Life After Law School

Licensing Process

Before becoming a lawyer, graduates go through a Lawyer Licensing Process to ensure they have the entry-level competencies before entering the legal services in the public interest. Before entering a licensing, the applicants must have at least one of an L.B./J.D. in Canada, graduates of international law schools or lawyers outside of Canada. To pass the licensing process, there are four required components: Barrister Licensing Examination & Solicitor Licensing Examination and the Good Character Requirement and Call to the Bar of Ontario. These requirements must be all completed within three licensing years, with each year running May 1 to April 30, with the deadline to apply usually being the start of December of the previous year. Once completed all requirements of the Lawyer Licensing Process, they may be eligible to be called to the bar and become a licensed lawyer.

Bar Exam/Licensing Exam

Administered by the Law Society of Ontario, the Bar exam tests one’s knowledge on ethical and professional responsibilities, their knowledge of the Law (for both Ontario and Federal Legislation as well as case law), establishing and maintaining the barrister-client relationship, problem and issue identification, analysis and assessment, alternative dispute resolution, litigation process and, practice management issues. The bar exam takes 7 hours to complete and is offered, in Ontario, in November, March and June.

Articleship

An articleship is a 10 month placement with a licensed lawyer, it’s your last phase of formal education and can be completed in private practice, a government office, legal clinic, or an inhouse legal department. If your law school had an Integrated Practice Curriculum (IPC), you are exempt from articling and an LPP. An LPP is an option one has to do instead of the articling program, it’s 8 months long and, for example, at Ryerson University, it lasts from late August to the end of April. Articling is experiential training and helps you gain exposure to different areas of law.

Good Character Requirement

Future lawyers must clear a Good Character Requirement that shows the individual has respect for law, justice and themselves by answering questions on an application. The passing of the good character requirement will mean that the future lawyer, if passing all licensing process requirements; will maintain high ethical standards within the profession by showing that you respect the rule of the law and administration of justice and conduct yourself with honesty, integrity and candour.

Call to Bar

Once you have completed all the above steps in the licensing process, you will be eligible to be called to the Bar of Ontario, which are held every September and January in Toronto, and June in London and Toronto. You will be conferred with the degree of Barrister-at-Law, receive a court certificate of qualification and be sworn in and enrolled. You will be required to swear or affirm the oath required to practice law in Ontario, and also take an oath of allegiance. When you are called to the bar by the Law Society and certificated, persons are qualified to argue in court as a solicitor or barrister.

Fields of Law

Jurisprudence forms the organizational structure of nearly every aspect of society, enabling those called to the bar to specialize in a myriad of legal areas. As discussed in previous Next Gen Litigators posts, prospective law students must recognize that school is more than a mere academic experience: accordingly, decisions on where to apply should also consider whether the extracurricular activities offered on campus appeal to the fields of law the student is interested in. See “How to Become a Lawyer” on both NGL platforms for mentions of legal aid work at campus clinics, a practical and longstanding tradition for students pursuing Law in Public Interest. Law in Public Interest ranges broadly from advocacy for protected groups, such as women’s legal aid, and specific issues of society at large, such as education.

The field of law most often glamoured by popular culture is private practice, an umbrella term that refers both to the work of individual litigators and large, transnational law firms. Private practice typically implies an ongoing relationship between a practitioner and a client, either individual persons or corporations, to navigate the legal issues that may arise in everyday dealings. For example, should police extend the right to an attorney to an accused after an arrest, it is wise to contact a litigator that one already has rapport with, rather than accept a court-appointed lawyer. Specific areas of expertise include family law and insurance law, which concern undesirable situations that despite rarely occurring nonetheless require a delicate relationship of trust to manoeuvre.

Government has many uses for qualified litigators, namely as Crown attorneys tasked with prosecuting those accused of crimes. In some instances, any of the three levels of Canadian government may require legal representation for itself, should a challenge be posed in civil court. As the largest employer in the country, the federal government handles an immense amount of contracts and labour relations; it is therefore common for an attorney to report directly to a department or ministry; which will all be discussed below.

Differences between Lawyer and Licensed Attorney

While the terms lawyer and attorney have been used interchangeably throughout this article, some differences distinguish licensed attorneys from others formally trained and educated in law should be made. Namely, an individual may assume the title lawyer before having passed a bar association; this means that while all attorneys are lawyers, not all lawyers are attorneys. It is illegal to represent another individual in court without having passed a bar association, so lawyers who are not attorneys often apply their formal education in consultant or advisory roles. They may also work in specialized fields such as immigration or tax law. An attorney or attorney at law is defined as a practitioner in a court of law who is legally qualified to prosecute and defend actions in a court on retainer of clients, as having passed the bar they have acquired the right to practice law in a specific jurisdiction.

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NGL is an educational hub that spreads the knowledge of law. NGL is by no means a law source, tutor, or a lawyer teaching you law. The knowledge provided in these posts is simply made for extracurricular and fulfilling purposes. They are by no means intended for educational use (law school) or workplace (law firms). By reading these posts, you understand the knowledge of law from these posts is not coming from a lawyer or a law source. You fully discharge Next Gen Litigators from all liability.