Before you can be enrolled as an articled student, called and admitted, or reinstated as a member,the Law Society must be satisfied that you are of good character and repute and are fit to become a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court: Legal Profession Act, s.19. This is commonly known as the good character requirement.
The good character requirement is intended to protect the public and maintain high ethical standards in the legal profession. It ensures that articled students and lawyers conduct themselves with honesty, candour, and integrity.
Good character questions on Law Society applications
The application forms for articling, call and admission, and reinstatement contain questions designed to assist the Law Society to determine whether an applicant is of good character.
We strongly encourage applicants to answer all questions fairly and fully and disclose anything that might adversely affect your application. Providing false, misleading, or incomplete responses will result in further investigation and delay the process.
The good character review
If you answer “yes” to one or more good character questions, you must provide information about the full circumstances of the issue or situation you are describing, and any supporting documents that will allow it to be reviewed more closely.
It is important to note that answering yes to one or more of the good character questions does not necessarily mean that an application will be refused. Most applications pass the good character test after one or more stages of review.
First Review
Our Credentials & Licensing Department reviews the application and supporting documents and considers factors such as the nature of the issue you disclosed, the number of occurrences, the time period over which the issue occurred, and your insights into the issue.
The Credentials & Licensing Department can:
- Approve your application because the issues disclosed do not require additional review and are not sufficiently serious to warrant further investigation of your character;
- Ask you for more information so the issue can be fully assessed;
- Conduct a formal investigation; and/or
- Refer the issue to the Credentials Committee for a second review.
Second Review
Where the Credentials & Licensing Department refers your application, the Credentials Committee must decide whether you meet the good character requirement at the time of your application. The Credentials Committee applies a contextual approach to all applications that identify issues requiring further consideration by the Committee. For all such matters, the Committee:
- Clarifies the issue of concern, such as the type and seriousness of the conduct
- Considers the circumstances surrounding the issue of concern, such as your age at the time of the conduct, factors underlying the conduct, cumulative effect, etc.
- Reflects on how much time has passed since the conduct; and
- Evaluates any remedial measures you have taken, such as accepting responsibility, candour, evidence of rehabilitative efforts, and positive social contributions since the conduct
Once the review is completed, the Credentials Committee can:
- Approve your application;
- Approve your application on conditions, if you consent to the conditions;
- Defer consideration pending further information or the completion of an investigation; or
- Order a credentials hearing under of the Legal Profession Act.
Most applications are approved after one or more stages of review. Only a small number are referred to a credentials hearing.
More information
Legal Profession Act, Division 2 – Admission and Reinstatement, ss.19-22.
Contact Credentials and Licensing at CredentialsLicensing@lsbc.org for more information about the good character test, including questions about disclosing information in an application.