The Law Society of BC is responsible for licensing lawyers and regulating the practice of law. Those who are unauthorized to practise law put the public at risk by performing unregulated and not covered legal services.

To find out if a person is licensed with the Law Society, use the Lawyer Directory to search a database of all individuals licensed to practise law in BC, and to confirm their practising status.

If you still have doubts, contact the the Registration and Licensee Services department to inquire about a lawyer’s practising status.

Once the Law Society receives a complaint about potential unauthorized practice, it will review and investigate. 

If evidence shows that someone is engaging in the unauthorized practice of law, the Law Society will take the following steps:

  • contact the person involved, provide an explanation of the restrictions that apply to the practice of law, and ask them to sign an undertaking to refrain from the unauthorized practice of law;
  • if the person continues to provide unlicensed legal services, the Law Society may seek a court injunction to stop the unauthorized practice.

Additional information

What is unauthorized practice? Before filing a complaint, ensure that you know what qualifies as unauthorized practice of law.

Search the unauthorized practitioners database. The Law Society maintains a database of unauthorized practitioners against whom it has obtained written commitments and court judgments.

File an unauthorized practitioner complaint. If you wish to file a complaint against someone you believe is providing unregulated legal services, contact the Law Society at uap@lsbc.org.