About Us

MANDATE

To ensure the public is well served by a legal profession that is independent, responsible and responsive.

MISSION

Established in 1978, the Law Society of the Northwest Territories is a self-governing Society which derives its authority from the Legal Profession Act of the Northwest Territories. The Law Society is responsible for governing the legal profession in the public interest according to Northwest Territories law and the Law Society’s rules, regulations, guidelines and Code of Professional Conduct. It is our responsibility to ensure that the people of the Northwest Territories are served by lawyers who meet high standards of competence, learning and professional conduct; and, to uphold the independence, integrity and honour of the legal profession. We believe that the public is well served by a legal profession that is independent, responsible, and responsive to the needs of the public its serves.

OBJECTIVES

To secure the integrity of the legal profession, the Law Society, among other duties:

• ensures new lawyers are qualified to practice in the Northwest Territories through a thorough admissions screening;
• provides educational programming and requires professional development standards;
• conducts reviews of a lawyer’s practice, when necessary, and monitors remedial programs;
• regulates and audits lawyers’ trust fund accounting procedures;
• provides advice to lawyers on ethical and legal issues;
• takes custody of a lawyer’s practice when a lawyer is unable to continue practicing and has not made arrangements for clients;
• investigates and disciplines lawyers who have violated the Rules of the Society; and
• takes action against those who illegally offer legal services or misrepresent themselves as lawyers.

FEDERATION OF LAW SOCIETIES OF CANADA

Every lawyer in Canada and notary in Quebec is required by law to be a member of a law society and to be governed by its rules. Canada’s 14 provincial and territorial law societies govern over 100,000 lawyers and 3,500 Quebec notaries in the public interest. The Federation of Law Societies of Canada is the national coordinating body for these law societies.

For more information about the Federation, visit www.flsc.ca.