National Committee on Accreditation 

To practise law in Canada, students with a University of Limerick LLB (graduate entry) degree, LLB in Law Plus, or BA in Law Accounting will be required to demonstrate their competence to the National Committee on Accreditation (NCA), as having a law degree in the Ireland does not mean you have a law degree in Canada.

The NCA assesses the qualifications of individuals with legal qualifications obtained outside of Canada who wish to be admitted to a common law bar in Canada. Accreditation is decided on an individual basis, taking into account the particular circumstances of that individual's educational and professional background.

A key area of concern by the Committee is the qualities of grades attained during your degree.

After reviewing an application, the NCA will issue an assessment result to the applicant listing the subjects and/or legal education that is required to ensure that the applicant’s legal education and training is comparable to that provided by an approved law school in Canada.

In order to obtain an NCA Certificate of Qualification, most applicants are required to demonstrate competence in a number of subjects. Applicants may demonstrate competence in one of three ways:

  • You can apply to a law school in Canada to complete the remaining courses;
  • You can do self study where the NCA provides a syllabus to you and you study at home. The tests are organized 4 times a year (January, May, August and October) and they will be pass/fail.

 

Exams

Every Law graduate who has studied outside of Canada must complete the five exams of Canadian content:

  1. Foundations of Canadian Law
  2. Canadian Criminal Law
  3. Canadian Constitutional Law
  4. Canadian Administrative Law
  5. Canadian Professional Responsibility
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  • If a student completes a 2-year graduate entry LLB and achieves a 2:2 (a 50% average, which is equivalent to a 60% average in Canada) with no individual marks under 46%, then they will have 7 exams to do: the 5 mandatory exams, plus another 2 assigned by the NCA.

 

  • If a student completes a 3-year LLB and achieves a 2:2 (a 50% average, which is equivalent to a 60% average in Canada) with no individual modules under 46% and they already had at least 2 years at university before entering Law School, they will have 5 exams to do: the 5 mandatory exams.

 

  • If a student completes a 3-year LLB and achieves a 2:2 (a 50% average, which is equivalent to a 60% average in Canada) with no individual modules under 46% and with less than 2 years at university before entering Law School, they will have 7 exams to do: the 5 mandatory exams, plus another 2 assigned by the NCA.

 

  • If a student completes a 3-year Joint Honours LLB and achieves a 2:2 (a 50% average, which is equivalent to a 60% average in Canada) with no individual marks under 46% and they already had at least 2 years at university before entering Law School, they will have 7 exams to do: the 5 mandatory exams, plus another 2 assigned by the NCA.

 

  • If a student completes a 3-year Joint Honours LLB and achieves a 2:2 (a 50% average, which is equivalent to a 60% average in Canada) with no individual modules under 46% and with less than 2 years at university before entering Law School, they will have 8-9 exams to do: the 5 mandatory exams, plus another 3-4 assigned by the NCA.

Please note the other core subjects required by the NCA are:

  • Tort Law
  • Contract Law
  • Property Law
  • Business Organisations

Most law societies in Canada accept the NCA's Certificate of Qualifications for entry to their bar admissions process. Additional requirements for the Canadian Bar are determined by the NCA, except Quebec.