Authority to Extend Student-at-Law Registration

October 2, 2024

At the Sept. 26, 2024 Board meeting, the Benchers approved an amendment to Rule 58.1 of the Rules of the Law Society of Alberta to give the Law Society the authority to extend the registration of a student-at-law where proceedings under Part 3 of the Legal Profession Act are underway.

Previously, the Rules stated that the registration of a student-at-law terminates three years from the date they began articling, unless the student-at-law obtained an extension from the Executive Director. This posed an issue if a student-at-law was involved in disciplinary proceedings, as they could simply let their registration expire. The amendments address this gap in our regulatory processes and ensure that we can protect the public interest effectively in these circumstances.

For more details on the amendments, view the full Rules.