While the Law Society of Ontario may issue your license, if they uncover or are informed of your past misconduct at a later date you will automatically be the subject of a good character investigation and most likely a good character hearing. It will be more difficult to defend yourself at this stage. The application process is a disclosure test and you are best to divulge all past misconduct upfront and address the same. We can assist you with the application process as well as any investigation or hearing.
It is better to always disclose and address any misconduct. If you omit something, even if in error, it appears that you may have deliberately misled the Law Society of Ontario. You may need to address more than the past conduct and explain why you answered questions in your application incorrectly. Sometimes the Law Society takes your failure to disclose more seriously than your past misconduct.
Some examples of potential events or conduct that you should disclose are:
- Past discipline from another regulator
- Dismissal from a previous job
- Criminal offences
- Past Judgments
- Bankruptcy or Consumer proposal
This list is not exhaustive and it is best to contact Michelle Haigh to discuss your specific situation
The earlier you contact us in the process, preferably prior to filing your application, the easier it is to mitigate the cost. Fees can range from $295 to ten thousand dollars depending on the situation and if the matter goes to a full hearing. We can discuss your options, costs and timeline at your free 30-minute consultation. Either way we are a fraction of the cost of a lawyer.
To be licensed as a lawyer or a paralegal in Ontario, the Law Society Act requires that an applicant be of “good character.” The good character requirement is ongoing, applying to applicants throughout their licensing term.
The good character requirement is intended to protect the public and maintain high ethical standards in the professions by ensuring that persons who are licensed as lawyers and paralegals show respect for the rule of law and the administration of justice and conduct themselves with honesty, integrity and candour.
The application will be reviewed in the Complaints & Compliance department of the Law Society’s Client Service Centre. This department determines whether the issues disclosed are sufficiently serious to warrant further review by the Law Society’s Professional Regulation Division. In most years, between 40-50% of these applications do not require additional review and are promptly returned to the licensing process.
The following is a list of documents that will help the Law Society consider your application with respect to any affirmative answer to one or more of the good character questions.
This list is offered as a guide only and you should contact Michelle Haigh to discuss the best way to respond when answering affirmative to one or more of the good character questions.
| Questions about good morals |
Supporting documents |
|
|
|
Pleadings, including:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
If you do not respond to correspondence from the Law Society regarding your problem of good character, or if you do not provide the documents or information requested by the investigator assigned to your case within the prescribed time, your license application could be considered abandoned. You will not be able to make another claim unless you can demonstrate a material change in circumstances and only after a period of one year from the date your claim was deemed abandoned.
The Law Society Act provides that a licence may only be refused after a hearing by the Hearing Division of the Law Society Tribunal.
Although not required, we strongly encourage you to hire a legal representative to help you when you are the subject of a good character investigation.
If you retain the services of a legal representative, you must still respond promptly to inquiries from the Law Society and continue to cooperate with the investigation.
Under s. 27(4) of the Law Society Act , an application for a license can only be refused after a hearing by the Law Society Tribunal, Trial Division. Therefore, at the end of the investigation, it will be determined whether your license application should proceed to a hearing or whether the issue(s) of good character should be considered and the application referred to the licensing process. profession.
The decision on how to handle your request is made on a case-by-case basis. However, the Investigations Department will consider the following:
-
The facts revealed by the investigation;If the Law Society can prove the conduct in question;Whether it is in the public interest to hold a hearing to consider the matter
In the licensing application, an applicant must answer questions that assist the Law Society in determining whether the applicant is of good character. These questions allow applicants to self-report conduct or circumstances that may raise issues about their character. Self-reporting includes providing full and detailed information about the issues and providing any supporting documentation.
If an applicant’s circumstances change after submitting an application, the applicant must immediately notify the Law Society’s Licensing and Accreditation Department to update the applicant’s answers to any of the good character questions, as necessary.
Answering yes to one or more of the good character questions does not necessarily mean that an applicant will be refused a licence.
When an applicant answers yes to one or more of the good character questions, the applicant’s application is reviewed in the good character review process.
Applications that are transferred to the Professional Regulation Division are reviewed in the Intake & Resolution department. At this stage, any good character issues are either:
- “cleared” on the basis that the issues disclosed do not require additional review and are not sufficiently serious so as to require investigation of the applicant’s character;
- resolved by requesting additional information or clarification that allows the issue to be cleared; or
- referred to the Investigations department for further review.
At this point, most licensing applications are either cleared or resolved and are returned to the licensing process
If further review in the Investigations department is necessary, the applicant will be notified in writing and will be provided with an explanation for the investigation.
If the good character investigation was initiated as a result of information that the Law Society received from a source other than the applicant, the applicant will be provided with details of that information.
The Investigations department may ask the applicant to provide additional factual information and reference letters, and the applicant will be given an opportunity to provide additional information or explanation about the issue. Third parties may be interviewed, if required. At the conclusion of an investigation, a determination will be made about whether the licensing application should be referred to a hearing, or whether the good character issue(s) should be cleared and the application returned to the licensing process. In making that decision, the Investigations department will consider the facts revealed by the investigation, whether the Law Society can prove the conduct in issue, and, if so, whether it is in the public interest to hold a hearing to explore the issue.
At the hearing, the Law Society bears the initial burden of proving that the conduct disclosed or alleged calls into question the plaintiff’s good character. It is then up to the applicant to prove that he is of good moral character.
The panel presiding over the hearing will consider the following factors in considering the applicant’s good character:
- The nature and duration of the misconduct;
- If the applicant has remorse;
- What rehabilitation efforts, if any, have been undertaken, and with what results;
- The applicant’s conduct since the misconduct;
- The time that has elapsed since the misconduct.
Upon completion, the Trial Division will issue a written order to determine if the applicant is of good character and therefore eligible for a permit. Tribunal decisions are subject to the usual avenues of appeal.