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 the philosophy, hypothesis and history of law, and giving expert legal opinions.
A lawyer or attorney is a person who practices law, as an advocate, attorney at law, barrister, barrister-at-law, bar-at-law, canonist, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solicitor, legal executive, or public servant preparing, interpreting and applying the law, but not as a paralegal or charter executive secretary. Working as a lawyer involves the practical application of abstract legal theories and knowledge to solve specific individualized problems, or to advance the interests of those who hire lawyers to perform legal services. The role of the lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions.
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 separate the area in which court business is done from the viewing area for the general public.
A law society is an association of lawyers with a regulatory role that includes the right to supervise the training, qualifications, and conduct of lawyers. Where there is a distinction between barristers and solicitors, solicitors are regulated by the law societies and barristers by a separate bar council.
The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received a "call to the bar." "The bar" is now used as a collective noun for barristers, but literally referred to the wooden barrier in old courtrooms, which separated the often crowded public area at the rear from the space near the judges reserved for those having business with the Court. Barristers would sit or stand immediately behind it, facing the judge, and could use it as a table for their briefs.
A bar examination is an examination administered by the bar association of a jurisdiction that a lawyer must pass in order to be admitted to the bar of that jurisdiction.
The University of CalgaryFaculty of Law, at the University of Calgary. is a law school in Calgary, Alberta.
Black v Law Society of Alberta, [1989] 1 SCR 591 is a leading Supreme Court of Canada on the freedom of mobility and freedom of association under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Continuing legal education (CLE), also known as mandatory or minimum continuing legal education (MCLE) or, in some jurisdictions outside the United States, as continuing professional development, consists of professional education for attorneys that takes place after their initial admission to the bar. Within the United States, U.S. attorneys in many states and territories must complete certain required CLE in order to maintain their U.S. licenses to practice law. Outside the United States, lawyers in various jurisdictions, such as British Columbia in Canada, must also complete certain required CLE. However, some jurisdictions, such as the District of Columbia and Israel, recommend, but do not require, that attorneys complete CLE.
Thomas Mitchell March Tweedie was a Canadian politician, lawyer and Chief Justice in Alberta, Canada.
Gavin MacKenzie is a Canadian lawyer and former Treasurer of the Law Society of Upper Canada. He works as a lawyer and partner at MacKenzie Barristers, a boutique litigation firm in Toronto, Ontario that he co-founded with his daughter, Brooke. MacKenzie's practice focuses primarily on civil appeals and professional liability litigation.
The Law Society of Alberta (LSA) is the self-regulating body for lawyers in Alberta, Canada. Its main office in Alberta is located at Suite 700 - 333 11th Avenue SW, Calgary, Alberta T2R 1L9.
The Law Society of Manitoba is the self-governing body for lawyers in Manitoba, Canada. Its mandate is to regulate the legal profession.
William Legh Walsh, KC was a Canadian lawyer and judge. He served as the fourth lieutenant governor of Alberta from 1931 to 1936.
The Ontario Bar Association is a bar association representing more than 16,000 lawyers, judges, notaries, law teachers, and law students from across Ontario. It is also a branch of the Canadian Bar Association. Approximately two-thirds of all practicing lawyers in Canada belong to the CBA.
Jacques Viau O.C., c.r., LL.L., LL.D., (1919–2003) was a Canadian lawyer practising in Montreal, Quebec. He served as bâtonnier of the Barreau du Québec and the Bar of Montreal. He also served as president of the Canadian Bar Association from 1977 to 1978. During his term in office, he chaired a committee which produced a major set of recommendations for reform of the Constitution of Canada.
Thomas Joseph Walsh, C.M., A.O.E., Q.C., LL.D (Hon.) was a Canadian lawyer, practising in Calgary, Alberta. In addition to a busy legal practice, he was very active in his community and profession, including serving a term as national president of the Canadian Bar Association. His community involvement was recognised by his appointment to the Order of Canada and to the Alberta Order of Excellence.
J. Patrick Peacock, is a Canadian lawyer in Calgary, Alberta. He specializes in litigation and has been very active in the legal profession. He was the national president of the Canadian Bar Association in 1988-89. He was also the president of the Calgary Stampeders in the Canadian Football League, in 1985-86.
Violet Pauline King Henry was the first black woman lawyer in Canada, the first black person to graduate law in Alberta and the first black person to be admitted to the Alberta Bar. She was also the first woman named to a senior management position with the American national YMCA.
Sheilah L. Martin is a Puisne Justice on the Supreme Court of Canada, having served in that role since December 18, 2017. She was nominated to the court by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on November 29, 2017. Before her appointment to Canada's highest court, Martin had served on the Court of Appeal of Alberta, the Court of Appeal for the Northwest Territories, and the Court of Appeal of Nunavut since 2016, and the Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta from 2005 to 2016. Martin is considered an expert in judicial ethics.
