Prerequisites for Admission
Law School Graduates
The academic requirements for applying and entering the Lawyer Licensing Process are as follows:
Graduation from a common law program offered by a university in Canada approved by Convocation. Candidates who have completed an Integrated Practice Curriculum as part of their J.D./L.LB, will have satisfied the experiential training component of the Lawyer Licensing Process and are not required to complete the Articling Program or the LPP. Upon successful completion of an approved common law program, the candidate will receive a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) or a Juris Doctor (J.D.) Degree. In most accredited law schools the minimum length of the common law program is three academic years.
Applicants to the Lawyer Licensing Process are no longer required to be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada but are required to provide valid relevant government documentation confirming their eligibility to work in Canada, if they are going to be completing the Law Practise Program or an articling work placement.
Graduates of International or Non-Accredited Canadian Law Schools
The National Committee on Accreditation (“NCA”) Process
Graduates of international or non-accredited Canadian law schools must apply to the National Committee on Accreditation (“NCA”) to have their legal education credentials evaluated before they can enter the Law Society of Ontario’s Lawyer Licensing Process. Information on the process may be reviewed at https://nca.legal/resources/.
The NCA is a standing committee of the Federation of Law Societies of Canada. It is made up of representatives from the Committee of Canadian Law Deans, members of the practising bar, and members involved with the administration of provincial law societies. The Committee evaluates the legal training and professional experience of persons with foreign or non-common law legal credentials and who seek admission to a Bar in Canada. Once a file is assessed by the NCA, an applicant may be asked to complete one or more exams and/or attend and complete specific law school courses within a prescribed time frame. Upon successful completion of these requirements, the NCA issues a Certificate of Qualification.
The NCA may also refuse a Certificate of Qualification and, with or without a recommendation of advanced standing, require the candidate to graduate from an approved law course. For application forms and further information please visit the National Committee on Accreditation website.
The Law Society of Ontario’s Lawyer Licensing Process
All persons who seek to be licensed to practice law as a lawyer in Ontario must apply to be registered in the Law Society of Ontario’s Lawyer Licensing Process. Candidates must submit Part I of their application to the Law Society online via the Lawyer Licensing Process Home page after which they must submit Part II of their application by mail. Applicants who are completing the NCA process may begin to submit their Lawyer Licensing Process application supporting documents to the Law Society before they have received their NCA Certificate of Qualification; however, such applicants will not become registered into the Lawyer Licensing Process until their Certificate of Qualification has been submitted by the NCA to the Law Society. Once an NCA candidate has applied to the Law Society, they may request that their Certificate of Qualification is sent by the NCA to the Law Society directly. Applicants should not request that a Certificate of Qualification be sent by the NCA to the Law Society before the applicant has submitted their application to the Law Society. In such instances where a person has the NCA send a CQ to the LSO before they have applied to the LSO, certificates are not kept and are destroyed.
The Lawyer Licensing Process requires the successful completion of several mandatory components. Candidates must pass both the Barrister Licensing Examination and the Solicitor Licensing Examination, which are self-study, open book examinations that test candidates’ knowledge of the law and competence in skills required for entry-level practice as a lawyer. Candidates must also complete the Experiential Training requirement of the Licensing Process, which is discussed in more detail below.
The Law Society encourages NCA applicants to review the Lawyer Licensing Process information available online and to contact the Licensing and Accreditation staff to discuss their individual circumstances and any applicable deadlines well in advance of applying to the Lawyer Licensing Process. Staff may be contacted by email at licensingprocess@lso.ca or by phone at 416-947-3315 or toll-free at 1-800-668-7380 ext. 3315.
Experiential Training Requirement:
Licensing candidates must complete either the Articling Program or the Law Practice Program to satisfy the Experiential Training requirement of the Lawyer Licensing Process. Candidates who have gained prior legal experience as a lawyer in another common law jurisdiction may be eligible for an Exemption from the Experiential Training requirement. Candidates who have had other legal experience may instead be eligible to receive an Abridgement (shortened term) of the Articling Program requirement. Exemptions and Abridgements are considered on a case-by-case basis, based on the candidate’s previous legal experience.
Provision of Legal Services Prior to Becoming Licensed in Ontario
Pursuant to the Law Society’s By-Laws, persons who are not licensed to practice law in Ontario may only provide legal services in certain authorized circumstances. The unauthorized practice of law or provision of legal services is prohibited by Ontario law and may result in serious consequences.
Persons who have not yet obtained their NCA Certificate of Qualification and/or registered and enrolled as a Candidate in the Law Society’s Lawyer Licensing Process are not permitted to provide legal services in Ontario, nor to make appearances on behalf of clients before Ontario courts and tribunals. A candidate who is registered in the Lawyer Licensing Process may only provide legal services in Ontario and make appearances on behalf of clients before Ontario courts and tribunals when that candidate is employed in an articling placement or LPP work placement.
Any such persons who are considering employment in a legal capacity in Ontario prior to entering the Lawyer Licensing Process and commencing employment in an articling placement or LPP work placement should carefully review By-Laws 4 and 7.1 to understand the scope of the tasks and functions they may be assigned and the supervision required, and should ensure that any licensees by whom they are being supervised have done the same.
Candidates who are registered in the Lawyer Licensing Process and are serving under an approved Articles of Clerkship or are currently engaged in their LPP work placement term may make appearances before Ontario courts and tribunals on certain matters. The matters on which such candidates may appear are set out on the Right of Appearance for Lawyer Licensing Process Candidates webpage.