Learn about the Quebec Bar Association (Barreau du Québec) and how it operates to support lawyers and the public in the province
Behind every great lawyer in Quebec stands the Quebec Bar Association (Barreau du Québec), guiding the legal profession with expertise and commitment. Ensuring that legal professionals are well-equipped to serve the public, the Quebec Bar Association is the heartbeat of the province’s legal profession.
In this article, we’ll discuss the different roles of the Barreau in regulating lawyers, including its membership benefits and how it sets the ethical standards for its members. This article can be used by future and current lawyers who want to know more about the association.
The Quebec Bar Association or the Barreau du Québec is the licensing and regulating authority for lawyers who are practising in Quebec. With this, it protects the public by ensuring that only qualified and ethical lawyers are allowed to practise law in the province.
Aside from acting as a regulatory body, the Barreau reaches outside the bar by helping the public. It looks to make justice more accessible and defend the rule of law in various ways.
Learn about the Barreau by checking out the plans of the association for its members with this video:
Our article on Canadian lawyers’ associations from coast to coast lists some of the national associations that you can join and benefit from.
First of the main roles of the Quebec Bar Association is the licensing of those who want to practice law in the province. Lawyers from the other provinces and territories will also have to be in touch with the Barreau. These include foreign lawyers who are licensed in their respective countries.
Below are the licensing processes that one must undergo, depending on one’s case:
Law students: After finishing an LL.B. or an LL.L degree with a law school in Quebec or another jurisidiction, a student must register and complete the professional training by the École du Barreau, which includes a six-month articling period. After this, a student will be eligible to take the oath and be entered on the Roll of the Order.
Foreign and Canadian lawyers: Apply for equivalence to obtain a temporary restrictive permit or a special authorization to practice in Quebec (e.g. for litigation or immigration files), which is valid for 12 months. For more permanence to practice law in Quebec, one can apply for permanent mobility (i.e. full permit, special corporate legal advisor permit, or special foreign legal consultant permit), which must be applied for annually.
In a way, membership with the Barreau du Québec is needed for all lawyers in the province. In any case, the association provides many benefits to support lawyers.
Here are some of the membership benefits of the Quebec Bar Association:
professional guides: includes the Practice Startup Service, a free practice start-up service for lawyers getting started in their profession; the Human Resources Management Support Guide to help first-time firm managers; and the SENC, SENCRL, and SPA guides
professional inspections: the Barreau conducts professional and accounting visits, including the start-up visits or professional support inspection visits, to help lawyers improve their practice
Service Corporation (Corporation de services): offers online training for lawyers’ continuing education, investment funds for the Barreau’s members, the JuriCareer, and the Jurifamily
The second most important role of the Quebec Bar Association is regulating the conduct of lawyers for the benefit of the public.
After reaching the bar, lawyers are still under the supervision of the Barreau. It is the Barreau that ensures that “lawyers provide quality services to the public and that they maintain their skills throughout their professional lives.”
For this purpose, the Barreau imposes the following obligations to its lawyer-members:
Working with their tagline “mon avocat, mon allié” (“my lawyer, my ally”), there are several ways that the Quebec Bar Association or the Barreau du Québec helps the public when it comes to their dealings with lawyers:
We’ll discuss these tasks below. Initially, this video shows a story of how members of the Quebec Bar Association help local communities:
Head over to our Special Report on The Top 10 Law Firms in Quebec to know who’s who among the legal professionals in the province.
Those who need a lawyer can easily find one with the help of the Barreau. The Barreau can help them identify which lawyer to hire vis-à-vis their fitness with the client’s legal matter, prepare for the first meeting with lawyer, and even verify the lawyer’s status.
For these, there are two features that the public can access within the Barreau’s website:
As the licensing body of lawyers in Quebec, the Barreau keeps a directory of licensed lawyers across the province. This tool can be filtered according to field of law, region, and company or employer. It works similarly to the director of lawyers in Quebec by Lexpert, one of our sister publications.
If unsure of the field of law that their legal concern falls under, the Barreau has its own legal glossary for all these areas of law.
The public can verify if the lawyer they’re dealing with is a member in good standing with the Barreau. This assures those who are looking for a lawyer that they’re talking to a legit legal professional.
To check a lawyer’s status on the Roll of the Order, the potential clients can:
Clients can also authenticate the signature of their lawyers by just filling out the form found on the Barreau’s website.
On top of the stress that they’re going through because of their legal matters, clients may sometimes be frustrated with the way their lawyers are handling their cases. For this, the Barreau can receive complaints against lawyers from the public.
The Barreau has separate bodies that can act on different matters when a client has a problem with their lawyer:
Office of the Syndic: a body that can investigate the matter being complained of by a client (e.g. lawyer’s billing) against their lawyer
Disciplinary Council: where a lawyer’s client can file a complaint directly, other than with the Office of the Syndic
Professional Liability Insurance Fund: if it’s a claim for damages for the lawyer’s error, fault, or omission
Compensation Fund: for claims related to the misappropriation of funds entrusted to a lawyer
But aside from these options, clients are encouraged by the Barreau to first reach out to their lawyer for an explanation of the alleged misconduct or error.
To decide if the lawyer has violated the law or any standard of the profession, filing a complaint against a lawyer can be done in two ways. The first is with the Office of the Syndic (Bureau du syndic), and the other is with the Disciplinary Council.
At no cost, a client can apply to the Office of the Syndic to ask for an ethics investigation of the allegedly erring lawyer. Filing with the Office involves the following steps:
The decision of the Office can be appealed by the complainant with the Office’s Review Committee.
Disciplinary Council
On the other hand, a client can directly file a complaint with the Disciplinary Council without going through the Office of the Syndic. Still, there must be a written application, which must have a sworn declaration and the details of the lawyer’s alleged misconduct.
The Council will either dismiss the complaint or declare the lawyer guilty. Penalties that are imposed on the lawyer may be any or a combination of the following:
The Council will also decide on the payment of the costs incurred for the complaint. As to appeals, the Council’s decision can be appealed to the Professions Tribunal. However, if the complaint was filed by the Office of the Syndic, only the Office and the lawyer involved can appeal against the Council’s decision.
The Professional Liability Insurance Fund (Fonds d’assurance responsabilité professionnelle du Barreau du Québec) provides professional liability coverage to the members of the Barreau. It is the Fund that will indemnify a complainant if the insured lawyer becomes liable for their act or omission.
To make a valid claim with the Fund, the liability of the lawyer must be proven through the following:
When dealing with the Fund, it’s recommended that complainants seek independent legal advice, since the Fund will be working on the side of the insured lawyer.
The Compensation Fund of the Barreau (Fonds d’indemnisation du Barreau du Québec) is the right body to handle complaints about the lawyer’s misuse of their client’s money or property. This Fund was created to investigate and compensate clients in such cases.
If after the investigation, the Fund found that the claim is valid, it will make a recommendation to the Barreau’s Board of Directors, which will decide on the claim.
From professional development to protecting the public, the Quebec Bar Association plays an important role in supporting a fair and just legal system. With its unwavering commitment to ethics and excellence, the association ensures that the legal profession stays strong and reliable. The Barreau du Québec is more than just a lawyers’ association; it’s the driving force in the province’s legal profession.
More resources about the Quebec Bar Association and other lawyers’ associations are found on our Professional Regulation page.
