National Committee on Accreditation: Survey to Verify Draft Competency Profile

February 27, 2024

The Federation of Law Societies of Canada invites members of the legal profession to complete a brief survey to support the development of a competency-based assessment system for internationally trained lawyers and law graduates applying to the Federation’s National Committee on Accreditation (NCA).

The NCA is responsible for assessing the credentials of internationally trained lawyers and law graduates. Before they may apply to a bar admission program in a Canadian common law jurisdiction, NCA candidates must demonstrate that their legal education and experience are roughly equivalent to those of graduates of Federation-approved Canadian common law programs. This process involves an assessment of each candidate’s legal education and experience and requires candidates to demonstrate competence in specified legal subjects through NCA exams or law school courses.

An initial draft competency profile was developed by an appointed Task Force and refined in consultation with members of the legal academy, supervisors of articling students, entry level lawyers, internationally trained lawyers, NCA examiners, law societies and the Federation’s Indigenous Advisory Council.

The Federation is seeking input to help validate the draft profile via survey. Individual responses are anonymous, and the data recorded will be deleted from the file server one month after the close of the survey.

The deadline for completing the survey is March 13, 2024.