Services for licensees

The steps below are shown in this video. Start watching at the 1:35 mark for the chapter: Creating an Account. Note: do not use a link provided by another licensee or candidate.

You can set up your LSO Connects account by following these steps:

1. Click on the link to the LSO Connects login page: https://lsoconnects.lso.ca
2. On the login page click the Register for LSO Connects link that appears under the sign-in button. The create account window appears.
3. Fill out the required details in the designated fields to create your account.

   Note: The email address entered must be your LSO Portal email address if you are a licensee; or, online licensing candidate account email address if you are a licensing candidate. This is the email at which you receive Law Society correspondence throughout the year. If you are unsure, please contact the Law Society.

4. Click the Create button. The verification code window will appear.
5. Click the Send verification code button. A verification email will be sent to your email.
6. Please check your email to receive the verification code. The subject of the email will be “LSO account email verification code.”
7. Return to the verification code window and enter the verification code into the appropriate field.
8. Click the Verify code button. The screen will refresh and the email address will be confirmed as "verified”.
9. Click the Continue button. The screen will refresh and take you to your LSO Connects personal details page.
10. Click the Home icon (icon in the top right corner that looks like a house) to be taken to your home page where you’ll find the online services available to you.

Law Society ID cards are still available for purchase; however, the cards no longer include photos. You may use government-issued photo ID to supplement your Law Society ID card.

This change provides a level of security and fraud prevention that is not offered with the former cards. It also allows for faster delivery of cards and less paperwork on your part.

To purchase your Law Society ID card, log-in to LSO Connects and look for “LSO ID Card” under Service Requests.

The Law Society has moved to a fully card-based payment system. We continue to accept major credit cards and have added Visa Debit and Debit Mastercard as acceptable payment methods to provide more online payment options. We no longer accept other payment methods such as electronic fund transfers, cheques and money orders.

The new system follows industry standards and will be more accurate and secure than the current system.

The process for making bulk fee payments, where a firm or organization pays the annual fees on behalf of their licensees, has changed.

The Law Society’s new bulk payment process is as follows:

1. By January 31, 2025 – all licensees within the firm or organization are required to begin the annual fee process to confirm their employment information, including their employer, and to generate their annual fee in LSO Connects. This action is crucial, as it will generate the annual fee amount owing and allow the Law Society to create a list of all licensees working at a particular firm or organization. It is also important that licensees within the firm or organization use the same name in the system for their employer. Use of the same name is critical as it will impact the accuracy of information provided to the firm or organization and their ability to pay on behalf of licensees.

   * Note: The following timelines are estimates and may vary depending on the number of firms or organizations that take-up this new program and may change based on the volume of requests received by the Law Society.

2. February 1 to 14*, 2025 – the Law Society will generate a list of all licensees who have confirmed their information, self-identified as employed or practising at the firm or organization and who have an annual fee balance in LSO Connects. This list will be provided to the respective firms and organizations.
3. February 15 to 28*, 2025 – firms and organizations review the list for completeness and accuracy. Firms and organizations should remove any licensee from the list if they are no longer with the firm or organization or if the firm or organization will not be paying for the licensee’s annual fee. Firms and organizations are to submit their final list to the Law Society by February 28, 2025.
4. March 1 to 8*, 2025 - the Law Society will review the list and provide the final bulk fee amount to each firm or organization for Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) payment by a specified date (anticipated to be around March 15). This completion date allows time to process the payment before the March 31 deadline. No further adjustments from the firm or organization can be processed after the date the final list is submitted to the Law Society.

Please Note: Occasional transactions, such as the payment of annual fees where a licensee joins the firm or organization after the bulk payment process has been completed or refunds related to the departure of a licensee from the firm or organization, will be transacted directly with that licensee.

If your firm or organization would like to participate in the bulk payment process, you must notify the Law Society by emailing [email protected] by December 6, 2024.

Please email [email protected] for more information about the process.

Ontario principals are still required to prepare and share a training plan with their candidates but are not required to submit the plan to the Law Society. Principals for national or international placements are required to provide additional details about the placement when they apply to become a principal for a national or international placement through LSO Connects.

Read more.

Principals and candidates are no longer required to report details of time off to the Law Society, although the Law Society will continue to set a maximum number of permitted days off during an articling placement.

As a principal, please work with the candidate to ensure the maximum time off is not exceeded or, if it is, that it is made up by an extension of the placement.

Licensing candidates are no longer required to complete or submit a temporary assignment of articling placement form if they transfer from one principal to another for up to three months during their articling placement.

As an articling principal, you manage the temporary assignment of articles that are less than three months long, where the placement begins and ends with you. Where the temporary assignment exceeds three months or the placement begins and ends with different principals, the first placement should be ended by the candidate by completing the first articling placement record on LSO Connects and starting a new placement through LSO Connects.

Previously, at the end of the articling placement, both the principal and candidate filed their respective Record of Experiential Training using the Articling Program Reporting Tool.

With LSO Connects, principals and candidates are no longer required to complete the Record of Experiential Training and the Articling Program Reporting Tool. Instead, candidates must complete an articling placement record through their LSO Connects account, which will be sent to their principal for review.

As a principal, you are still required to assess the candidate and provide them with feedback throughout and at the end of their placement.

Previously, some principals relied on proxies to access the Articling Program Reporting Tool and assist with certain administrative tasks related to articling placements.

Proxy access is no longer necessary or possible with the launch of LSO Connects. The Articling Program Reporting Tool has been retired and principals will not be required to submit a training plan or a Record of Experiential Training.

Candidates will submit their own documents through LSO Connects, which will automatically be sent to principals for review through the principal’s LSO Connects account.

As a principal, you will receive notification that information is available for your review through your LSO Connects account. You are required to review it and report if there are any inaccuracies.