A law society is an association of

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solicit ...

s with a regulatory role that includes the right to supervise the training, qualifications, and conduct of lawyers. Where there is a distinction between

barristers A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and givin ...

and

solicitors A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and ...

, solicitors are regulated by the law societies and barristers by a separate bar council.

History

Much has changed for law societies in recent years, with governments in Australia, New Zealand, England, Wales, and Scotland creating government sponsored regulators for lawyers (both barristers and solicitors), leaving to law societies the role of advocacy on behalf of their members.

Canada

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

, each province and territory has a law society (french: barreau) with statutory responsibility for regulation of the legal profession in the public interest. These law societies are members of the Federation of Law Societies of Canada, which seeks to increase coordination between its members and encourage the standardization of members’ rules and procedures. In Canada’s

common law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omniprese ...

jurisdictions, lawyers are both

and

. Consequently, there is one law society per province or territory to regulate and represent the interests of legal professionals. In

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirte ...

, Canada’s only civil law jurisdiction, the legal profession is split between legal advocates, governed by the Bar of Quebec, and civil law notaries, governed by the Chamber of Notaries of Quebec.

United Kingdom

The 1739/40 Society of Gentleman Practisers in the Courts of Law and Equity has been described as the first law society in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

. However its relationship to the modern Law Society of England and Wales (founded 1825) is unclear.

United States

In the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

, unified

bar association A bar association is a professional association of lawyers as generally organized in countries following the Anglo-American types of jurisprudence. The word bar is derived from the old English/European custom of using a physical railing to se ...

s are somewhat similar to law societies; however, there are differences between law societies and the general American phenomenon of bar associations. Usually a bar association is an association of lawyers; lawyers may or may not join as they wish. Regulation of American lawyers usually takes places through the courts, which decide who gets admitted as a lawyer, and also decide discipline cases. Law societies are often created by legislation and play (or played) significant direct roles in the training, licensing and disciplining of lawyers. The conflict or roles between being a regulator and a trade association is seen by many as giving rise to the recent move to government sponsored regulators. Law societies also play a role as part of the justice system, and concern themselves with access to justice. As a result, they may offer paid and unpaid legal assistance to the public or specific target audiences, and have historically been involved in the development of

legal aid Legal aid is the provision of assistance to people who are unable to afford legal representation and access to the court system. Legal aid is regarded as central in providing access to justice by ensuring equality before the law, the right to c ...

plans.

List of law societies

Britain and Ireland

* Law Society of England and Wales (c. 1825) * Law Society of Scotland (c. 1949) * Law Society of Ireland (c. 1852) * Law Society of Northern Ireland (c. 1922) * Isle of Man Law Society (c. 1859) *

Ecclesiastical Law Society The Ecclesiastical Law Society is an organization based in the United Kingdom that "exists to promote the study of ecclesiastical and canon law particularly in the Church of England and those churches in communion with it." All are welcome to jo ...

, Church of England (1987) * Society of Solicitor Advocates, Scotland (1994) * Cambridge University Law Society (c. 1901)

Australia

Law Societies in Australia represent the interests of solicitors and are organised in each State and mainland territory. Australia has a split profession, and barristers' interests are represented by separately-organised Bar Councils in each State and territory. The

Law Council of Australia The Law Council of Australia, founded in 1933, is an association of law societies and bar associations from the states and territories of Australia, and the peak body representing the legal profession in Australia. The Law Council represent ...

is a peak body representing the interests of all legal practitioners at federal level. * Law Society of New South Wales (informally 1842; formally 1884) * Law Society of Tasmania (informally 1845; formally 1888) * Law Institute of Victoria (1859) * Queensland Law Society (informally 1873; formally 1883) *

Law Society of South Australia Law is a set of rules that are created and are law enforcement, enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. ...

(1879) * Law Society of Western Australia (1927) * ACT Law Society (1933) *

(1933) * Law Society of the Northern Territory (1968)

Canada

Each province and territory in Canada has a law society which governs the legal profession, with the exception of Quebec, which has two. *

Law Society of Alberta The Law Society of Alberta (LSA) is the self-regulating body for lawyers in Alberta, Canada, established in 1907 which derives its authority from the Legal Profession Act of the Government of Alberta. Its main office is located in Calgary. As ...

(1907) * Law Society of British Columbia (1869) *

Law Society of Manitoba The Law Society of Manitoba (LSM) is the self-governing regulatory body of the legal profession in Manitoba, Canada. Membership in the LSM is required in order to practice law in the province. , the LSM had 2072 members with active practising s ...

(1907) *

(1907) * Law Society of New Brunswick (1846) * Law Society of Newfoundland and Labrador (1834) * Law Society of the Northwest Territories (1978) * Nova Scotia Barristers' Society (1825) - succeeded Nova Scotia Bar c. 1749 * Law Society of Nunavut (1999) * Law Society of Ontario (1797) * Law Society of Prince Edward Island (1876) * Bar of Quebec (1849) - succeeding the non-statutory body Community of Lawyers (Communauté des avocats) c. 1765 * Chamber of Notaries of Quebec (1870) * Law Society of Saskatchewan (1907) * Law Society of Yukon (1971) *