Acting as counsel for the Law Society of Upper Canada, Stockwoods lawyers Brendan van Niejenhuis and Benjamin Kates were successful in having an application which asked the Divisional Court to order changes to the process for accrediting foreign-trained candidates to be admitted to the Lawyer Licensing Process. Under its by-laws, the Law Society requires a foreign-trained candidate to receive a Certificate of Qualification from the National Committee on Accreditation (NCA), a standing committee of the Federation of Law Societies of Canada, before admission into the process to be licensed as a lawyer. The applicant alleged that the Law Society’s use of the NCA was unfair and, in particular, argued that this process violated the requirements of the Ontario Fair Access to Regulated Professions Act. On March 13, 2013, the Divisional Court dismissed the application unanimously. To read the decision, click here.
