Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society also adds African Nova Scotian competency section
By a motion passed on Sept. 18, the Council of the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society (NSBS) has replaced the previous entry-to-practice competency framework with the competencies for entry to legal practice (CELP), alongside an African Nova Scotian competency addendum.
According to the society’s news release, this motion seeks to integrate the new CELP framework into the articling and admission program.
The NSBS said it decided to embrace the new competency profile after extensively consulting with focus groups with principals, recently admitted lawyers, government and in-house counsel, law firms, legal educators, and other stakeholders across the province.
The society clarified that the new CELP will not affect those beginning articles in June 2027.
Amid an increasingly mobile legal profession, the NSBS acknowledged significant technological developments and shifts in client expectations since the adoption of the existing entry-to-practice competency framework in 2017.
CELP framework
The new framework lists the following competency domains:
- ethics and professional responsibilities: demonstrating ethical and appropriate behaviour in all professional matters and respecting equality and diversity
- communication: delivering clear, accurate, and well-reasoned communications that support the advancement of matters
- truth and reconciliation: understanding Canadian law’s historical and current impacts on Canada’s Indigenous peoples and ways of incorporating reconciliation into practice
- professional relationship management: establishing, maintaining, and concluding relationships with others in a professional and civil manner with a client-centred approach
- critical thinking and analysis: using critical thinking and analysis to support clients’ pursuit of their goals, priorities, and broader interests
- advice and advocacy: representing clients’ interests, informing clients, and advancing clients’ positions
- practice management and well-being: responsibly managing one’s work and practice, including oneself, files, technology, and risks
The NSBS explained that five Canadian law societies and the Canadian Centre for Professional Legal Education worked together to develop the new competency profile.
In its news release, the society shared that the new CELP seeks to:
- Modernize the competencies expected of Nova Scotia’s entry-level legal professionals
- Align the province with other Canadian jurisdictions that have adopted the CELP, specifically British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba
- Ensure a consistent lawyer development approach throughout five of the country’s common law jurisdictions
African Nova Scotian competency addendum
The addendum identifies the following competencies:
- understanding the history, experiences, and impacts of law on African Nova Scotians as a distinct people, including enslavement, segregation, current legal issues, and land access, quality, and tenure
- recognizing how law may create, maintain, or remedy racism and discrimination against African Nova Scotians
- understanding how to implement in law, legal systems, and practice African Nova Scotian inclusion, freedom from anti-Black racism, and systemic discrimination, as well as substantive equality and justice for African Nova Scotians
In its news release, the NSBS noted its plans to share more information about the new framework in the coming months.
More news on Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society
Here are some other recent news stories involving the NSBS.
In June, the society announced the release of its 2025 annual report, covering its work from May 1, 2025, to Apr. 30, 2026, including its efforts to establish the new competency framework.
In May, the NSBS highlighted the publication of a report on its work last year to implement Douglas Ruck’s recommendations for addressing systemic racism within the society and the Nova Scotia legal profession.
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