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Integrated Practice Curriculum
The Integrated Practice Curriculum (IPC) is a law school degree program that incorporates a number of experiential training and entry-level practice competencies in addition to the traditional law school coursework. IPC programs give students who are interested in becoming practising lawyers the opportunity to learn and practise the entry level competencies required in early practice.
While IPC programs may differ from one law school to the next, approved IPC programs all include requirements for students to learn, demonstrate, and be evaluated on their skills and ability to perform specific legal tasks. Competency requirements in IPC programs are set by the Law Society of Ontario and are based on and include the entry-level practice competencies set out in the National Admission Standards Competency Profile of the Federation of Law Societies of Canada and further experiential training competencies from the Law Society’s requirements related to the licensing process.
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Which law schools currently have approved IPC programs?
Approved IPC Law School Programs:
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Do I need to complete a work placement for the IPC program?
A critical component of every IPC program is a work placement that takes place towards the end of the program. The purpose of the placement is to give students the opportunity to put into practice the skills and learning that they were exposed to in the classroom. Skills and tasks that are to be achieved in a work placement environment, as opposed to only within a simulated learning environment, have been designated by the Law Society.
Work placements are completed for credit.
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I have completed an approved IPC program. Do I still need to complete the experiential training component of the licensing process?
Licensing candidates who have completed an approved IPC program within their law degree have satisfied the experiential training component of the licensing process and are not required to complete another form of experiential training (e.g., articling or Law Practice Program (LPP)/ Programme de pratique du droit (PPD)).
Although not encouraged, IPC graduates are not prohibited from completing additional experiential training during the licensing process. If an IPC graduate intends to complete additional experiential training, such as an articling placement or the LPP/PPD, they are also required to complete all of the associated requirements and pay any associated fees.
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Does Mandatory Minimum Compensation apply to work placements completed during an IPC?
No, students completing a work placement for academic credit through an academic institution are not subject to the Law Society’s
minimum compensation requirements. However, law schools may make their own requirements with respect to whether a placement is paid or unpaid.
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What should an IPC graduate be called by a firm when they are hired?
Once an IPC graduate has been called to the Bar, they are a lawyer licensed by the Law Society of Ontario with the same obligations, responsibilities, and requirements as all other lawyer licensees in Ontario.
The Law Society does not have any requirements with respect to naming conventions for hiring lawyers; however, IPC graduates who are licensed lawyers should not be referred to as articling students, students-at-law, or anything similar.
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