The New Ontario Bar Exams /
The New Ontario Bar Admission Process
The Law Society has significantly changed the bar admission process for admission to the bar in Ontario for your Bar Exam commencing 2006.
Since May 2006, the bar admission process for admission to the Law Society of Upper Canada consists of:
- A skills and professional responsibility program and assessments, and
- 2 full day six hour multiple choice Bar Exams.
The Law Society will no longer provide any substantive teaching of subjects on the new Bar Exams. You will be provided with written materials, but you will be expected to self-study.
These changes represent a significant change from the previous process.
Until 2005, it used to be that the Law Society's process for admission to the Ontario Bar included a three and a half month Academic Phase ("the Bar Admission Course") that took place from May to August and was generally completed prior to the 10 month Articling Phase.
This Academic Phase / The Bar Admission Course used to consist of a skills component and short exams at the completion of modules on each of the substantive subjects.
The Law Society used to provide course lectures and class seminars to prepare students for these exams. Each subject was taught as a separate module over several days, and each subject was examined separately. The teaching and exams took place over 12 weeks.
The new bar admission process for admission to the Law Society of Upper Canada will consist of:
- A skills and professional responsibility program and assessments;
- 2 Full Day Bar Exams; and
- A 10 Month articling program.
The 2 full day multiple choice Bar Exams will be scheduled three times each year (May/June, November and March). Most students will write the May/June Bar Exams.
The first full day six-hour multiple-choice exam (the "Barrister Examination") will test:
- Public law (constitutional law and administrative law)
- Criminal procedure
- Family law
- Civil litigation
- Ethical and professional responsibility and establishing and maintaining the barrister-client relationship.
The second full day six-hour multiple-choice exam (the "Solicitor Examination") will test:
- Real estate law
- Business law (corporate law, bankruptcy law and tax law)
- Wills, trusts and estate administration and planning; and
- Ethical and professional responsibility and establishing and maintaining the solicitor-client relationship.