee(s).
5. Once the application is submitted in full and the review process has commenced, the Law Society issues an invoice to the candidate for the application fee.
6. The abridgement application is subject to a detailed review.
7. A decision regarding the requested abridgement is sent to the candidate. 

Eligibility requirements

Applicants must be fully registered in the Lawyer Licensing Process to proceed with this application.

A candidate is eligible to apply for an abridgement based on prior legal experience where the candidate has

1. been licensed to practise law in another province, a territory, or a foreign jurisdiction and has practised as a lawyer in another jurisdiction; or
2. had other legal experience after completing a law degree.

When evaluating a request for an abridgement based on prior legal experience, the Law Society will not consider experience obtained by the candidate before completing a program to obtain a Bachelor of Laws or a Juris Doctor degree from a law school. For clarity, experience while enrolled in a program of a law school (including clinical education experience or full-time, part-time, or summer experience in a law firm or legal organization) is not considered prior legal experience.

The following factors will be considered when evaluating a request for an abridgement:

1. the length, recency, nature, scope, and diversity of the candidate’s legal experience; and
2. the relevance of the legal experience to the experiential training competencies and requirements for candidates established by the Law Society.

If the request for an abridgement of articles based on prior legal experience is based on being licensed to practise law in another jurisdiction, the candidate must currently be in good standing in that jurisdiction or must have chosen to relinquish the licence to practise law in that jurisdiction for reasons other than disciplinary/regulatory allegations or action.

Application requirements and supporting documents

To apply for an abridgement based on prior legal experience, the following documents are required:

1. The Application for Articling Abridgement.

2. An original letter from the candidate, in the candidate’s own words, that sets out each of the candidate’s periods of legal experience after completing a law degree and a description of the associated practice setting. The letter must be in PDF or Word format.
   
   The letter must describe the relevance of the candidate’s legal experience to the skills, practices, and systems ordinarily experienced during an articling placement, refer to the applicable experiential training competencies for candidates, and provide detailed examples of the candidate’s legal experience.

3. An original letter of reference from one or more lawyer or judge referees, sent directly from the referees to articling@lso.ca. The letter must be in PDF or Word format. Reference letters in support of abridgement applications must be prepared in compliance with the relevant sections of the Licensing Process Policies and should
   1. explain how the candidate’s legal experience is relevant to the experiential training competencies set out on the Law Society’s website;
   2. provide at least two specific examples from the candidate’s legal experience that reflect the candidate’s demonstration of one or more of the experiential training competencies;
   3. contain a high level of detail about (1) the nature of each specific experience being cited; (2) the legal or procedural complexity of each experience; (3) the candidate’s role, responsibilities, and accomplishments during each experience; and (4) the timeframe within which each experience was obtained (start and end dates); and
   4. indicate the specific dates between which the candidate obtained legal experience under the referee’s observation.

4. Where a candidate has been licensed to practise law in another jurisdiction, an original Certificate of Standing from the governing body of the legal profession of each jurisdiction where the candidate has been licensed to practise law. The certificate must be sent directly from that governing body to the Law Society. An electronic copy transmitted to articling@lso.ca is preferred, but the Law Society will also accept a certificate mailed the attention of Licensing and Accreditation – Articling, Law Society of Ontario, 130 Queen St. W., Toronto, ON, M5H 2N6 (see below regarding translations).

5. Where a candidate has already begun articling, a letter from the candidate’s articling principal or principal’s firm. The letter must (i) acknowledge the candidate’s request for an abridgement; (ii) indicate the date of commencement of the candidate’s articling term; and (iii) set out the amount of time off taken to the date of the request, including vacation days, sick days, holidays, leaves of absence days, and study days.

Guidelines for preparing an application

1. Any documents that are not in English or French must be translated by a translator certified by the Association of Translators and Interpreters of Ontario (ATIO). Candidates may wish to refer to ATIO’s Directory of Certified Translators on its website at www.atio.on.ca. The original Certificate of Standing must be sent by the governing body of that jurisdiction directly to a certified translator. The certified translator must then send both the original and translated copies of the Certificate of Standing directly to articling@lso.ca.
2. Letters submitted by the candidate must be original and written in the candidate’s own words.
3. A reference letter from an eligible referee must be original and written in the referee’s own words. Candidates must not provide templates or draft content to a referee, although they may provide a referee with factual information to remind the referee of the candidate’s experience. Candidates are encouraged to direct referees to the relevant provisions on this webpage and elsewhere on the Law Society’s website.
    

   Reference letters that simply confirm or duplicate the contents of a candidate’s letter will not be accepted. Reference letters must be sent directly from the referee to articling@lso.ca.

4. Candidates must submit their abridgement application form before submitting (and having third parties submit) the documents in support of their application. Documents submitted in support of an abridgement are valid for a period of up to six months following the Law Society’s receipt. If a candidate has not ensured that a complete application has been submitted within six months, then the candidate must submit a new application with up-to-date documentation.
5. Candidates should submit a complete abridgement application at least 45 days prior to the date when they would prefer to receive a decision. Applications will not be considered complete and will not be reviewed until all required documents are received by the Law Society.
6. Candidates must ensure that the name listed on all supporting documents is the same as the name associated with the candidate’s Law Society account.

Review process

Applications that do not comply with the applicable requirements or that are incomplete will not be reviewed. Applications will not be deemed complete until the Law Society receives all of the required documents relevant to the candidate’s application.

The granting of an abridgement of any duration is discretionary and assessed on a case-by-case basis.

Fees

Please see the Fees schedule found on the Fees and Forms page for the fee associated with this application.

Additional Resources

Licensing Process Policies  –  Part 10 (Abridgements) 
Experiential Training Competencies for Candidates