As the public places great trust in the legal profession, becoming a lawyer in BC is both a privilege and a responsibility. Here is an overview on becoming a lawyer in BC, including a look at the work of BC lawyers, admission requirements (for new admissions, transfers, reinstatements), character and fitness and credentials hearings.

The work of BC lawyers

All BC lawyers are members of the Law Society of BC and membership is required to be eligible to practise law. There are some limited exceptions — for example, eligible lawyers from other Canadian provinces may practise in BC on a temporary basis: see Temporary Practice in BC.

In BC there are over 12,000 lawyers. Most are in private practice, working in law firms of all sizes and offering legal services to the public in diverse areas, ranging from real estate law, corporate law, family law and criminal law. Other lawyers provide legal services exclusively for a company, society or union or for government, such as Crown Counsel on behalf of the Ministry of Attorney General. There are still other lawyers who opt not to practise law, but find their legal training invaluable in business and other endeavours.

The legal profession is a helping profession, and lawyers are dedicated to serving their clients. They play a critical role as advisors to clients in making agreements and solving legal problems. Lawyers have the expertise to sift through facts, recognize legal issues, analyze the law and recommend a course of action that best meets client needs. They demonstrate concern, objectivity and fairness. As professionals and as officers of the court, lawyers must adhere to high ethical standards in carrying out their work.

In BC, lawyers are qualified as both barristers (who work primarily as counsel in court or before tribunals) and solicitors (who do varied office work for clients, including giving corporate or tax advice, handing real estate transactions, drafting contracts and preparing all types of documents). Lawyers may choose to practise as barristers, as solicitors or both.

BC lawyers with practising status are also, by law, notaries public. As such, they can carry out the procedural tasks of notarizing documents and certifying documents.

Admission requirements

There are specific educational and other requirements for becoming a lawyer in BC, for reinstating as a lawyer and for transferring to BC as a lawyer from another Canadian jurisdiction.

Section 19 of the Legal Profession Act requires that each applicant for enrolment, call to the bar, transfer or reinstatement must satisfy the Law Society that he or she is a person of good character and repute and is fit to become a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court.

New admissions

To become a lawyer for the first time, a person must successfully complete the Law Society's Admission Program, which includes nine months of articles in a law firm or other legal workplace, a 10-week Professional Legal Training Course and examinations.

An applicant for admission to the program generally must first complete a Bachelor of Laws degree from a Canadian common law university. For more information on law school admission requirements, see faculties of law at Canadian universities, including at the University of British Columbia and the University of Victoria.

A student with a law degree from outside Canada may also apply if first granted a Certificate of Qualification from the National Committee on Accreditation: see NCA Certificate of Qualification.

For more information on Law Society admission requirements, see Law Society Admissions Program.

Transfers

A member of another Canadian law society may apply for call and admission on transfer from his or her home jurisdiction to BC.

Under the National Mobility Agreement, many transfer applicants from reciprocating provinces who would have been required to write the transfer examinations must now certify that they have read and understand the Legal Profession Act , the Law Society Rules, the Professional Conduct Handbook and those parts of the Professional Legal Training Course materials that are relevant to practice in BC.

Other requirements apply to lawyers who are not eligible to transfer under the National Mobility Agreement or who have been out of practice for a period of time.

For complete information, see Transfer to British Columbia.

Reinstatement & Returning to practice

Former BC lawyers who apply to reinstate their membership in the Law Society, and other BC lawyers who change their status to return to practice, may need to requalify for practice.

If an applicant was called to the bar within the last three years or has been out of practice for no more than three of the last five years, no specific requalification is required. Applicants who have not engaged in the practice of law for more than three of the last five years must pass a qualification exam. Those who have not engaged in the practice of law for more than seven years are automatically referred to the Credentials Committee which will determine what, if any, conditions should be imposed.

For more information, see Returning to Practice & Reinstatement.

Character and fitness

The Credentials Committee is responsible for overseeing the enrolment, education, examination and call to the bar of articled students, the transfer of lawyers into British Columbia from other jurisdictions and the reinstatement of former lawyers. The Credentials Committee includes both lawyers and non-lawyers.

Law Society staff screen all prospective articled students, applicants for call and admission, applicants for reinstatement and applicants for transfer to ensure they are of good character and repute and fit to become a barrister and a solicitor of the Supreme Court as required by s. 19 of the Legal Profession Act . This could include investigation of any criminal charges, financial difficulties, drug or alcohol abuse, treatment for serious illnesses or any other factors that may affect an applicant's character or fitness for practice.

If Law Society staff have concerns about the character or fitness of a candidate for enrolment, call and admission, transfer or reinstatement, the application is referred to the Credentials Committee. The Credentials Committee can review the matter in question and any relevant factors. For example, in the case of questionable prior conduct, it may consider such factors as the applicant's age at the time of the conduct, the recency of the conduct, its seriousness and any evidence of rehabilitation.

Once the review is completed, the Committee can:

• approve the application;
• approve the application with conditions;
• defer consideration pending further information or the completion of an investigation; or
• order a credentials hearing

A former lawyer who was disbarred or who resigned for disciplinary reasons must be referred to the Credentials Committee and the Committee must order a credentials hearing.

Credentials hearings

As noted, if the Credentials Committee has concerns about the character or fitness of an applicant, it can order a hearing. Credentials hearings take place at the Law Society's office in Vancouver and are open to the public subject to the hearing panel's jurisdiction to order portions of the hearing to be held in camera to prevent the unauthorized disclosure of privileged or confidential information. For information on upcoming hearings, see Hearings Schedule.

When a hearing is ordered, the Credentials Committee must set an amount to be deposited by the applicant as security for costs. In setting the amount to be deposited, the Credentials Committee may take into account the circumstances of the matter including, but not limited to, the applicant's ability to pay and his or her likelihood of success in the hearing.

Credentials hearings are similar to court hearings with both the Law Society and the applicant represented by a lawyer. Hearing panels usually consist of three Law Society Benchers (if the applicant consents, the case can be heard by a single Bencher).

At a credentials hearing, the onus is on the applicant to satisfy the hearing panel that he or she is a person of good character and repute and is fit to become a barrister and a solicitor of the Supreme Court as required by s. 19 of the Legal Profession Act .

Following a hearing, the hearing panel may grant the application, grant the application subject to conditions or reject the application. Both credentials and discipline hearing panels issue written reasons for their decisions, which are posted online: see Hearing Reports & Admissions.

The Credentials Committee and the applicant each have the right to apply to the Benchers for a review of the hearing panel's decision. Such reviews are heard by a quorum of the Benchers, which is a minimum of seven Benchers. The applicant also has the right to appeal the decision to the BC Court of Appeal.

For full information on the hearings process, see Part 5 of the Legal Profession Act and Part 5 of the Law Society Rules.