Part-time coverage overview
A lawyer is eligible to apply for part-time indemnity coverage if they are engaged in the private practice of law, related professional services and activities that further those services, for an average of 25 hours per week or less, and have not had a Part A paid indemnity claim in the past five years. The part-time option provides the full coverage available through the compulsory policy for half the cost of full-time coverage.
If you are currently exempt from the requirement to maintain compulsory coverage and are applying for coverage for part-time practice, you will be subject to the returning to practice rules.
Part-time practice hours
You may occasionally practise more than 25 hours per week, as long as on average, over consecutive six-month periods, you practise 25 hours per week or less, starting from the effective date of your part-time practice and ending when you notify the Law Society of a change in your practice status. Part-time does not mean practising full time for a portion of the year and not practising at all for a portion or the balance of the year.
Part-time activities
These activities include but are not limited to:
- any professional services for which the policy extends coverage
- practice management
- firm administration, and marketing
- continuing professional development (CPD),* other continuing legal education such as participation in Canadian Bar Association sections, and other voluntary activities associated with the practice of law or provision of professional services such as mediation training
- professional duties or representation on bodies such as the Law Society, the Canadian Bar Association, the Continuing Legal Education Society and other organizations
- professional services undertaken but delegated to others (e.g. to an articled student or a paralegal)
* If the CPD is subject to a maximum credit allowance, you need include only that maximum in your calculation of hours. If you are a teacher or student at a post-secondary institution, those activities are not part-time practice activities, even if claimed as CPD, and are not included in your calculation of hours.
Apply for part-time coverage
Practising lawyers
If you currently hold practising membership with the Law Society and only wish to change your indemnity status, you can submit an online application via the link in the sidebar or the Member Portal. If your application is approved, you will be invoiced for the difference in fees (see Schedule 2 – note that GST will be added to the listed fees).
Non-practising and retired lawyers
If you currently hold non-practising or retired membership with the Law Society and wish to return to practising membership, you must submit an application for Return to Practice rather than an online application for a stand-alone indemnity change.
Applicants for admission or reinstatement
If you are applying for admission to the Law Society or seeking to reinstate your membership, you must submit the relevant paper-based application rather than a stand-alone application for indemnity coverage. Please see the related page on our website for more information on the application process for admission and reinstatement: