Welcome to the Law Society of Ontario Licensing Examination Section
Prospective Candidates – Call to Bar Requirements
Prospective Bar candidates are those who have completed their NCA-assigned exams. The next stage after this is to meet the licensing requirements of the Province where you desire to practice.
Each Province has its separate and distinct requirements, as you know. Remember that you can only practice law in the Canadian Province where you are licensed, except you meet the conditions for transfer.
Your choice of Province of Call to Bar will not be determined solely by your choice of residence. But by many factors that many do not consider. One of these crucial factors is the availability of articling positions.
For instance, there has been a shortage of articling positions in many Canadian Provinces over the years. You could google ‘law articling positions shortage in Canada’ to understand the situation. This shortage is because articling is compulsory for all aspiring lawyers in Canada. Whether you are foreign-trained or you went through a Canadian law school. Therefore you do not have a special advantage as a foreign-trained lawyer. You will scramble for the few available articling positions with Canadian law school graduates. Of course, you know what that means!
But do you know that as a foreign-trained lawyer, you could be entitled to some special privileges when it comes to articling? Many do not know this.
Therefore, to assist prospective Bar candidates, we have prepared a handbook to guide you through the requirements and necessary steps after passing your NCA-assigned tests. This Handbook contains invaluable information that will guide you through the licensing process. Also, with the Handbook, you will save both time and money.