The Law Society of Ontario, Canada, has launched a number of new initiatives to improve the career-long professional development of lawyers and paralegals. The Law Society’s Board of Directors approved the new competency framework after a consultation period The new Competency Framework includes the creation of a practice essentials course which will be mandatory for…
Law Society of Ontario cancels licensing examinations to protect public interest
The Law Society of Ontario has cancelled its licensing examinations to protect the public interest and the integrity of the examination process. This comes in the wake of information that suggests a number of examinees had improper access to examination material. This decision affects approximately 1100 candidates who were set to write online examinations, beginning…
Law Society of Ontario launches contingency fee reforms
On the 1st July 2021, the Law Society of Ontario launched new requirements regarding contingency fees. The new rules are designed to enhance transparency and fairness for clients, improving consumer protection and access to justice. As well as this the hope is that the changes will assist legal practitioners with client communication, reducing their administrative…
Canada launches national wellbeing study of legal professionals
A partnership of the different Canadian law societies, the Federation of Law Societies of Canada, the Canadian Bar Association and the Université de Sherbrooke is coming together for a first-of-its-kind national study on the well-being of legal professionals. The study is based on the fact that legal practitioners are amongst the grouping of professionals most…
Law Society of Ontario approves new regulatory sandbox
On April 22, 2021, the Convocation of the Law Society of Ontario approved the Technology Task Force’s “Regulatory Sandbox for Innovative Technological Legal Services” Report. As a result, a five-year pilot project will be launched in Q4 of 2021. In the pilot approved participants will be granted express permission by the Law Society to serve…
Law Society of Ontario to allow online examinations
The Law Society of Ontario has announced that they will allow their June Barrister and Solicitor exams, and their July Paralegal exams to take place online in response to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. CEO Diana Miles has said: “The Law Society is confident that the new online delivery model will continue to ensure entry-level competence…
More regulatory responses to COVID-19
Following on from last month’s newsletter, we’ve put together the following list to examine different regulator responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. Here it is interesting to note the development and changes, as regulators begin to get a grasp on the crisis and develop innovative responses to meet the changing environment. If you have any questions…
Law Society of Ontario approves AML amendments
In November 2019 the Convocation (Board of Directors) of the Law Society of Ontario approved in principle amendments to by-laws designed to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. The amendments which build on existing regulation include: a requirement that licensees identify and record the source of client funds for a transaction clarification with respect to…
Law Society of Ontario technology task force releases initial observation report
In November of 2019, the Law Society of Ontario’s technology task force released their initial observations and recommendations over future regulatory approaches to tech and how it could appropriately facilitate access to justice. The Technology Task Force has been established with the aim of reviewing the Law Society’s regulatory mandate, framework, and standards to determine…
Ontario Attorney General Doug Downey reveals new legal regulation strategy
Ontario Attorney General Doug Downey has unveiled Bill 161, which is designed to both implement Legal Aid Services Act, as well as amending the Law Society Act. The act is designed to ease the regulatory burden, as well as creating some accountability from lawyers. Some of the proposed changes include: raising maximum fines for lawyers to…