6.01(1) In this rule,
“Act” means the Law Society Act, 1999, SNL 1999, c. L-9.1.
“Approved Program” means a degree program at a law school in Canada that has been approved by the Benchers.
“Articles of Clerkship” means a written contract between a student and a principal, who shall be a member.
“Articling Term” has the meaning provided in 6.08(1).
“Bar Admission Course” means a course for the instruction of matters relating to the practice of law in Newfoundland and Labrador, which shall be offered at least once every calendar year.
“Bar Admission Examinations” means those examinations prepared and administered by the Law Society as a pre-condition to being admitted to the bar.
“Director” means the Law Society’s Director of Admissions and Education.
“Member” means a person enrolled as a member of the Law Society who has not been struck off the roll of the Law Society.
“Required Form” means the form required by the Law Society and includes any documents, forms and information that the Law Society may request.
“Student” means a student-at-law who is entered on the register of students of the Law Society.
6.02(1) The Education Committee is hereby established and continued.
(2) The Education Committee shall be comprised of:
(3) The chair of the Education Committee shall be appointed by Benchers and shall be a Bencher who is appointed to the Education Committee pursuant to 6.02(2)(c).
(4) A quorum for meetings of the Education Committee shall be 3.
6.03(1) In addition to those duties set forth in the Act, the duties and responsibilities of the Education Committee shall include the following:
(2) The Education Committee may vary or waive the requirements of rule 6 in special circumstances, except where prohibited by the Act.
6.04(1) There is hereby established and constituted, as a sub-committee of the Education Committee, a committee known as the Bar Admission Committee.
(2) The chair of the Bar Admission Committee shall be appointed by the Education Committee following the completion of the Bar Admission Examinations and supplementary examinations (if required) each year.
(3) The size and composition of the Bar Admission Committee shall be determined by its chair, in consultation with the Education Committee.
(4) A quorum for meetings of the Bar Admission Committee shall be 4.
6.05 Subject to these Rules and the direction of the Education Committee, the Bar Admission Committee shall facilitate the development, revision, and delivery of the Bar Admission Course, Bar Admission Examinations, and supplementary Bar Admission Examinations.
6.06(1) An applicant seeking admission to the Law Society as a student shall:
(2) The Director may approve applications for admission to the Law Society as a student.
(3) An application that is not approved by the Director under 6.06(2) shall be referred to the Education Committee for a decision.
(4) The Education Committee may impose such conditions, restrictions, or requirements on the admission of a Student as it considers necessary to protect the public interest.
(5) A complete application for admission to the Law Society as a student shall be submitted to the Law Society no later than:
Notwithstanding the foregoing, an applicant seeking to commence their Articling Term on June 1st may provide their transcript no later than June 30th of that same year.
6.07(1) A member may act as principal to no more than 3 students at one time, provided they:
(2) A member who does not meet the requirements under 6.07(1) may apply to the Education Committee for approval to serve as a principal and the Committee may, in its discretion, grant or refuse such an application.
(3) The Education Committee may inquire into a member’s suitability to act or to continue to act as principal to a student and may do any of the following:
(4) Following an inquiry pursuant to 6.07(3), the Education Committee may do any of the following:
(5) The onus is on the member to demonstrate that they are suitable to act as a principal to a student.
(6) Articles of Clerkship may be assigned to another member by filing an assignment of articles in the required form with the Law Society, provided that the assignment must be approved by the Director or the Education Committee.
6.08(1) A student shall work in the practice of their principal(s) pursuant to the terms of their Articles of Clerkship for a term of at least 52 weeks, which shall include attendance at the Bar Admission Course (the “Articling Term”).
(2) Unless otherwise provided by this rule or the Act, the Articling Term must be continuous, except for:
(3) Any time taken for matters referred to in 6.08(2)(b) shall not be included in the calculation of the Articling Term.
(4) A person who applies for admission as a student may request that some or all of their Articling Term be completed on a part-time basis. Such a request must be made at least 8 weeks before the commencement of the Articling Term and, in addition to the ordinary requirements set out under 6.06, shall include:
(5) A student who has not been enrolled as a member within 3 years from the date they commenced their Articling Term shall be removed from the register of students. Such persons are eligible to reapply for admission as a student pursuant to 6.06.
(6) Where a person is enrolled as a student for a second or subsequent time, the Education Committee may grant credit for some or all time the student has previously articled.
(7) A student employed as a law clerk of a judge of any division of the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Federal Court of Canada, or the Supreme Court of Canada may earn credit toward their Articling Term for the time they are so employed to a maximum of twenty-six (26) weeks, except for a Student employed as a law clerk to a judge of the Tax Court of Canada who may earn credit to a maximum of twelve (12) weeks, provided that:
(8) For the purposes of calculating the Articling Term:
6.09(1) A student shall devote their full time and attention to the practice of their principal and other members of their firm/organization, as assigned by their principal, and shall not engage another vocation or business endeavour without the consent of their principal and the approval of the Education Committee.
(2) A student must receive such experience and instruction during their Articling Term as directed by the Education Committee. Students and their principals shall be provided with such direction at the time of the student’s admission.
(3) Where a principal is not able to provide their student with any of the experience and/or instruction required by the Education Committee pursuant to 6.09(2), the principal shall make the necessary arrangements for the student to obtain such experience and/or instruction from another member or members.
(4) Arrangements made under 6.09(3) shall not require an assignment of the Articles of Clerkship.
(5) A student shall file an Education Plan, in required form, before the deadline specified by the Director.
(6) A student shall file an Education Plan Progress Report, in required form, within the date range specified by the Director.
(7) Where the Education Committee is not satisfied with the progress detailed in the Education Plan Progress Report, it may direct the student and/or principal to take certain steps to ensure compliance with the Education Plan prior to the end of the Articling Term.
(8) Upon completion of the requirements set out in the Education Plan, the student and their principal shall jointly file a Certificate of Completion of Education Plan, in the required form, with the Director.
6.10 (1) Subject to the Rules, the Act, or any other prohibition in law, a student may appear on the proceedings specified below, provided the student’s principal or another lawyer supervising the student pursuant to 6.09(3) ensures that the student is:
(2) A student may appear, with the student’s principal or another lawyer supervising the student pursuant to 6.09(3) in attendance and directly supervising the student, as counsel or agent before:
(3) A student may make the appearances specified in 6.10(2) without the student’s principal or another lawyer supervising the student pursuant to 6.09(3) in attendance if that student has completed at least 12 weeks of their Articling Term.
(4) Prior to appearing in a proceeding on behalf of a client, the student must first obtain the client’s consent, in the required form, which shall be filed with the:
6.11(1) Every student shall take and participate in the Bar Admission Course and write the Bar Admission Examinations and the student’s principal shall allow the student time away from their practice to do so.
(2) The Education Committee shall determine the time(s) and location(s) of the Bar Admission Course and the Bar Admission Examinations and provide these details to a student at the time of their admission.
(3) Notwithstanding 6.11(2), the Education Committee may amend the time and location of the Bar Admission Course where it is deemed necessary or appropriate to do so.
(4) Any student who is unable to write the Bar Admission Examinations or participate in the Bar Admission Course or write one or more Bar Admission Examinations in its ordinary format shall notify the Director in the manner set out in the Bar Admissions Course accommodation policy, a copy of which shall be provided to every student upon admission. All decisions with respect to accommodations in the Bar Admissions Course and Bar Admission Examinations shall be made in accordance with the provisions of accommodation policy and shall not be subject to appeal or review.
(5) Marks for Bar Admission Examinations shall be expressed as a percentage of 100 and shall be rounded to the nearest whole number.
(6) A student shall be deemed to have passed the Bar Admission Examinations where:
(7) Each Bar Admission Examination which has received a mark of at least 55% and below 60% shall be automatically reviewed by the grader(s) and, if warranted, a different mark shall be assigned.
(8) A student who has failed one or more Bar Admission Examinations may, upon payment to the Law Society of a sum equal to 20% of the total fee paid by that student for participation in the Bar Admission Course for each Bar Admission Examination to be reviewed and remarked (the total in no event to exceed the total Bar Admission Course fee paid by that student), require the grader(s) to review one or more of the Bar Admission Examinations, provided that the request is made in writing to the Director no later than 10 days following publication of the marks.
(9) The mark given to a Bar Admission Examination following a review under 6.11(8) shall be final and not subject to further review.
6.12(1) A student who has failed at least one but not more than two Bar Admission examinations may write supplementary Bar Admission examinations at the time(s) and date(s) determined by the Director, provided that a student shall not be permitted to write a supplementary Bar Admission examination in a subject in which they scored less than 40% without the approval of the Education Committee.
(2) A student who has failed to achieve the cumulative average specified in 6.11(6)(b) may write no more than 2 supplementary Bar Admission examinations in subjects of their choosing.
(3) A student may write only one supplementary Bar Admission examination per subject unless otherwise permitted by the Education Committee.
(4) A student who wishes to write one or more supplementary Bar Admission examinations must notify the Director, in writing, no later than 20 days after the marks have been published.
(5) A student who does not receive the minimum marks specified in 6.11(6) and, where they were eligible to write one or more supplementary Bar Admission examinations, has failed any such supplementary Bar Admission examination(s) or does not avail of the opportunity to write a supplementary Bar Admission examination for any subject that they have failed, shall be thereafter required, as a condition of enrollment as a member, to rewrite all of the Bar Admission examinations at the next regularly scheduled dates and times and the Education Committee may, if it deems appropriate:
6.13(1) For the purposes of this rule, cheating means the taking by a student of unfair advantage with respect to presentation and retention of information required on a Bar Admission Examination that is not available or allowed to other students and, without limitation, includes:
(2) Where the Director becomes aware of an allegation of cheating, they shall cause an investigation to be undertaken and, if satisfied that a prima facie case exists, shall notify the student accused of cheating, in writing, stating the nature of the accusation. The accused student shall be given an opportunity to reply to the charge, in writing, and to appear, with or without counsel, before the Education Committee to make full answer and defence.
(3) The Education Committee shall within 14 days of the hearing or, if there is no hearing, the completion of the review, render a decision and make a finding of fact as to whether the student cheated.
(4) A student who has cheated shall be:
6.14(1) A student’s application for enrollment as a member shall be made in the required form on or before such date as may be determined by the Director.
(2) A student’s application for enrollment as a member shall be approved by the Education Committee, provided it is satisfied that the student has complied with all of the necessary requirements and there is no reason that it would not be in the public interest to permit the student to be enrolled as a member.
(3) The Education Committee may make its approval under 6.14(2) subject to such conditions, restrictions, and/or requirements as it considers necessary to protect the public interest.
(4) Notice of the Education Committee’s approval granted under 6.14(2) shall be provided to the Vice President as soon as practicable.
(5) Students who have been approved to be enrolled as members pursuant to 6.14(2) shall be presented to a judge of the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador (General Division) to be sworn and enrolled as a solicitor of the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador at such date and time as may be arranged by the Vice President in consultation with the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
(6) Upon being enrolled as a solicitor of the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador, the solicitor shall appear before Benchers to be enrolled as a barrister on the rolls of the Law Society.
(7) Upon being enrolled as a barrister, the person so enrolled shall be a member and is entitled to all the rights, benefits, and privileges and subject to all the duties, obligations, and responsibilities of a member.
(8) The diploma of a barrister-at-law of the Law Society shall be in the required form and shall be signed by the President of the Law Society.
(9) Where a person has not been enrolled as a solicitor and a barrister within one year of receiving the approval of the Education Committee, the Education Committee may prescribe such requirements which it determines are necessary to demonstrate the person’s fitness to engage in the practice of law before the person is enrolled.
6.15(1) A non-practising member, suspended member or former member shall file an application for the commencement or resumption of practice in the required form with the Law Society before having their status changed to that of a practising member and shall, in addition to the conditions outlined in Rules 2.21, 10.02 and the conditions, restrictions and requirements otherwise imposed in accordance with the Rules, be required by the Education Committee to do one or more of the following:
(2) Notwithstanding 6.15(1), the Director may reinstate a non-practising member or former member to practising status where the member has held the status of non-practising member or been a former member for a period of less than 24 months and where the member complies with the conditions outlined in rules 2.21, 10.02 and all other conditions, restrictions and requirements imposed in accordance with the Rules.
(3) The Education Committee may impose such terms, conditions, limitations, or restrictions on a member’s authorization to practice law as are reasonably determined to be necessary to protect the public interest.
6.16 (1) The Benchers or the Education Committee may direct some or all of the practicing members to complete a professional development course or seminar by a particular date and every member so directed shall, unless exempted, in writing, by the body imposing the requirement, be required to comply with this direction as a condition of retaining their practicing status.
(2) In the event that the member fails to comply with 6.16(1), their membership or enrollment in the Law Society shall be suspended until the member completes the required professional development course or seminar and:
6.17 (1) Except where provided otherwise in this rule, every practicing member is required to:
no later than the 31st of December each year.
(2) Practicing members who do not comply with the requirements specified in 6.17(1) shall be:
(3) To qualify as an eligible CPD activity, the activity must be:
(4) In addition to the requirements set out in 6.17(3), an eligible CPD activity shall include activities/content related to:
(5) A member’s CPD activities must be classified under one of the following categories:
(6) The Law Society will not assess or accredit CPD providers, content, or subject matter in advance. It is each member’s responsibility to ensure that the CPD activities they report to the Law Society meet the requirements set out in 6.17.
(7) Notwithstanding 6.17(6), the Education Committee has the discretion to determine whether a specific activity is an eligible CPD activity.
(8) The Education Committee may require a member to provide further information or documentation relating to the details of the member’s participation in a CPD activity and/or the eligibility of a reported CPD activity.
(9) Members who are subject to comparable mandatory CPD requirements in another Canadian jurisdiction may count CPD activities reported in the other Canadian jurisdiction towards the requirements set out in 6.17, provided that the activities were completed in the year for which it is being reported.
(10) A member who has held non-practicing and practicing status in the same year is responsible for completing 1.25 hours of eligible CPD activities for every month and partial month in which they held practising status.
(11) Members who maintain practicing status but are not engaged in the practice of law due to parental leave or a leave of absence due to medical reasons may seek an exemption from the mandatory CPD requirements to a maximum of 1.25 hours for every full calendar month in which they are on leave from practice in a calendar year by submitting a request to the Director in the required form. Where the Director does not approve the exemption request, it shall be referred to the Education Committee for a decision.
(12) Requests for an exemption pursuant to 6.17(11) must be filed with the Director no later than December 1st unless prevented from doing so by circumstances outside of the member’s control.
Appointment of panel
6.18(1) Where the Education Committee determines that a hearing is necessary before making a decision with respect to an application, it shall appoint a panel to make a decision on behalf of the Committee. The Panel shall be comprised of at least 3 members of the Education Committee, one of whom shall be designated as the chair, and shall promptly notify the Applicant and counsel
for the Law Society in writing of the purpose of the hearing and the circumstances to be inquired into at the hearing.
(2) Where the Applicant or the Law Society wishes to challenge for cause the appointment of a member of the panel, the challenge shall be raised with the Education Committee at the earliest opportunity.
(3) The Education Committee shall hear submissions, either in person or in writing, from the Applicant and/or the Law Society with respect to the challenge and shall decide the issue(s) raised.
(4) Where the Education Committee decides that the appointment should be set aside, the appointee shall withdraw from the panel and the Education Committee shall appoint another member to the panel as soon as practicable.
(5) The panel shall immediately provide notice to the parties and the Education Committee if, at any time during the course of a proceeding, any member of the panel identifies a conflict of interest or is otherwise required to withdraw from their appointment and the Education Committee shall endeavour to fill any vacancy on the panel as soon as practicable.
Pre-hearing conference
(6) The Law Society may elect not to appear or make submissions in a pre-hearing conference hearing.
(7) A pre-hearing conference shall commence within 30 days of the panel being appointed or as otherwise consented to by the parties.
(8) The requirement to conduct a pre-hearing conference may be waived with the agreement of the Applicant and the panel.
(9) The panel, after consulting with the parties on their availability, shall set the time, date, and place of the pre-hearing conference.
(10) A pre-hearing conference shall not be open to the public.
(11) At a pre-hearing conference the panel may consider:
(12) The panel may make orders relating to issues resolved during a pre-hearing conference and may determine that a hearing is no longer required.
(13) The panel does not need to provide written reasons to support its decision that a hearing is not required.
(14) The panel shall provide a summary of matters resolved during a pre-hearing conference that do not require an order and that summary will form part of the record.
Commencement of the hearing
(15) The panel shall set a date for the hearing to commence that is no earlier than 30 days after the conclusion of the pre-hearing conference, unless otherwise consented to by the parties.
(16) The date, time and place for the hearing to commence shall be set:
Notice of the hearing date
(17) When a date is set under 6.18(16), the panel shall provide the parties with a notice of the hearing date at least 30 days before the date set for the commencement of the hearing, unless the parties consent to a shorter notice period.
Adjournments
(18) The panel may, on application of one of the parties or on its own motion, adjourn a pre-hearing conference or a hearing on any terms and conditions it considers just.
Mode of proceedings
(19) Any proceeding before the panel may be conducted in person, in writing, by telephone, or by electronic communication including videoconference, as determined by the panel.
(20) In determining the mode of proceedings, the panel may consider any relevant factors, including:
Recordings and transcripts
(21) Unless otherwise directed by the panel:
(22) The panel and any of the parties to the proceeding may request a copy of the recording and/or transcript of the hearing and the cost associated with producing the recording and/or transcript shall be incurred by the party requesting it or, shared equally where there are multiple parties requesting a copy of the recording and/or transcript of the hearing.
Compelling evidence
(23) Before the date set for the commencement of the hearing, or at any time during the hearing at the panel’s discretion, the Applicant or the Law Society may request a summons (subpoena) or authorization be issued to:
(24) The panel may require submissions from either or both parties with respect to a request for a summons or authorization.
(25) After considering any submissions under 6.18(24), the panel shall:
(26) A summons issued under 6.18(25) may be executed by any member of the panel.
Disclosure of evidence
(27) Not less than 2 weeks before the date set for the commencement of the hearing, the Applicant and the Law Society shall provide to each other the following:
(28) Where the Applicant or the Law Society has not complied with 6.18(27), the panel may, in its discretion, allow the introduction of evidence that has not been properly disclosed, or exclude evidence that would otherwise be admissible, and may make such directions that it considers necessary to ensure that a party is not prejudiced.
Memorandum of fact and law
(29) Unless otherwise directed by the panel, the Applicant may file with the panel and provide to the Law Society, a copy of their memorandum of fact and law at least 14 days prior to the date set for the commencement of the hearing.
(30) Unless otherwise directed by the panel, the Law Society may file with the panel and provide to the Applicant, a copy of its memorandum of fact and law at least 7 days prior to the date set for the commencement of the hearing.
Failure to appear
(31) If an Applicant fails to appear at a hearing or for the resumption of an adjourned hearing after notice thereof, the panel may proceed with the hearing in the Applicant’s absence.
Conduct of the hearing
(32) Unless otherwise directed by the panel, an in-person hearing shall not be open to the public and will generally be conducted in the following order:
(33) if the panel requests or permits, the parties may serve and file, by dates ordered by the panel, additional submissions in writing on the facts and legal argument
(34) The panel may control the scope and manner of questioning of a witness.
(35) The panel may order a witness to be excluded from a hearing until the witness is called to give evidence, unless the presence of the witness is necessary to instruct a party’s counsel or agent, in which case the panel may require the witness to be called to give evidence before other witnesses are called.
(36) If the panel orders the exclusion of a witness, evidence given during the witness’s absence from the hearing shall not be communicated to the witness until the witness has completed giving evidence, except with leave of the panel.
(37) The panel may permit a party to present the evidence of a witness or proof of a particular fact or document by affidavit, unless another party reasonably requires the attendance of the witness at the hearing for cross-examination.
(38) Where the panel directs that the hearing may proceed in writing, the panel shall specify the timelines for the filing and provision of written submissions.
Decision of the panel
(39) The decision of a majority of members of the panel shall be the decision of the panel, which shall be supported by written reasons to be provided to the parties within 30 days of the hearing unless this is not possible due to circumstances outside of the panel’s control.
6.19(1) Except as otherwise provided in this Rule or the Act, a decision made by the Director pursuant to their authority under Rule 6 may be appealed to the Education Committee.
(2) Except as otherwise provided in this Rule or the Act, a decision of (i) the Vice President, (ii) the Education Committee, or (iii) a panel constituted by the Education Committee pursuant to Rule 6.18, which is made pursuant to their authority under Rule 6, may be appealed to Benchers.
(3) An appeal shall be in writing, set forth all grounds of appeal, and be delivered to the Director within 30 days of the appellant having received written notification of the decision being appealed.
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(4) The person or body that rendered the decision being appealed shall provide a report outlining the reasons for their decision to the appellant and body hearing the appeal within 30 days of an appeal being received by the Law Society.
(5) An appeal shall be heard as soon as practicable and no later than 4 months following receipt of the report referred to in 6.19(4).
(6) The appellant and the person or member(s) of the body that rendered the initial decision, or their counsel, may file additional written submissions with respect to the appeal no later than seven (7) days prior to the hearing of the appeal.
(7) The appellant and the person or member(s) of the body that rendered the initial decision, or their counsel, may appear before Benchers to make oral argument with respect to the appeal, provided that a request to appear is filed, in writing, with the Law Society no later than 7 days prior to the hearing of the appeal.
(8) The decision of a majority of members of the body hearing the appeal shall be the decision of that body, which shall be supported by written reasons to be provided to the parties within 30 days of the hearing unless this is not possible due to circumstances outside of the body’s control