This Career Map was updated in collaboration with the Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration, Labour Market Integration Unit in June 2008.  The information is accurate at time of writing. Requirements may have changed by the time you apply.  Please refer to the Law Society of Upper Canada and National Committee on Accreditation websites for the latest information. Please contact The Law Society of Upper Canada before commencing your application process.

Copyright in this Career Map is held jointly by the Queen's Printer for Ontario and The Law Society of Upper Canada, © 2008.  This Career Map may be used or reproduced by any third party for non-commercial, not-for-profit purposes, provided that no fee, payment or royalty of any kind shall be charged by the third party for any further use or reproduction of the Career Map by any person.  Any proposed commercial or for-profit use or reproduction of this Career Map requires a written license from the Queen's Printer for Ontario and The Law Society of Upper Canada.

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Access to the Barrister and Solicitor Designation in Ontario Profession in Ontario

Ontario lawyers hold the title “Barrister and Solicitor.” They are also known in Ontario as general counsel, corporate counsel, Crown attorneys, Crown prosecutors, general counsel, law partners, or legal advisors.
A law passed by the Government of Ontario created the Law Society of Upper Canada, today also known as the Law Society, in 1797. This law put the responsibility for governing the legal profession in the hands of Ontario’s lawyers. Since then, law has been a self-governed profession in Ontario.

A 48-member board of directors runs The Law Society of Upper Canada. These directors are known as benchers. Ontario lawyers elect 40 members of this board of directors, and the Ontario government appoints the remaining eight members. This board of directors meets monthly, in an official gathering called Convocation, to deal with matters related to the legal profession. Convocation is the statutory body that regulates the legal profession.

The Law Society acts independently from the government, which is not involved and does not intervene with the admission, competence, regulation, licensing and discipline of lawyers. The Law Society holds responsibility for overseeing these activities. In addition, under the Law Society Act, the Law Society sets out all licensing requirements for Ontario lawyers. Everyone who wants to practise law in Ontario must obtain a license from The Law Society of Upper Canada.  Individuals who do not have a license to practise law from the Law Society cannot represent themselves as Ontario lawyers.

Lawyers can practice law in Ontario in one or both of Canada's official languages – English and French.

Responsibilities

Ontario’s lawyers use their best judgement and understanding of the law to assist their clients. They gather and understand the details related to a case, give their clients information on the law, and provide legal opinions or advice. They have the inter-personal skills and ability to communicate well, with their clients and in courts of law. They keep up to date on the law and legal procedures – as well as the community where they practise – through ongoing training and development to maintain their knowledge and skills. They act for the benefit of their clients, while maintaining client confidentiality and avoiding potential conflicts of interest.

The responsibilities of these well-educated and highly-skilled professionals include some or all of the following:

• Advise clients of their legal rights and all matters related to law;
• Research legal precedents and gather evidence;
• Plead clients' cases before courts of law, tribunals and boards;
• Draw up legal documents such as real estate transactions, wills, divorces and contracts;
• Prepare statements of legal opinions;
• Negotiate settlements of civil disputes;
• Perform administrative and management functions related to the practice of law;
• Act as mediator, conciliator or arbitrator;
• Act as executor, trustee or guardian in estate and family law matters.

Who this Career Map is not for

The following professionals in Ontario may provide legal services, but are not licensed to practise law as lawyers in Ontario:

• Paralegals, also known as Legal Service Providers. These licensed professionals can only provide legal services in very specific situations – matters before Small Claims Court, provincial boards and agencies, and Provincial Offences Act matters before the Ontario Court of Justice, such as highway traffic cases. Their education, training and examinations are very different from the education, training and examinations required to become a lawyer. As of May 1, 2007, the Law Society became the regulator of this profession, and will begin issuing licenses to paralegals in early 2008. Those paralegals already practicing between May 1, 2007 and early 2008 will have to comply with the Paralegal Rules of Conduct and By-Laws approved by Convocation. You can get further information on paralegal regulation at www.lsuc.on.ca/paralegals/.
• Foreign Legal Consultants are lawyers who earned their license to practise law in another country, and have applied and received permission from the Law Society to practise the law of that country while living in Ontario. They cannot practise the law of Ontario itself until they apply to the Law Society and meet the Society’s requirements to qualify for an Ontario license. Ontario lawyers can employ, partner, associate or affiliate with Foreign Legal Consultants in Ontario, but only if they do so in compliance with Law Society By-Laws, rules and policies. You can get further information on Foreign Legal Consultants at rc.lsuc.on.ca/jsp/membershipServices/foreignLegalConsultants.jsp

• Legal department directors, legal firm managers. These are administrators, rather than practising lawyers.
• Notary publics witness signatures on legal documents and certify that photocopies of original documents are true and accurate copies of the original documents. They also sign other documents, such as Permanent Resident Cards, Passport Applications and court statements, certifying that the written facts are true.

Requirements for Practising as a Lawyer in Ontario

Step 1 — Demonstrate that you have attained the educational equivalent of Ontario's undergraduate Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) or a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree

There are two ways you can do this:

• Receive a Certificate of Qualification from the National Committee on Accreditation (NCA). The NCA is a standing Committee of the Federation of Law Societies of Canada. It is made up of representatives from the Council of Canadian Law Deans, members of the practicing bar, and members involved with the administration of provincial law societies. Its role is to evaluate the legal training and professional experience of persons with foreign or non-common law legal credentials (including Québec) who wish to be admitted to a common law bar in Canada.

You can apply to the NCA for advanced standing to an approved law program at a university in Canada if you have acquired a degree in law or other equivalent qualifications in law outside of Canada, or a civil law degree in Canada. The NCA will evaluate your application on an individual basis, and determine what, if any, further studies you will need to take to meet the equivalent of an approved Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) or Juris Doctor (J.D.) program at a Canadian university. The NCA applies a uniform standard on a national basis. This means that if you have foreign law qualifications and satisfy the NCA's single set of entrance standards, you will be able to practice law in any common law province within Canada. More information on the Evaluation Guidelines for Foreign Qualified Lawyers is at www.flsc.ca/en/foreignlawyers/guidelines.asp
or

• Graduate from an approved common law program. The Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) or a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree program is normally at least three years long. The following Ontario university faculties offer a Convocation-approved common law program:
  • Osgoode Hall Law School, York University in Toronto;
  • Queen's University Faculty of Law in Kingston;
  • University of Ottawa, Faculty of Law – Common Law Section in Ottawa;
  • University of Ottawa, Faculty of Law – Common Law Section, French Program in Ottawa;
  • University of Toronto, Faculty of Law in Toronto;
  • University of Windsor Faculty of Law in Windsor; and
  • University of Western Ontario Faculty of Law in London.

The following university faculties in other provinces of Canada offer a Convocation-approved common law program that is recognized in Ontario:

• Dalhousie Law School in Halifax, Nova Scotia;
• McGill University Faculty of Law in Montreal, P.Q.;
• University of Alberta Faculty of Law in Edmonton, Alberta;
• Université de Moncton École de droit in Moncton, New Brunswick;
• University of British Columbia Faculty of Law in Vancouver, British Columbia;
• University of Calgary Faculty of Law in Calgary, Alberta;
• University of Manitoba Faculty of Law in Winnipeg, Alberta;
• University of Saskatchewan College of Law in Regina, Saskatchewan;
• University of New Brunswick Faculty of Law in St John, New Brunswick; and
• University of Victoria Faculty of Law in Victoria, British Columbi

Step 2 — Successfully Complete the Licensing Process To Become A Lawyer

Ontario’s Licensing Process to become a lawyer (formerly known as its Bar Admission Course) has three mandatory components. You must successfully complete them all. 

• Licensing Examinations. These are two separate self-study open-book examinations – a Barrister Examination and a Solicitor Examination. They each test your knowledge of law and competence in essential skills you will require as a lawyer. These include skills you will need for entry-level practice, skills that have the most direct impact on the protection of the public and skills that influence an effective and ethical practice.
• Skills and Professional Responsibility Program. This four-week, five-day-a-week program prepares you to enter the Articling Program. It includes assignments and assessments that help you build and develop skills essential for a lawyer in the first few years of practice. Daily attendance is mandatory.
• Articling Program. Articling is similar to apprenticeship in a skilled trade. You must work full-time for a lawyer – in a law firm, a government legal department or a legal department in the private sector – for 10 months, including up to two weeks of vacation. You will be paid for your work in most cases, though compensation for articling experience is occasionally negotiated. In some cases, you can receive exemption from some of this program. A detailed description of the Articling Program is on pages 13-14 of this Career Map. 

Step 3 — Call to the Bar

The call to the Bar is a ceremony where you receive the Law Society’s Certificate with your designation of Barrister-at-Law as well as the Solicitor’s Certificate from the Courts. Achieving these documents officially entitles you to practise law in Ontario. You can choose to receive these Certificates in either English or French – though you must make a written request to the Office of the Registrar if you wish to order them in both languages. The Call to the bar ceremonies are held every June, September and January. Attendance at one of these ceremonies is mandatory.

Certification Process to Practise as a Lawyer in Ontario

Before You Immigrate To Canada

Ontario's Licensing Process to become a lawyer emphasizes practical skills and procedures, rather than substantive law. You must therefore be sufficiently knowledgeable in Canadian substantive law and procedure to show you are competent in at least the following basic practice areas:

• Administrative Law;
• Business Law (Corporate and Commercial);
• Civil Litigation;
• Constitutional Law;
• Contracts;
• Criminal Law;
• Criminal Procedure;
• Estate Planning and Administration;
• Evidence;
• Family Law;
• Professional Responsibility;
• Property;
  
• Real Estate;
• Taxation;
• Torts; and
• Trusts, Equity, Remedies.

Language Proficiency Requirement

If you are literate in English, you will need to take, and show proof that you received a passing grade on, the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) administered by the Educational Testing Service, the Michigan English Language Assessment Battery, or the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). If you are not fluent in reading, writing and understanding English, you should take upgrade courses at secondary or post-secondary educational institutions in your country before taking one of these tests.

You can get further information on these language proficiency tests from the contact information at the end of this Career Map.

Applying to the National Committee on Accreditation

If you think you are eligible to enter the Licensing Process to become a lawyer by way of a Certificate of Qualification issued by the National Committee on Accreditation (NCA, or Committee), you can apply to the NCA from your home country. You do not need to be a Canadian citizen or permanent Canadian resident to gain admission to the Licensing Process or be called to the Bar to become a lawyer in Ontario. You will need to send the following documents to: 

The National Committee on Accreditation
c/o Faculty of Law, Common Law Section
University of Ottawa
57 Louis Pasteur
Ottawa, Ontario K1N 6N5
Canada

• Transcripts of your postsecondary education. You will need to ask the postsecondary legal institution where you attained your legal education to directly send to the Committee, under its seal, the final original transcripts of your law grades (or a certificate of standing). The Committee will only evaluate your education if you have completed and achieved your degree(s). Photocopies or certified copies of transcripts are not acceptable.
• If you have been called to the Bar of another jurisdiction, proof of this. You will need to ask the legal institution or regulator where you were called to the Bar to submit a certificate of call or admission and a letter or certificate of good standing directly to the Committee. If you were admitted to the bar based on written examinations over and above examinations for a law degree, the legal institution or regulator where you were called to the bar must submit a transcript of your marks directly to the Committee.
• If you have professional legal experience, letters of reference or a sworn affidavit from your employer(s). Your employer(s) must send letters of reference, or a sworn affidavit, outlining in detail the nature of your legal experience in your country of legal practice, directly to the Committee. If you are self-employed, you will need to provide your information in a sworn affidavit.
• A filled-in National Committee on Accreditation Application form. You will need to type or word process your answers in English. You must answer all portions, with no cross-referencing to other documents you are providing. Your application form should include, for instance, in chronological order, a detailed account of your professional and other work experience since leaving law school – even though this information may be corroborated in other materials you provide. If your application is incomplete, the NCA may return it to you for you to complete, which will delay the process. If a question is not applicable, write N/A. Do not bind the application form to any of the other materials you submit, and do not submit documentation in three-ring binders.
• Supporting materials. Along with the filled-in application form, you must provide:
  • Original transcripts of your pre-law grades, if any. You can provide a certificate of standing if a transcript is not available.
  • Course outlines of each course taken in your legal program, the number of hours allotted to each course, the number of class hours per week and number of weeks per year. You can supply this information through a prospectus, calendar or bulletin from the law school.
  • Your Law School Admission Test (LSAT) score, if you had to take this test.
  • Proof that you are literate in English:
  • a score of at least 600 in the pencil and paper version, 250 in the computer version, or 100 in the Web- based version of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) administered by the Educational Testing Service; or
  • a score of at least 90 on the Michigan English Language Assessment Battery; or
  • a score of at least 7.0 on the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). 
• Fees. Enclose a non-refundable application fee of $535 Canadian or the equivalent in U.S. funds, payable by certified cheque (Canadian accounts only) or money order to the Federation of Law Societies of Canada. Personal cheques will not be accepted. This fee, as well as all other fees, is subject to change.

Note: If you want the NCA to return any original documentation, you must submit a separate photocopied set of the materials. If you do not, the NCA will not return the original documents to you.

The Committee processes applications throughout the year, in the order its office receives them. You will receive confirmation that the Committee has received your materials by e-mail (or mail if e-mail is unavailable). After that, it will take at least two months, from the time you have arranged to submit complete and final transcripts and documentation, for the Committee to tell you its evaluation decision.

How the National Committee on Accreditation makes its evaluation decision

The NCA will evaluate your application on an individual basis. It will base its recommendations on and take into account:

• Your legal background – academic and professional;
• How long ago you earned your degree;
• The country where you got your legal education;
• The type of legal system in the country where you practised, such as common law, non-common law or hybrid;
• The subjects you studied;
• The content of the courses you studied;
• Your academic marks and standing in all years of the LL.B. program;
• The nature of the degree-granting institution you went to;
• The quality of undergraduate education or training you received;
• The professional qualifications you earned;
• Any relevant graduate legal education; 
• The length and nature of your professional legal experience;
• Your law teaching experience.

What the National Committee on Accreditation will recommend

The NCA will make one of four recommendations:

• You are eligible to receive a Certificate of Qualification and are therefore eligible to apply to Ontario's Licensing Process to become a lawyer. In addition to the Law Society of Ontario, the Law Societies of Saskatchewan, British Columbia, Prince Edward Island and Alberta officially recognize the NCA’s Certificate of Qualification as equivalent to graduation from an approved Canadian law school. Other law societies and law schools use the NCA’s recommendation on a more informal basis. They refer to the NCA’s Certificate of Qualification to make their own decisions.

or

• You must take and pass certain examinations in specified areas of Canadian law before you are eligible to apply for Ontario's Licensing Process to become a lawyer. This recommendation is most likely if you have superior qualifications, have already been called to the Bar by way of bar admission examinations in another country after an LL.B degree and/or have practised law in a common law or hybrid law system. Once you have been formally evaluated and received your letters of recommendation outlining your prescribed courses of study, there are two alternative ways you can take these examinations:
  • Seek permission to register as a special student in a Canadian LL.B. program and write the required examinations as part of its program of studies. Some faculties may, before admitting you, require you to write the Law School Admission Test (LSAT). Once you achieve an unconditional pass in each subject, you will need to send the Committee an official transcript under seal from the University. If you fail any examination(s), you may be eligible to apply for independent and third party evaluation of your failed paper(s), as part of the school’s regulations. Do not assume you will be able to rewrite any examinations you fail. This will depend on the rules of the law school you are attending.
  • Write the Committee's examinations. The Committee provides three-hour open-book (open statutes) examinations on each subject, marked on a pass/fail basis over an eight-day period every January or August. You will find out whether you've passed or failed within approximately 10-12 weeks. The Committee does not provide a transcript of marks, and there is no process for review of failed papers by second or third examiners. You are allowed to rewrite exams you have failed, but only once. You will need to submit your request for the opportunity to rewrite your exam to the Committee, in writing, along with your assigned file number, your full address, exam location and subjects required, by November 1 if you want to rewrite your exams in January, and by June 1 if you want to write in August. If you fail a course again, you will have to take that course at a Canadian law school.

or

• You must take a stipulated number of credit hours of law studies at a Canadian common law school or take a specified program of studies at one of the Canadian law schools recognized by the Convocation, before you are eligible to apply for Ontario's Licensing Process to become a lawyer. You will need to obtain an unconditional pass for every credit hour of your program of studies and also satisfy the law school's overall Grade Point Average (GPA) requirements.

The exact number of credit hours you will need to take depends on your individual background of legal education and professional experience. Law schools that do not use the credit hour system can translate credit hours by substituting one full academic year for every 30 credit hours. Your evaluation will specify that you will need to take: 

• 30 credit hours = 1 full academic year (2 semesters);
• 45 credit hours = 1.5 academic years (3 semesters);
• 60 credit hours = 2 academic years (4 semesters).

If you are asked to complete 30 credit hours (an academic year) or less of additional studies, the Committee typically requires you to take the following courses:

• Constitutional Law (Charter of Rights);
• Evidence;
• Taxation;
• Basic Corporate Law (Business Associations);
• Administrative Law; and
• Professional Responsibility

If you are asked to complete 45-60 credit hours, you may, in addition to the above, have to take some or all of:

• Family Law;
• Real Estate Law;
• Criminal Procedure;
• Civil Procedure;
• Commercial Law/Secured Transactions/Debtor Creditor Law;
• Trusts;
• Remedies;
• Tort; and/or
• Property

Generally, you have three years to complete 30 credit hours, four years to complete 45 credit hours, and five years to complete 60 credit hours.
or

• You must apply to and pass the entire undergraduate LL.B. program before you are eligible to apply for Ontario's Licensing Process to become a lawyer.

Getting into a Canadian law school

NCA applicants can seek admission into a Canadian law school to attain their undergraduate degree either as regular full-time students or, where the law school's regulations permit, as special students on a fee-for-course basis. Applicants applying for admission to Ontario law schools must do so through the Ontario Law School Application Service (OLSAS) a division of the Ontario Universities' Application Centre (OUAC). Contact information for the Centre is at the end of this document.

Please note that the NCA's recommendation will not automatically get you into any Canadian law school. You are responsible for applying to Canadian law faculties, and satisfying their academic requirements, admissions procedures and regulations. Admission into Canadian law schools is extremely competitive for Canadians as well as for qualified people from outside the country. Once you are qualified, it is wise to apply to several law schools across the country.

Deadlines for admission are:

• November 1 for admission to first-year studies that start in September of the following year; or
• May 1 for admission to the second or third year of the LLB program if there is space (assuming you have a Letter of Permission from your home institution to complete some or all of your legal studies at this Ontario institution, or are an NCA applicant with advanced standing who is entering the program to complete your requirements). 

If you want to have your application reassessed

The Committee will keep your file for a maximum of five years after the initial date it makes its recommendation. After that, you will have to file a new application, resubmit all documentation for further evaluations and comply with any new rules and policies that are in place at that time.

Within that five year period, you can ask a Review Panel to review the Committee's decision and re-evaluate your academic and professional credentials. In order to do so, you will need to fill in a new review application that adds the new basis of your application, any additional facts and evidence and the grounds for the review, along with any other relevant documents. The Review Panel will evaluate your file based on your written evidence, and issue a recommendation that increases or decreases the requirements of the Committee's initial recommendation. The fee for such a review is equal to 50% of the current evaluation fee. Review deadlines for previously assessed applications are October 30 and April 30.

Once You Arrive in Canada

Ontario's Licensing Process To Become A Lawyer  

No matter how much experience you may have in the legal profession in your home country, you must complete Ontario’s Licensing Process to become a lawyer. At every step of this process, you must pay all required fees.

Step 1 — Apply

Once you have received your NCA Certificate of Qualification, you are eligible to begin Ontario's Licensing Process to become a lawyer. You can apply online at licensingprocess.lsuc.on.ca/LAWSApplication/

Step 2 — Licensing Examinations

You must write two examinations – the Barrister Examination and the Solicitor examination. They are available in English and French.

The Barrister Examination assesses competence in ethical and professional responsibility, knowledge of the law (public law, criminal procedure, family law and civil litigation) and establishing and maintaining the barrister-client relationship.

The Solicitor Examination assesses competence in ethical and professional responsibility, knowledge of the law (real estate, business law, wills, trusts and estate administration and planning) and establishing and maintaining the solicitor-client relationship.

It takes about seven hours to write each of these examinations. You do not have to take formal classes to prepare for them. You can study on your own. The Law Society will provide you with the reference materials – in English or French – that you will need. You will be allowed to mark these reference materials and take them with you into the examination testing area. Once you have completed the examination, you will have to leave behind any materials you brought with you into the examination testing area.

The Law Society’s Support Services department offers assistance to persons who may need it because they have a disability, impairment or other reason covered in the Ontario Human Rights Code. This assistance may include offering examinations in audiotape, Braille and text-to-speech, or providing special equipment for persons with visual and auditory impairments.

You can take the examinations in May, November or March – in English or in French. They are always offered in Toronto and may also be available in Ottawa, London or Windsor, depending on demand.

Step 3 — Skills and Professional Responsibility Program

You have to complete this mandatory four-week program before you can proceed to the Articling Program. It consists of half-day sessions, Monday through Friday. The Law Society offers it once a year, in June and July.
The Skills and Professional Responsibility Program encompasses individual, self-directed learning activities inside and outside the classroom. You will need to prepare for daily in-class discussions, exercises and assessments, and complete scheduled assignments. To demonstrate that you have attained the necessary knowledge, abilities and judgment for entry into the legal profession, you will practise and demonstrate skills in analytical thinking, professionalism, interviewing, drafting, negotiating, advocating, managing a practice, and also identifying, analyzing and resolving legal and ethical problems in a manner consistent with the appropriate professional conduct of a lawyer.

Attendance and participation in all parts of the Skills and Professional Responsibility Program are mandatory. Attendance is taken daily. If you are late, you will be marked absent. If you are absent for more than three days, you will need to repeat the Program the following year, during June and July.

The Skills and Professional Responsibility Program is offered in Toronto, Ottawa, London and Windsor. The Program and materials are available in both English and French only in Ottawa.

Step 4 – Articling Program

If you are registered with the NCA, you can begin to search for an articling position while completing your Certificate of Qualification requirements.  It is important that you begin your search for an articling position as soon as possible, as the competition for these positions is very high.

To be eligible to begin the Articling Program: 

• You have completed the Licensing Process Application;
• You have completed your LL.B, J.D. or NCA requirements and submitted the required documents; and
• You have successfully completed the Skills and Professional Responsibility Program in the Licensing Process OR have been granted an exemption from this Program OR have received approval to commence the Articling Program before taking the Skills and Professional Responsibility Program because of an early offer to article.  

While articling, you will be referred to as a student-at-law. Students-at-law must article for 10 months with an approved Articling Principal (a lawyer at a law firm or legal environment) who has filed an Education Plan approved by the Law Society. If you start articling without an approved Principal or an approved Education Plan, you will not receive articling credit for any work you complete.

You are responsible for finding your own Articling Principal and placement. The Articling office does, however, provide some support and assistance. It posts available articling positions and provides information on how you can contact government branches that post their own articling and clerking positions, law schools and associations, general job websites and other directories. Its Articling and Placement Mentor Program can match you with a mentor who will provide encouragement and advice during your search. In addition, the Articling office provides:

• Job search workshops that teach job search skills and review your resume and cover letters. You can review material from previous workshops to learn how to conduct electronic job searches, win interviews, create a compelling resume and cover letters, and build useful contact lists and network. 
• Job skills workshop videos that cover networking and self-marketing skills, writing resumes and cover letters, and interview skills.  Each video is approximately 30 minutes long.
• Advice and testimonials from past candidates can provide valuable job search tips, suggestions and insight. These past candidates can include a mature student-at-law, an NCA candidate and/or others.
• Placement reports that provide a summary of articling placement statistics for candidates enrolled in previous years. These provide an overview of the programs and placement initiatives that assisted past candidates in their articling job search, as well as employment rates of candidates after they were called to the bar.

While candidates traditionally article for 10 consecutive months for a single lawyer or law firm in the Province of Ontario, there are exceptions:

• If you have practised as a lawyer in your home jurisdiction, you can apply for an abridgement of the articling term, i.e. to shorten the length of the 10-month articling term. Applications for abridgments of an articling term are only considered on a case-by-case basis, and on non-compassionate grounds.  The criteria for an abridgment and the application form is at rc.lsuc.on.ca/jsp/licensingprocess/
• You may be eligible to seek permission from the Law Society for approval to enter into non-traditional articles:
  • Joint articles, where you do 10-month articling term with two or more Principals. You can work for both Principals concurrently, or for one followed by the other. 
  • National articles, where you article for six months in a Canadian province other than Ontario, or international articles, where you article for six months outside Canada.

  Applications for non-traditional articles are evaluated on a case-by-case basis. The length, scope and diversity of the proposed legal experience will be reviewed and the relevance of the proposed legal experience will be assessed. 

Step 5 — Call to the Bar

To become eligible for call to the Bar, you must:

• Successfully complete Steps 1 through 4 above;
• Pay all Law Society fees, including the Call to the Bar fee of $250.00 Canadian (plus GST);
• Be of good character, as required by section 27(2) of the Law Society Act. Candidates' answers to the questions set out in the Good Character Section of the Licensing Process Application must be current, complete and correct right up until before the day they are called; and
• Have submitted all call to the Bar documents required by the Office of the Registrar. These include:
  • Certified proof of your legal name (Canadian issued documents);
  • An official law transcript or the NCA’s Certificate of Qualification  (issued directly from the University or the NCA to the Office of the Registrar) that confers the LL.B, J.D. or  Certificate of Qualification;
  • Two recent passport photos;
  • A printed copy of the Licensing Process Application duly signed and commissioned; and
  • The following documents are required in order for you to obtain credit for articles and be called to the bar:
  • The Articles of Clerkship: which is due within 10 days of starting your articling term;
    Your Principal's Certificate of Service- which is to be completed and submitted by your Principal;
  • Your Student's Affidavit of Service- which is to be completed and submitted by you;
  • The Certificate Respecting the Examination in Professional Responsibility- to be completed by your Principal;
  • The Mid term Evaluations- to be completed and submitted by you and your Principal; and
  • The Final Evaluation-to be completed by and submitted by you.
    

  Please be sure to review the Articling Filing Requirements Memo before and during your articling term at: rc.lsuc.on.ca/pdf/licensingprocesslawyer/articling/.

Equity and diversity in Ontario's law profession

The Law Society of Upper Canada is committed to promoting equity and diversity in the legal profession and to help stop discrimination and harassment. Through its activities, and through its Equity Initiatives Department, it seeks to ensure that both law and the practice of law are reflective of all the peoples of Ontario, including Aboriginal people, Francophone people and equity-seeking communities. The Law Society's Equity Initiatives Department is not, however, involved with the evaluation of foreign legal credentials.

Equity and Diversity Activities

The Law Society's Equity Initiatives Department plays a leadership role in coordinating a number of activities that help identify equity needs. It ensures that the Law Society:

• actively works with Aboriginal, Francophone and equity-seeking communities through consultations, meetings and public education activities;
• works to enable positive changes within the profession through its programs and services and model policies, reports, and publications; and
• provides resources for members of the public and the profession.

In addition, the Law Society provides a range of services and programs to lawyers, internationally trained lawyers and students, law firms and articling candidates and Principals, and works closely with community groups and schools to encourage law as a career. Its services and programs include:

• Support services, which provides supports and services that improve the learning environment for all candidates and offers assistance for those who are unable to comply with the conditions or requirements of the Licensing Process because they have a disability or because of other reasons covered in the Ontario Human Rights Code. These include examinations in audiotape, Braille and text-to-speech, and special equipment for persons with visual and auditory impairments.



• An Equity Public Education Series that promotes, in partnership with legal associations and community groups, education and discussion among members of the public and the profession on the challenges and opportunities for Francophone, Aboriginal and equity-seeking communities in the legal profession. This initiative also provides networking opportunities for students and recently-called lawyers.
• A Discrimination and Harassment Counsel that confidentially assists anyone who may have experienced discrimination or harassment by a lawyer or within a law firm. This service is free of charge to the Ontario public and lawyers.

Equity and Diversity Mentoring Program

This Program matches students in the Licensing Process and those recently called to the Bar with experienced members of the legal profession. Lawyers provide students and recently-called lawyers with advice and support. Students and lawyers can gain insight into the practice of law by spending time in a lawyer's workplace, observing courtroom work, and by attending Law Society public education programs.

Labour Market Information

The face of the legal profession continues to change. Increasingly, new members are women, persons of colour, Aboriginal persons, and Francophones.

According to Ontario Job Futures, there were 29,400 lawyers in Ontario in 2004 – a number that has risen to more than 38,000 in 2007. Their annual income is $119,937 – well above the provincial average for all occupations of $47,299 (in 2000). However, employment growth for this occupation is only about as fast as the average for all occupations through the year 2009. Although job growth will create new positions, most new jobs are only expected to become available when current workers retire. More significantly, the high cost of legal services may persuade some to use less expensive services, where a lawyer is not mandatory. These less expensive services include dispute resolution, electronic filings and computerized legal databases. 

Demand for lawyers is linked to population growth and the volume of business activity, and can therefore be cyclical. Demand for legal services involving real estate transactions, mergers and acquisitions, for instance, tends to decline during a recession, while those involving bankruptcy activities increases. One growing area of demand in today's complicated business environment is corporate regulatory compliance – helping companies keep up with government and other regulatory rules. 

For more information on labour market conditions for this profession, consult the Ontario government's Ontario Job Futures website, at www.ontariojobfutures.ca/. The Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) website at www.labourmarketinformation.ca also provides valuable insights. This information is also available at public libraries or HRSDC Employment Resource Centres in your community.

Key employers

The federal, provincial and municipal governments employ lawyers. So do prosecutor's offices, educational institutions and private businesses, particularly businesses providing scientific or technical services. In addition, lawyers can join partnerships or law firms, or open their own private practices.

Fees and costs (in Canadian dollars)

The following fee schedule was accurate at time of writing, but is subject to change. Unless otherwise indicated, you will need to add Canada's Goods and Services Tax of 6% to these fees.

Before you come to Ontario

Costs of sending transcripts of your postsecondary education and proof you have been called to the Bar are your responsibility.

National Committee On Accreditation

Law School Application Fees

Tuition costs

Licensing Process Fees (includes materials and Student Photo Identification Card)

Licensing Examination Rewrites

Administrative Charge for Monthly Payment Plan of Licensing Process Fees (GST included)

Articling Program Fees

Incidental Fees

For More Information

For more information on registration requirements in Ontario, contact:
The Law Society of Upper Canada
Osgoode Hall, 130 Queen Street West
Toronto, Ontario M5H 2N6
Telephone: (416) 947-3300
Toll-free: 1-800-668-7380
Fax: (416) 947-5263
E-mail: lawsociety@lsuc.on.ca
Website: www.lsuc.on.ca

For more information on the legal profession in Canada, including evaluation Guidelines for Foreign Qualified Lawyers, contact:
Federation of Law Societies of Canada
Constitution Square
360 Albert Street, Suite 1700
Ottawa, Ontario K1R 7X7
Tel: (613) 236-7272
Fax: (613) 236-7233
E-mail: info@flsc.ca
Website: www.flsc.ca

For English language proficiency testing contact:
Test of English as a Foreign Language
Educational Testing Service
P.O. Box 6151
Princeton, New Jersey 08541-6151
U.S.A.
Website: www.toefl.org

Michigan English Language Assessment Battery
English Language Institute
MELAB Office
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48104
U.S.A.

International English Language Testing System
University of Cambridge
Local Examination Syndicate
1 Hells Road, Cambridge CBI 2EU U.K.

For further information on or assistance regarding the National Committee on Accreditation, contact:
National Committee on Accreditation
c/o Faculty of Law, Common Law Section
University of Ottawa
57 Louis Pasteur
Ottawa, Ontario K1N 6N5
Telephone (613) 562-5204
Fax (613) 562-5722.
E-mail: ncaott@uottawa.ca
Website: www.flsc.ca

For further information on applying to an Ontario law school, contact:
Ontario Law School Application Service (OLSAS)
Ontario Universities' Application Centre
170 Research Lane
Guelph, Ontario N1G 5E2
Telephone (519) 823-1940
Fax (519) 823-5232
E-mail:olsas@ouac.on.ca
Website: www.ouac.on.ca

For other useful information: 

• Detailed information on the Licensing Process to become a lawyer:  rc.lsuc.on.ca/pdf/licensingprocess/
• Detailed information on Evaluation Guidelines for Foreign-Qualified Lawyers: www.flsc.ca/en/foreignLawyers/guidelinese
• More information about the Law Society's Equity Initiatives Department: Resource Centre, at (416) 947-3315 or 1-800-668-7380 ext. 3315. Or send questions by filling in and sending the form at rc.lsuc.on.ca/jsp/home/.

For information on where and how to get help with settlement in Ontario visit www.settlement.org or contact:
Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants (OCASI)
110 Eglinton Avenue West, Suite 200
Toronto, Ontario M4R 1A3
Telephone: (416) 322-4950
Fax: (416) 322-8084
E-mail: ocasi@web.net
Website: www.ocasi.org

For a government contact on accessing professions and trades in Ontario:
Government of Ontario
Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration
Global Experience Ontario
285 Victoria St., 7th floor
Toronto, Ontario M7A 2H6
Tel: (416) 327-9694 or 1-866-670-4094
Telecommunication Device for the Deaf:
(416) 327-9710 or 1-866-388-2262
Fax: (416) 327-9711
Email: GEO@ontario.ca
Website: www.ontarioimmigration.ca

Copyright in this Career Map is held jointly by the Queen's Printer for Ontario and The Law Society of Upper Canada, © 2008

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