Regulations for Paralegal Representatives

Effective November 1, 2007, in order to continue to provide legal services, all paralegals must have submitted a completed Registration and Application form to the Law Society of Upper Canada and obtained errors and omissions insurance. The only exceptions are those persons who are exempt from the licensing requirement either under the Law Society Act or pursuant to a bylaw passed by the Law Society of Upper Canada.

As of November 1, 2007, worker and employer representatives will be required to provide the WSIB (e.g. claims adjudicators and account representatives) with confirmation of their licensing status for all WSIB matters such as employer firm files and worker claim files.

Requirements as of November 1, 2007:

When you become a representative for a worker or employer, you will be required to complete and submit an authorization form:

  • If you are already an authorized representative on an employer or worker file as of November 1, 2007, you are not required to complete the attached form. However, you will be required to provide your Law Society of Upper Canada application number or, if applicable, your exemption status to the responsible WSIB employee.
  • If you have a claim with the WSIB Appeals Branch, you must provide this notice to the responsible appeals resolution officer.

Effective November 1, 2007, the WSIB will not accept as representatives those individuals who have not applied for a paralegal licence and who are not otherwise exempt from the licensing requirement.

Until October 31, 2007, the Law Society of Upper Canada accepted applications for licences from paralegals already practising in permitted areas of practice. These are known as “grandparent” or “transitional” applicants. Eligible applicants will be required to pass a licensing exam that will be given in early 2008. The Law Society of Upper Canada expects that the first paralegal licences will be issued in the spring of 2008.

Who is eligible to provide legal services?

After October 31, 2007, only those paralegal representatives who are candidates for licensing may continue to practise. When the Law Society of Upper Canada receives a candidate’s complete application to enter the licensing process, it will add the name of that paralegal to the Paralegal Candidate Directory, available on the Law Society of Upper Canada’s website.

Not all paralegals are required to apply for a licence

Please contact the Law Society of Upper Canada to obtain information about paralegals who are exempt from licensing. Note that WSIB staff cannot provide you with this information.

You may obtain more information about paralegal licensing from the Law Society of Upper Canada website. You may also call the Law Society of Upper Canada at 416-947-3315 or 1-800-668-7380.

For more information please contact Greg Bullen, WSIB Legal Counsel, at 416-344-4471.

Authorization forms