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If you are the subject of a complaint

One of the Law Society's most important responsibilities is to respond to complaints about lawyers and paralegals.

Our complaints process is principled and balanced to ensure fairness to all parties while at all times protecting the public interest.

  • Notification about a complaint against you

    The Law Society reviews and considers every complaint we receive, although we may not take action on all of them.

    If a complaint that the Law Society can address is made against you, a Law Society staff member will contact you. You will not be contacted if a complaint is received that the Law Society cannot address.

  • Opportunities for early resolution

    In appropriate cases, we will work with you and the complainant to explore opportunities for resolving the complaint. Early resolution can help repair relationships and generally involves less time.

  • Communications regarding a complaint – Set up an LSO Connects account

    To respond to the complaint, you will be invited to set up an LSO Connects account. 

    LSO Connects is the Law Society’s secure online communications channel where all communications between you and the Law Society related to your complaint will be conducted.  

    It is also where you will receive all updates about the status of the complaint and important instructions related to the complaint against you. 

    If you are unable to use LSO Connects and need assistance, please contact us:
    Toll-free: 1-800-668-7380, ext. 3315
    General line: 416-947-3315 

  • Responding to a complaint

    You will be given the opportunity to respond to the allegations against you. We will provide you with the substance of the complaint before asking you to respond.

    We will keep you informed via your LSO Connects account during the complaint process.

    Matters can be resolved at various stages of the complaints process and your cooperation in reaching a resolution is always helpful, to the profession, the public and you.

  • Investigations under the Law Society Act

    You may find this information about investigations and hearings helpful. 

    The Law Society investigates complaints under the authority of the Law Society Act (s. 49.3). The investigator’s scope of the authority is set out in subsections 49.3(2) or (4) of the Act and depend on the nature of the allegations.

    Law Society staff may ask you for an oral interview or a written response to the complaint or may meet with you at your office. The investigator may request information from you, people who work with you, or other witnesses. 

    You may be requested to produce documents that relate to the matters under investigation, such as client files. Documents should be uploaded via your LSO Connects account. 

    You have a duty to respond promptly and completely to a request from the Law Society and to cooperate with a Law Society investigation.

    If the information and documentation provided do not raise a reasonable belief that you may have engaged in professional misconduct or conduct unbecoming or that you lack capacity, the file will be closed. 

    There are other reasons a complaint may be closed, as explained here: Closing the complaint without taking action.

    In other instances, where the evidence provides some support for the concerns raised, staff may take remedial action. In these cases, a complaint file will be closed after a discussion with you or after written regulatory guidance from the Law Society has been provided.

    In any of these circumstances, you and the complainant will receive notice from the Law Society to tell you that the file is closed and our reasons for closing it.

  • The Proceedings Authorization Committee

    In some cases, a matter will be referred to the Proceedings Authorization Committee, which is comprised of benchers, to consider whether further action is warranted.

    The Proceedings Authorization Committee may authorize disciplinary, interlocutory proceedings, or a more informal conclusion of the matter.

    The authority for the Proceedings Authorization Committee is found in the Law Society Act and By-law 11. If your matter is referred to the Proceedings Authorization Committee, you will be notified of the outcome.

    The matter becomes public if the Proceedings Authorization Committee authorizes a hearing and a Notice of Application is issued and served upon you.

    The Notice of Application is a public document that outlines details of the allegations against you.

  • Confidentiality

    Complaints and investigations are confidential unless the Law Society has issued a regulatory notice which informs you that the Law Society is pursuing regulatory proceedings.

    Confidentiality of information obtained as a result of an investigation is a requirement under section 49.12 of the Law Society Act.

  • Your duty to respond and cooperate

    Regardless of the severity of the complaint or your assessment of the merits of the complaint, you have a professional obligation to respond promptly to all communications from the Law Society and to cooperate with the investigation (Rule 7.1-1 – lawyers and Rule 9.01 – paralegals).

    If you fail to respond to or cooperate with the Law Society, you may be subject to discipline proceedings under the Law Society’s Summary Hearing Process, in addition to any proceedings relating to the original complaint. The Summary Hearing Process is an expedited hearing process before a single bencher Hearing Panel.

    Your obligation to respond to the Law Society includes providing information that is confidential and/or covered by solicitor-client privilege.

    Disclosure to the Law Society does not constitute a waiver of solicitor-client privilege. Subject to the exceptions in the Law Society Act, we will not disclose information gathered in an investigation.

    Volunteer duty counsel 

    Duty counsel may be available to assist self-represented licensees and licensing candidates. Duty counsel volunteers are independent of the Tribunal and can give summary assistance on Monday mornings or more detailed assistance by appointment.

    To arrange to speak with duty counsel, please email scheduling@lstribunal.ca or call 416-947-3908.

  • Legal representation

    You may retain a legal representative to assist you when you are the subject of a complaint or investigation by the Law Society.

    If you do hire legal representation, you still must respond promptly to our requests for information and continue to cooperate with the investigation.

    The obligations to respond and cooperate are your personal, professional obligations and continue even if you retain a representative.

  • Disciplinary proceedings and hearings

    A hearing is authorized when the Proceedings Authorization Committee has reasonable grounds to believe that you:

    • have engaged in professional misconduct or conduct unbecoming a lawyer or paralegal
    • have failed to meet the standards of professional competence, or
    • are incapacitated.


    A Hearing Panel presides over the case and decides whether the allegations have been proven and if so, what penalty will be imposed.

    Discipline proceedings are normally open to the public and are a matter of public record. They are governed by the Rules of Practice and Procedure.

    If you are unrepresented, volunteer duty counsel may be available in some cases to provide limited assistance at Proceedings Management Conference dates and at hearings on the merits of the matter. 

  • Penalties

    The Law Society’s Hearing Panel can impose a range of penalties:

    • a formal warning or a temporary suspension
    • order you to pay a fine
    • revoke your licence (disbarment) or
    • grant you permission to surrender your licence (permission to resign).


    Either party may appeal the Hearing Panel’s decision, in which case the matter may progress to the Appeal Panel, subject to the Law Society’s legislation that governs appeals.

  • Timelines

    The length of time it takes to resolve or close a complaint depends on the nature of the complaint and its complexity. Most complaints are resolved or the file is closed upon completion of the investigation – without the need for further regulatory action such as a hearing.

    If the complaint is complex or discloses serious regulatory issues, it can take up to a year or longer to complete the investigation. If the matter proceeds to hearing, additional time will be added to the length of the process.

    About five per cent of complaints are referred to the Proceedings Authorization Committee and may result in a disciplinary proceeding and hearing.

  • Reviews of closed complaints

    If a complaint is closed and the complainant is dissatisfied with the outcome, the complainant may ask the Complaints Resolution Commissioner to provide an independent review of the decision to close the complaint.

    This is not a right of appeal but, rather, a review of whether the Law Society acted reasonably.

    You do not participate in the review, however, the Commissioner will consider your comments to the Law Society in response to the complaint.

    If the Commissioner recommends that the Law Society take further action on the complaint, and if the Law Society agrees to take further action, you will be notified and will be given another opportunity to respond.

    The jurisdiction of the Complaints Resolution Commissioner and the complaints review process is found in the Law Society Act and By-law 11.

  • Other obligations

    In addition to the matters set out above, you have other professional, ethical, and legal obligations. Among other things, you may be obliged to:

    • give notice to your insurer and inform your client of an error or omission
    • report misconduct on the part of another lawyer or paralegal
    • reimburse the Compensation Fund as required for monies paid to victims because of your dishonesty.
  • Assistance

    Most lawyers and paralegals are seriously concerned when they learn that they are the subject of a complaint to the Law Society. It may help to discuss the complaint and your response to the complaint with a partner, colleague or other trusted advisor.

    You may also wish to seek formal advice from another lawyer or paralegal.

    The Member Assistance Program (MAP) provides lawyers and paralegals experiencing professional or personal crisis with access to a full range of professional, confidential services. These include 24/7/365 live access to counselling, consultation and resources, work-life balance solutions, as well as an expanded counsellor network in Ontario and nationally. Counsellors are registered professionals with a minimum of a master’s degree and an average of 15 years of clinical experience and counselling is available in person, by telephone or online. For further information, contact Homewood Health.

    You can find other helpful resources in the Law Society’s Well-being Resource Centre.

Terms or Concepts Explained