For candidates
The Law Society of Ontario offers tutoring sessions with experienced licensees to candidates who have been unsuccessful on a licensing examination. Candidates can apply for up to five hours of free tutoring before their next attempt at the licensing examination in the same licensing term. Tutoring is assigned on a first-come, first-served basis. Before requesting tutoring, candidates must be registered to rewrite their licensing examination.
Candidates should carefully review their Licensing Examination Profile to determine the subject areas in which to request tutoring.
Deadline to submit requests for tutoring
Candidates must submit a service request for tutoring on LSO Connects on, or before, the applicable registration deadline for their licensing examination sitting. Please refer to Examination dates and deadlines, which sets out the applicable deadlines based on examination sitting. All requests are subject to tutor availability. Tutors are not compensated to provide tutoring services beyond the amount of time approved by the Law Society.
Process and requirements for tutoring
Once a candidate is matched with a tutor, the Law Society will provide the candidate with the tutor’s contact information. Candidates must contact each tutor to arrange a tutoring session within 72 hours of receiving the tutor’s contact information. Candidates may need to adjust their schedule to accommodate the tutor’s availability and should wait a reasonable amount of time (e.g., two business days) after first contacting a tutor to make a second attempt to contact the tutor.
If a candidate does not hear back from a tutor after four business days or if a tutor has indicated that they are no longer available, candidates should contact the Law Society by sending a message through LSO Connects for assistance.
Candidates are expected to communicate with tutors in a professional and courteous manner at all times and be respectful of each tutor’s time. Candidates must contact each tutor at least 24 hours in advance if they cannot attend a scheduled tutoring session. If they do not provide 24 hours’ notice, candidates may be charged a missed session fee of $75 and forfeit the allotted tutoring time.
Candidates must be on time for each tutoring session and prepare for the session in advance by having questions prepared and having notes on the specific sections of the study materials or concepts in law that are giving them difficulty. Tutoring is not a substitute for thorough review and self-study of the materials, and the tutor is not intended to be a teacher or instructor.
Tutors will determine the mode (online, by phone or in-person) and location of tutoring. Candidates are solely responsible for any telephone, internet, travel and any other costs associated with accessing tutoring sessions.
If any of the above requirements are not met, tutoring may be terminated for the session or tutoring may not be available to the candidate in the future.
Become a tutor
The Law Society welcomes practising lawyers and paralegals to support candidates in the licensing process as tutors. We are seeking licensees who can meet the following requirements:
- Be licensed with the Law Society and be entitled to practise law or provide legal services.
- Have at least three years’ experience in Ontario as a licensed lawyer or paralegal.
- For practising lawyers, be experienced in one or more of the following areas: civil litigation, family law, criminal law, administrative law, business law (tax), business law (corporate), real estate and/or estate law.
- For practising paralegals, be experienced in one or more of the following areas: civil litigation, administrative law, and/or criminal and quasi-criminal law.
- Be actively engaged in the practice of law or the provision of legal services, in the subject area(s) in which you wish to provide tutoring, for 18 months immediately preceding the tutor application.
You can apply to become a tutor by submitting a service request on LSO Connects.
Prospective or current tutors with any of the following are not eligible to act as tutors:
- open investigations being conducted by the Professional Regulation Division
- open complaints containing allegations of sexual harassment and/or discrimination
- outstanding disciplinary proceedings
- prior or current involvement as a Law Society licensing examination item writer, item appraiser or Advisory Group member
- current involvement with a private licensing examination preparation course.
If you meet the requirements, you may be placed on the tutoring roster and matched with a candidate, subject to candidates’ requests and based on area of law. You will be provided with a copy of the current study materials for the subject matter in which you are providing tutoring. Tutors will be remunerated at an hourly rate of up to $75 for time spent tutoring a candidate and will be eligible for up to six CPD hours per calendar year. Tutors may choose to redirect their fee to Lawyers Feed the Hungry.