There are 130,000 lawyers in Canada. That is a lot of lawyers for the population of the country. Ontario has also added over 10,000 paralegals, who can do simple legal work (including some court work.) It is likely that other provinces will give rights to paralegals at some point as well.
Each province in Canada has a different set of laws and a different bar exam. Some states have reciprocal agreements allowing lawyers from one state to practice in another but that is not all that common.
Become a Practising Lawyer in Canada. OsgoodePD offers the broadest range of programs in Canada for internationally-trained lawyers and law graduates interested in becoming accredited to practise law in one of the common-law jurisdictions in Canada (that is, all provinces and territories other than Quebec).
In the United States, there are 1,300,000 attorneys practising. Given that the USA has 10X the population of Canada, the ratios of lawyers are around the same. We highly recommend looking at other options besides law school.
Are there any limitations on lawyers advising throughout your jurisdiction? Lawyers in Canada's common law provinces can practise in all common law provinces through agreements between provincial law societies.
They don't want to go to one lawyer in each province. Luckily, thanks to the National Mobility Agreement for the legal profession, you can practise temporarily across most provinces (for 100 days each year) without having to qualify there.
In Canada, completion of a law degree alone is not sufficient to permit a candidate to practice law. Whether you have a JD degree or a Certificate of Qualification by NCA, you must write and pass the provincial bar exams and either do “Articling” or complete Law Practice Program (exclusive to Law Society of Ontario).
Applicants must have a "qualifying degree" that satisfies the educational requirements to practice law in a foreign country. This degree must be a degree in law. The qualifying degree must be from a law school accredited by the government of the foreign country and must be deemed qualified and approved.
Toronto, Ontario, is the place to be if you are an internationally trained lawyer who wants to pursue his legal career. The province is Canada's most multicultural, it's a thriving society founded on the hard work of generations and attracts some of the world's best and brightest.
The 2007 agreement also permits them to provide legal advice involving matters from their own province, the Criminal Code or public international law. The new arrangement will replace those conditions and allow Ontario lawyers to practise in any province, including Quebec, in any area of law they're competent in.
Canada's National Committee on Accreditation (NCA), which evaluates the internationally-obtained credentials of lawyers who wish to practice in Canada, has announced that the law degrees of legal professionals from India will be considered equivalent to those from the United Kingdom and Australia.
Yes, an aspiring lawyer to Canada can immigrate even without having a job offer. However, you must have a good CRS score in the Express Entry pool and fulfill the minimum 67 immigration points requirement for the Canada Work Visa under the Federal Skilled Worker stream.
These guidelines do not apply to attorneys who are already admitted to the active practice of law in a foreign country or in another U.S. jurisdiction and are in good standing. These attorneys are qualified to take the California Bar Examination without having to complete any additional legal education.
In Toronto, by comparison, a first-year lawyer at a large firm can expect to earn about Cdn$100,000 to $110,000, according to ZSA legal recruiting firm. $110,000 is equivalent to about US$89,000.
If you attend a foreign law school and wish to become a Canadian lawyer, your education must be approved by the National Committee on Accreditation (NCA). You must submit your qualifications and experience in law to the NCA. The NCA will then determine what, if any, further coursework you must complete at an approved Canadian law school prior to licensure as a lawyer in your province. You may also be asked to complete examinations in order to qualify for licensure. If you qualify, you will be issued a Certificate of Qualification, which you may use to seek entry to your province’s law society.
Ontario requires applicants to complete the Barrister Licensing Examination and the Solicitor Licensing Examination. Both are self-study, open -book exams. The Barrister Examination tests your knowledge of Practice Management Issues; Litigation Process; Alternative Dispute Resolution; Problem/Issue Identification, Analysis and Assessment; Establishing and Maintaining the Barrister-Client Relationship; Ethical and Professional Responsibilities; and Knowledge of Ontario law, Federal legislation and Case Law. The Solicitor Examination tests your knowledge of Ontario, Federal and Case law, along with all policies, procedures and forms; Ethical and Professional Responsibility; Establishing and Maintaining the Solicitor-Client Relationship; Practice Management; and Fulfilling the Retainer. Each exam takes seven hours to complete and can be done online. Check out this video for more information on the licensing exams for Ontario.
To become a Student-at-Law, you must complete the Law Society of Alberta Admission Program . This entails completing the Centre for Professional Legal Education (CPLED) course and a clerkship/ articling period.
This standardized entrance test is given four times annually.
Once you are a Student-at-Law, you will serve 12 months of service in articles of clerkship approved by the Society to a member. This member may be a judge of the Northwest Territories/Nunavut Court of Justice; a Judge of the Supreme Court of Canada, the Federal Court of Canada or of a superior court of a province or territory; or a barrister and solicitor who does not live in Northwest Territories/Nunavut but is an active member in good standing and has practiced law for at least five years.
The Law Society of Ontario#N#The Law Society of Ontario requires that you graduate from a law school approved by Convocation in order for your law education to be provincially recognized. All schools listed under “Law Schools in Canada” below are approved by Convocation.
Because Canadian education is regulated on a provincial level, there are no national accreditation bodies for Canadian colleges and universities. Government organizations recognize certain colleges and universities within their jurisdiction. There are certain national associations that establish quality standards and regulate colleges and universities, including:
OsgoodePD offers the broadest range of programs in Canada for internationally-trained lawyers and law graduates interested in becoming accredited to practise law in one of the common-law jurisdictions in Canada (that is, all provinces and territories other than Quebec).
You will be able to apply for your NCA assessment as you approach completion of your law degree. You will need to send the NCA your final transcript and proof that you have been awarded your law degree in order to receive your assessment.
In order to practise law in Canada you must have a qualifying law degree from Canada, or you must take a law degree outside Canada and then go through the process required by the National Committee on Accreditation.
There are 130,000 lawyers in Canada. That is a lot of lawyers for the population of the country. Ontario has also added over 10,000 paralegals, who can do simple legal work (including some court work.) It is likely that other provinces will give rights to paralegalsat some point as well.
There is also currently a shortage of doctors in places like BC and Alberta. It is possible that other provinces are also desperate for doctors. Canada is actually offering permanent residencyto attract doctors from other countries. Hospitals have recruiting campaigns in places like Australia, England, and New Zealand.
Some young lawyers carry massive debt loads. With that debt, many lawyers then have to go open a law practice. They don’t even have enough money to spend on marketing. Further, there are ongoing legal education fees and law society fees. These costs add up and add to your law practices debt load.
The job market is not good for lawyers and attorneys right now. The funny thing is that at the same time, there is a problem with access to justice. Many people have a hard time finding a lawyer. You should Google “Adapting to the times National Magazine” to learn more. Some call it the access to justice crisis.
More opportunities to grow your client base. The biggest benefit of being a multistate lawyer is that you open up a larger client base. For example, for states that lack population density for your niche legal practice area, being able to take cases from the other side of the state line is big.
Admittedly, it is so much easier to just practice in one state. However, there are many benefits to becoming a multi-state lawyer, including increased flexibility and opportunities to grow your legal practice.
The second bar exam was infinitely less stressful. Although taking bar exams in multiple states to become a multi-state lawyer is challenging, it could be a good option. This is because you’ll know how hard the first exam was. The second exam likely will not be that stressful.
There is always the option of taking another bar exam. This tends to be a less popular option for multi-state lawyers—reciprocity and the UBE are typically much more popular options. My first bar exam in another state was an excruciating marathon, while struggling with unemployment, insomnia, and fear of failure.
As mentioned, there is a great debate on whether you need multiple State Bar licenses if you are primarily practicing federal law. Some lawyers take the stance of “it’s primarily federal, so I’ll practice everywhere.” On the other hand, a lawyer who practiced bankruptcy law in Michigan while carrying only a Texas bar card was admitted to the federal court. Years of litigation later, the Sixth Circuit sided with him in a close decision and the issue remains cloudy outside of that circuit.
A separate state laws exam or course may be required as well. At least one state that I encountered required residency or an intent to reside indefinitely within the geographic boundaries of that state for admission via UBE score transfer. As I said, the process for multi-state lawyers is anything but uniform.
The most obvious reason to become a multi-state lawyer is to increase the number of potential clients you can represent. This is especially true for attorneys who have a highly specialized practice and may find themselves unable to expand in their current market.
This means that litigators often decide against practicing in multiple states due to the hassle of getting to the point where they are able to work.
Many states offer reciprocity if you meet certain conditions. States that offer reciprocity typically require a certain amount of experience practicing law, and/or may allow you to practice if you have passed the bar in a state they have deemed allowable.
As more and more work shifts into the online space, passing the bar in multiple states is becoming easier than it has ever been.
In fact, Canada only has two schools of Optometry in the entire country, so I would not be at all surprised if most Canadian Optometrists graduated from a university in the US. There are however, many state and provincial regulations.
Like US states, Canadian provinces have their own bar exams. A US law degree is considered valid in Canada, and a Canadian law degree is valid in the US, but a Canadian lawyer would have to study US law on their own, and then pass a US bar exam to be allowed to practice.
As a general rule, however, the majority of states in the US which allow foreign educated lawyers to be candidates for the bar examination and admission to law practice requires them to have at least some legal education at a US law school (which, for the vast majority of states, means a school approved by the American Bar Association).
In particular, Being a lawyer is a demanding job that many people will not enjoy. It can be, but as Adam Pascarella notes in his excellent answer, you have to consider the substantial risks involved.