What's New

We are pleased to advise that the Law Society Tribunal’s 2021 Annual Report is now posted on our website.

The Tribunal has a new guide to appeals proceedings! Check it out here.

The Tribunal’s Notice to the Professions and the Public regarding operations during COVID-19 has been updated; the date through which we will not be holding in-person hearings has been extended.

Please join us in welcoming to the Law Society Tribunal five newly-appointed lay adjudicators. Each was appointed by Convocation on May 27, 2021, and will serve a two-year term as Tribunal members. Click the names below to learn more about our new lay adjudicators.

• Laura Arndt
• Ingrid Berkeley
• Suzanne Clément
• Randi Druzin
• Michelle Richards

We are pleased to advise that the Law Society Tribunal’s 2020 Annual Report is now posted on our website.

The Tribunal Committee is proposing amendments to the Rules of Practice and Procedure. The proposed amendments build on the learnings of the last year and prepare the Tribunal for continuing operations post-pandemic. The committee is accepting comments on the proposed amendments until May 30, 2021. For more information see full report.

We are happy to welcome Malcolm M. Mercer to his new position as Chair of the Law Society Tribunal. Mr. Mercer, formerly an appointed adjudicator on the Tribunal’s Hearing and Appeal Divisions, is an Emeritus Treasurer of the Law Society of Ontario, an adjunct professor of Osgoode Hall Law School teaching Legal Ethics, a Legal Ethics columnist for Slaw.ca, a member of the Canadian Association for Legal Ethics and a member of the Immigration Appeal Division of the Immigration and Refugee Board. Mr. Mercer was previously a bencher of the Law Society of Ontario, a Chair of the Ethics and Professional Responsibility Committee of the Canadian Bar Association, the Ethics and Regulatory Team Lead for the CBA Futures Project and General Counsel to and litigation partner of McCarthy Tétrault LLP.

Please join us in wishing former Chair David A. Wright the best of luck in his new position as Discipline Committee Chair and Tribunal Director at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario.

We are pleased to advise that the Law Society Tribunal’s 2019 Annual Report is now posted on our website.

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, all in-person Tribunal hearings are cancelled until at least July 31, 2020 and the Tribunal is operating remotely. While the physical Tribunal office is closed, we are available to answer questions by email and by phone and accept documents electronically. We are holding proceeding management conferences and pre-hearing conferences by teleconference, as well as some hearings by videoconference.

Because we are currently conducting proceeding management conferences, pre-hearing conferences and some hearings by Zoom videoconferencing software, the Tribunal has created a guide to Zoom protocols, for reference. If you are a party to a Tribunal proceeding, please read the Zoom Guide here.