The Canadian Association of Law Libraries (CALL) is pleased to share that it has recently endorsed the Competencies of a Legal Researcher in Canada. The competencies were drafted by a small working group of its members, representing different legal working environments (law firms, law schools, government, and courthouses). The draft was then reviewed by law librarians, legal researchers, and legal information professionals across the country for feedback, before being endorsed by the Board of Directors of the Association.

Page 2 of the document includes a non-exhaustive list of potential uses for this document, including being used by:

• Law Societies and Law Association libraries to use in developing continuing professional development offerings for lawyers
• The Federation of Law Societies of Canada: currently the Federation’s report on the Common Law degree states that legal research is an expected competency of new licensees but does not provide a detailed list of legal research competencies
• Library schools to reframe legal information sources and services as a core course offering, and to offer suggested learning outcomes for such courses
• LRW professors across Canada in setting learning outcomes for Legal Research courses
• Potential employers about requisite competencies of new law librarian hires.

View the Competencies of a Legal Researcher in Canada in French, here.

Posted: March 7, 2025