The Guide to Practicing Law in Canada

8/10/2019 The Guide to Practicing Law in Canada

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In This Issue

Overview of the Ca-nadian Legal Industry

Canadian ConversionSystem

Canada

Purpose and Objectives

The purpose of this informational booklet is to provide spe-cialized information for pursuing a legal career abroad in Can-ada. This information is tailored for the Warwick student, forboth law and non -law backgrounds.

It is in our hopes that this booklet will not only help spreadawareness of the bountiful legal career choices available forWarwick students, but also provide real practical startingsteps for those pursuing legal careers abroad.

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Placement is not guaran-teed, considering thateven domestic law schoolgraduates struggle, withapproximately 35% una-ble to secure employ-ment.

Canadas legal regime isstructured according tothe English common lawtradition. Although Cana-da is now fully independ-ent from Britain, and Ca-nadian judges now havemore than enough inde-pendent Canadian legalprecedent to help themmake decisions, its notentirely uncommon for

judges to refer back tothe judgments of British

judges in the colonial pe-riod.

Canadians' legal rightsare protected by a written

constitution and a Charterof Rights and Freedoms,while only the federalgovernment has the abil-ity to make criminal law;the provinces merely reg-ulate and administer pub-lic services.

Quebec, however, stillretains a civil system for

issues of private law. It ishowever subject to thesame Constitution sincethe Supreme Court (thehighest authority) ruledthat it could not legallyseparate from Canadawithout the governments

Proposed changes to Canadas foreign investment rules have alsocaused uncertainty in the market. In December 2012, the Canadi-an government allowed China National Offshore Oil Corporations$15.1 billion takeover of Nexen in December 2012, but with awarning that future takeovers by state -owned enterprises would beon an exceptional basis only. The 2013 budget introduced in Aprilincluded proposed amendments to the Investment Canada Actwhich would allow the government to impose a lower net benefitreview threshold on state -owned enterprises. A lack of guidanceon when an entity will qualify as such and when the lower reviewthreshold will apply has triggered mixed responses to the proposedamendments. Canada needs foreign capital to develop the oilsands to their full potential and if foreign investment is discour-aged, there will be a shortage of funding.

The latter part of 2013 looks to be more optimistic with retail mer-gers driving activity and further consolidation is expected as com-panies come together to fight increased competition from US gi-ants entering the country. Furthermore, according to the 2012Tech M&A Activity Report Private Company Acquisitions, Cana-da ranks third globally in terms of the volume of deals done. In lightof this, the IMF announced in July that it was upgrading Canadas

mand for exports for its sluggish nature. Forecasts suggested asimilar growth for 2013, however the first half of the year has notplayed to expectations. This period saw the slowest M&A activityin eight years; Mergermarket reported a fall of 40 per cent, to 245deals valued at $31.7 billion. With mining and resources histori-

cally counting for a large portion of Canadas M&A activity, therecent slowdown in demand and cautiousness among foreign in-vestors means that other sectors of the economy will have to


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Despite the slowdown in M&A activity, Canada remains a keyfocus for law firms; the big draw to the market being its lucra-tive mining scene. In addition, infrastructure is creating somebig-ticket mandates, stimulated by the Economic Action Plan2013s delivery of a New Building Canada Plan. The plan pro-

poses to invest 53 billion Canadian dollars into new fundingfor public infrastructure projects in cooperation with provinc-es, territories and municipalities. This could be considered anattempt to promote cooperation between these many jurisdic-tions. Canada is known for its divided and jurisdictional mar-ket. The largest legal centre is Toronto in the province of On-tario, which remains the key base for corporate deals. Calga-rys position as a leader in the oil and gas industry makes Al-berta the province of choice for energy firms, while British Co-

lumbias economy is also resource -dominated. Meanwhile,French -speaking Quebec operates under a civil code sepa-

Financial Considera-tions

On the assumption thatWarwick Law studentswould not require to com-plete an LLM degree at alaw school at the UnitedStates, and thereforewould not have to payfurther tuition, there isonly an application fee tosit the New York StateBar Exam. The applica-tion fee for candidatesqualifying for the bar ex-

Pass Rate of the NYBE

In terms of foreign -

educated law studentsattempting to sit theNYBE, in 2012, 2,328 firsttime applicants sat theexam, of which 1,023passed (a total pass rateof 44%). In 2011, 2,200first time applicants satthe exam, of which 960passed (a total pass rate

Earning a Legal Qualification to Practice Law in Canadaas a National Student

Canadian students who wish to take on a career in law must

first complete two to four years of a university program and aBachelor of Laws degree in a recognized law school. Then,they must complete a stage of articling, which is essentiallylike an apprenticeship where they will shadow other lawyers.Following this, they will take a bar admission course and an-other exam. This will entitle applicants to a licence in theprovince or state where they wish to work. They are thencommitted to that career for a period of six to eight years or


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Unlike the UK, the Ameri-can legal system is unu-sual in that, with few ex-ceptions, it has no formalclinical training require-ments or apprenticeshipbetween and after theacademic legal education

and the bar exam.

Consequently, those ad-mitted to the bar mayright away procure clientsand may begin carryingout work as an attorney.

Unlike many other com-mon law jurisdictions,such as the UK, wherethere is a classification oflawyers into solicitors andbarristers, the UntiedStates legal system doesnot draw a distinction be-tween lawyers who pleadin court and those who donot.

Once admitted to practiceby the highest court of a

state, an American attor-ney may file legal plead-ings and argue cases inthat state court, offer le-gal advice to individualsand draft legal docu-ments.

However, arguing casesin the federal courts re-

The Canadian Conversion Process for Non - Nationals

It is important to note that the admission requirements for anon -national to practice law varies from state to state in Can-ada, however, the rules they have all operate under a basic

two-stage framework.

Stage One

In all states excluding Quebec

The first stage of this is that applicants must apply tothe National Committee on Accreditation, which will evaluatethe extent of the individuals previous legal training. Followingthis evaluation, they will decide the scope of the requirementthat that individual needs to complete in order to have theequivalent legal training as that of a Canadian applicant. Thefactors which the NCA consider are as follows:

The legal system of the applicants home country

The legal subjects which the applicant has studied

The grades achieved by the applicant

The nature of the university which granted the applicanttheir degree

Further professional qualifications acquired by the appli-cant


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Applicants from the UK can expect to be required to take anextra 30 to 60 credit hours in a Canadian law school if theyhave obtained a 2:1 or higher in the UK undergraduate pro-gram. The higher the grades of the applicant, and the bettertheir legal experience, the lower the amount of hours and

studying required of them. In certain situations the applicantmerely has to sit the written exams.

Once the candidate has successfully completed the course ofstudy and exams recommended to them by the NCA, they willbe issued with a certificate. This is a formal acknowledge-ment by the NCA that that person has the education andtraining equivalent to a graduate of an approved Canadian

Stage Two

After acquiring the NCA certificate, the applicant is then ableto proceed to a Bar Administration Course. Each province hasits own rules concerning the entrance into the BAC and foradmission to the bar, however, all BACs consist of the follow-ing:

9 12 months of articling apprenticeship in a law office

Courses that address certain legal skills

Substantive law

Loblaw Co. Ltd. an-nounced in mid -July itwould buy Shoppers DrugMart Corp. in a $12.4 -

billion cash -and -stock

deal. This would seeCanadas largest groceryretailer combined with thecountrys largest chain ofpharmaceutical stores.Experts reckon the dealwill accelerate the blur-ring of the lines betweendrugs, grocery, fashionand merchandise retail-ing.


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Iconic Canadian retailer

Hudson's Bay Co. fol-lowed suit when it said itplanned to buy high -end

American brand SaksInc. in a deal valued at$2.9 billion (US Dollars).These deals invigoratedmerger and acquisitionactivity after what was aquiet first six months of2013.

Little M&A activity camefrom the mining sector,as companies battledcutbacks as a result ofdecreased demand inemerging markets suchas China.

More retail deals are ex-pected as domestic com-

panies come together tofight increased competi-tion from giant US retail-ers such as Wal -Martand Target, the latter a

A Breakdown of the Costs

National Committee on Accreditation fees

NCA evaluation:

$525

NCA examination:

The current examination fee is $525 (includes all applicabletaxes does not include the cost of textbooks).

Deborah Wolfe, managing director of the NCA, estimates thatoverall, if an applicant were required to take the minimumnumber of exams, they should still expect to pay a total of$3,000.

Bar Administration Course Fees

Annual Fees

Practice fee (Rule 2 -70) $1,893.06

Transfer Fees

Application fee for transfer from another Canadian prov-ince territory $1,125.00

Transfer or qualification examination $300.00


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Law BeyondBorders

By liaising with global lawfirms headquartered incountries all over theworld, Law Beyond Bor-ders presents Warwickstudents with promi singglobal career prospects,while also serving as a net-working platform for aspiringlawyers with diverse back-grounds.

FB: https://www.facebook.com/LawBeyondBorders

Warwick Law Society:http://

warwicklawsociety.co.uk/

Common Law SchoolsRankings

1. Toronto

2. Osgoode

3. UBC

4. McGill

5. Queens

6. Dalhousie

7. Victoria

8. Alberta

9.

Western

10. Saskatchewan

11. Calgary

12. Ottawa

13. Manitoba

14. New Brunswick

15. Windsor

16. Moncton

Civil Law Schools Rank-ings

1. McGill

2. Montreal

3. Ottawa

4. Laval

5. Sherbrooke

6. UQAM

The Guide to Practicing Law in Canada

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