Law Society of Upper Canada
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| Abbreviation | LSUC |
|---|---|
| Motto | "Let right prevail" |
| Formation | 1797 |
| Type | Law society |
| Purpose | Advocate and public voice, educator and network |
| Headquarters | Osgoode Hall, Toronto, Ontario |
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Region served
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Ontario |
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Official language
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English French |
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Treasurer
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Paul Schabas |
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CEO
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Robert Lapper |
| Affiliations | Federation of Law Societies of Canada |
| Website | www |
The Law Society of Upper Canada (LSUC) (French: Le Barreau du Haut-Canada) is the law society responsible for the self-regulation of lawyers and paralegals in the Canadian province of Ontario.
The Law Society was created in 1797 to regulate the legal profession in the British colony of Upper Canada. The first home was at Wilson's Hotel at Newark (now Niagara-on-the-Lake), then from 1799 to 1832 at various temporary locations at York (Toronto) until Osgoode Hall was built. The Law Society has continued to retain its original name, even though Upper Canada ceased to exist as a political entity in 1841. The Society governed the legal profession in the coterminous Canada West from 1841 to 1867, and in Ontario since confederation in 1867.
The Law Society of Upper Canada's creation by an act of the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada came some 20 years before the earliest such self-governing association in any other Canadian province or territory. Its creation was an innovation in the English-speaking world and it became the model for law societies across Canada and the United States. It is one of the oldest Law Societies in the English-speaking world.
In 1994, the Law Society affirmed its role by adopting this Role Statement: "The Law Society of Upper Canada exists to govern the legal profession in the public interest by ensuring that the people of Ontario are served by lawyers who meet high standards of learning, competence and professional conduct, and upholding the independence, integrity and honour of the legal profession, for the purpose of advancing the cause of justice and the rule of law."
The Law Society regulates the more than 50,000 lawyers in Ontario. It is responsible for ensuring that lawyers are both ethical and competent. The Society has the power to set standards for admission into the profession. It is empowered to discipline lawyers who violate those standards. Available sanctions range from admonitions to disbarment. It is based in Toronto, at Osgoode Hall.
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