The Comprehensive Law Topics Guide for Law School & Recruits

Canadian law societies base their rules on the Federation of Law Societies' Model Code. Key rules:

• Rule 1.5: no unreasonable fees
• Rule 1.6: confidentiality of client information
• Rule 1.7: conflicts with current clients
• Rule 3.3: candour toward the tribunal, even when it overrides confidentiality
• Rule 8.3: reporting another lawyer's serious misconduct

Solicitors act upholding the rule of law and the proper administration of justice, upholding public trust, with independence, honesty and integrity, encouraging equality, diversity and inclusion, and in the best interests of each client.

Canada has 19 universities offering FLSC-approved common law JD programs.

• LSAT: since August 2024, two scored Logical Reasoning sections and one Reading Comprehension; logic games removed
• LSAT: from August 2026, in-centre testing for almost all test-takers
• LNAT: 2¼ hours, with 42 multiple-choice questions on 12 passages and one essay
• LNAT is required by Oxford, Cambridge, LSE, UCL, KCL, Bristol, Durham, Glasgow and SOAS

• Ontario: Barrister and Solicitor licensing exams
• Articling of 8–10 months, the Law Practice Program, or an Integrated Practice Curriculum JD (Lakehead, TMU)
• The LSO consulted on replacing its exams with a skills-based course; no decision as of fall 2026
• Western provinces use the PREP training program

Toronto's 2L summer recruit for summer 2027: Call Day October 23, 2026; in-firm interviews November 2–4; Offer Day November 4. On-campus interviews can't last longer than 20 minutes.

Justice Canada reports 40% to 57% of parties in family matters are self-represented when they appear in court. Legal Aid Ontario's provincial funding was cut by $133 million in 2019.

In Zhang v. Chen (2024 BCSC 285), a lawyer cited two cases invented by ChatGPT; the court called it "tantamount to making a false statement to the court". ABA Formal Opinion 512 (July 2024) applies lawyers' duties to AI, and the Federal Court requires a declaration when filings contain AI-generated content.

R. v. Jordan (2016) set ceilings of 18 months (provincial court) and 30 months (superior court). Bill C-16 (2026) says a stay should be ordered only if no other remedy would be appropriate and just.

Criminal Code s. 718.2(e) requires particular attention to the circumstances of Indigenous offenders. R. v. Gladue (1999) called it remedial, and R. v. Ipeelee (2012) held it applies in every case. TRC Call to Action 28 asks law schools to require a course on Aboriginal people and the law.

Justice Glenn D. Joyal joined the Court in July 2026. In 2026 the Court recognized a new tort of intimate partner violence (Ahluwalia v. Ahluwalia, 2026 SCC 16).

A 2022 national study by the Université de Sherbrooke found 55.9% of legal professionals reported burnout and 54.2% had considered leaving practice.

If a client admits guilt, defence counsel may still challenge jurisdiction, the indictment and the admissibility or sufficiency of the evidence, but must not suggest someone else committed the offence or call evidence they believe is false.

Disclosure is permitted, no more than required, to prevent imminent death or serious bodily harm (Model Code 3.3-3, drawing on Smith v. Jones, 1999), and in other narrow cases such as defending against allegations.

Lawyers must not knowingly mislead a tribunal and must not deliberately refrain from informing it of binding authority directly on point, even when it hurts their case.

Fees must be fair, reasonable and disclosed. Inflating docketed hours is dishonest, whoever asks you to do it.

Lawyers must report to the law society matters such as misappropriation of trust money or conduct raising a substantial question about another lawyer's honesty (Model Code 7.1-3).