Ron Payne
Welfare Legal
Hamilton, Ontario
The Law Society of Upper Canada (LSUC) has committed to expanding the paralegal scope of practice over the next four years.
Presented to Convocation Dec. 4, the Priority Planning Committee strategic plan report to Convocation outlines significant changes that will have a dramatic effect on the future of legal services in Ontario. The changes are “robust and ambitious,” affecting paralegal education entry standards, mentoring, professional development, and competence assurance, in addition to expanding the scope of practice.
Paralegal-specific measures in the Strategic Plan 2015–2019 include:
- Working to ensure that high quality instruction is being offered by the accredited institutions that educate paralegal licensee candidates
- Examining enhancements to the paralegal licensing requirements, including possible additional education and training prior to entering an accredited paralegal program
- Exploring the expansion of areas of practice and delivery of services by paralegal licensees
