Objectives

Primary Objectives

Amicus Curiae Professional Law School (the “School”, “Amicus Curiae PLS”) was formed in February 2008 as a federal corporation (Corp. No. 692673-8) with the principal objective of assisting foreign lawyers (i.e. international lawyers not admitted in a Canadian jurisdiction), non-lawyers in possession of a non-Canadian law degree and Quebec admitted lawyers in their pursuit in seeking admission as lawyers in a Canadian province (other than Quebec), by the provision of tuition on selected areas of Canadian law for the purpose of writing the Challenge Examinations set by the National Committee of Accreditation.

The other objective of the School is to provide general working knowledge of selected areas of Canadian law to interested members of the public. Interested members of the public are normally general working adults in a specific profession, but we do not place artificial limits on valuable knowledge and education so that anyone who is not a lawyer and who is not in possession of a law degree who wishes to have some legal knowledge is most welcome at Amicus Curiae PLS.

Practitioners treated as Practitioners

Here at Amicus Curiae PLS, we recognise the material fact that fellow law practitioners around the globe are first and foremost practitioners, and we treat and respect them as such, i.e., as members of an honourable and distinguished profession, and not as undergraduate law students or otherwise. We give effect to this important fact in various ways, for example, in our nomenclature, where those who enrol with us are termed “participants” as opposed to “students”. We also recognise the needs and constraints faced by practitioners, and very much understand why there are practitioners averse to self-study or having to become an undergraduate all over again and undertake a programme of law in an academic law school.

Practitioners-for-Practitioners Law School

Arising from our regard for our fellow brethren in law around the globe is our motto that Amicus Curiae PLS is a “practitioners-for-practitioners” law school, meaning that it is practising Canadian lawyers who assist fellow foreign lawyers around the globe, and this is achieved primarily through the provision of tuition on selected areas of Canadian law. Secondary assistance is in the form of networking, connection and general understanding of the mechanics of legal practice in Canada.

Service is Important to Us

At Amicus Curiae PLS, not only is it important to us but we also pride on the fact that we treat practitioners as such, and to this end we endeavour to be as service-oriented as possible. This can be seen in several features of our School; for example, the conducting of classes mainly in weekday evenings and on weekends, the delivery of modules in the form of seminars rather than the lecture/tutorial method adopted in undergraduate law schools and the provision of housing assistance. The idea is to ensure that participants are immersed in an adult environment rather than an undergraduate student environment. Our service standards naturally extend to non-practitioners with a law degree and adults without a law degree.

Courses

Our courses will be delivered in September 2010 in downtown Toronto (for those seeking admission in Ontario). This is to assist your immigration and other timelines. Courses in Vancouver (for British Columbia admissions) and Calgary (for Alberta admissions) are targeted for delivery in April 2011 but this will be finalised and made known at the appropriate time. Applications to enrol with us open 4 months before the commencement of each term.

The delivery of modules will be the traditional “face-to-face” method. In time to come, however, we may provide online tuition so that foreign practitioners and non-practitioners can be the beneficiaries of our courses at the comfort of their home without the need to travel downtown.

Flexibility

We attempt to be flexible in accommodating the needs of foreign lawyers and non-lawyers, and to this end we have arrangements for housing assistance.

Independant Professional Law School

We are an independent professional law school. We are not connected with the National Committee of Accreditation or any other bodies (such as a Law Society). As far as we know, we are the first and only professional law school in the entire of Canada.

Feel Free to Browse

You are invited to browse our web pages, which should provide relevant information, such as the modules offered, the terms and sessions in a year and the fees involved. Kindly note that though most of the material in our website refers to foreign lawyers, they equally apply to non-lawyers with a foreign law degree and non-lawyers without a law degree.

Should you have any queries or feedback, please do not hesitate to drop an email to our Chief Operations Officer. We value all inquiries and feedback.