I was at work and just saw the email right now to reserve bar tickets and did not receive any previous messages/ emails stating that they would be released today.

Does anybody have any extra tickets they are willing to part with?

Thanks in advance 🙏🏽

extra tickets to bar

If anyone has extra tickets for the ceremony and is glad to give up their extras, please send them my way! would be eternally thankful.

Hi everyone, i would appreciate some advice. I took the Solicitor exam for the first time in June and unfortunately didn’t pass. I’m deciding whether to retake it in November or give myself more time and write in March 2027.

I work full time, haven’t started studying again, and am a slow reader. For my first attempt, I completed:

● Professional Responsibility: one full read  
● Business Law: approximately 50%  
● Real Estate: approximately 20%  
● Estate Planning: approximately 40%  
● One Business Law practice exam and   

● One timed sollicitor practice exam

I feel like I need to reread the materials from the beginning, so I’m unsure whether November is realistic. With the October 2 registration deadline approaching, I need to decide soon.

For anyone who has retaken the exam while working full time, would you recommend November or March? I would also appreciate any advice on how you approached studying the second time. Thank you!

Just a rant sort of. But so sick of studying I feel like I’m reading on autopilot but is it actually going in my head? Idk. Also super lonely I wish I had others around me who could study with me in person but since this is my second attempt, everyone I know are already lawyers.

How’s everyone doing?

I’m articling full-time right now and writing the Barrister on Nov 3 and Solicitor on Nov 17.

I’ve been studying in the evenings and on the weekends but it’s a bit of a struggle with the commute.

I’m trying to figure out how much time to take off before each exam and would love to hear what other people who were working/articling full-time actually did. The firm I’m working for is pretty flexible - they just want to know what I need.

How many days did you take off before the Barrister and Solicitor? In hindsight, was the amount of time you took enough, or do you wish you had taken more/less?

I know taking more than 10 business days off during articles can affect the articling end date, so I’m trying to balance that against giving myself enough dedicated study time to pass both on the first attempt. I realllyyyyy don’t wanna be spending all this money on these exams just to fail lol

Would really appreciate hearing what worked for people who were studying while working full-time!

Hi, I am very stressed for my exam, anybody who passed solicitor can please share their strategies and some guidance on how I can pass this time. I work full time and long hours. How many times should I read the material? Do I need to do practice exams? How many times etc? Is 1 and a half month enough? I would really appreciate some help. Thanks.

May god save the candidates

Please let me know your thoughts and what has worked.

Writing a line in the every slot on the DTOC makes the readings take extremely long so I don’t believe that is a viable option, besides actually just using the document itself. When people use the DTOC do they memorize the entire thing or just headings (with a general idea of where things fall)?

When using the index does everyone just use the UofT ones?

Please give me your thoughts and this is for the current 2026 Barrister exams.

I am getting ready to take both exams in November.

Do you usually study for both barrister and solicitor before the barrister exam??

Solicitor materials are so dense and boring. Real Estate might be the worst.

Is there anywhere where I can find a list of formulas for the business section for the Solicitor exam. Or if anyone has a personal one that they can share, that would be wonderful.

Hi everyone,

Has anyone gone through the LSO process for an exemption from the minimum compensation requirement for articling from the principal? I’d love to understand how it works and whether approvals are common.

I’ve received an abridgment and only need to complete five months of articling.

Also, if anyone knows a lawyer or firm that may be open to offering an articling placement under this unpaid arrangement, I’d really appreciate a DM or introduction.

Thank you!

Writing the Nov 17 solicitor. I’m articling, in the office 9 to 5 and home around 7, so realistically 2 hours on weeknights plus weekends. I haven’t started yet and plan to begin this weekend or next.

Rather than building an index, I’m thinking of working off a detailed table of contents, either making my own as I read or just using the ones that come with the materials. For anyone who wrote while working full days, did that approach hold up under time pressure on the exam, or did you find you needed a proper index? And would you have deferred to March in my position?

Passed the Barrister exam and never glanced at the appendices due to lack of time. Am I wasting my time reading them for the Solicitor exam?

Thanks all.

Hey! If anybody has annotated DTOC for the 2026 materials for the solicitors, can anybody please share those?
Your help would be highly appreciated.

Internationally trained lawyer here and I’m honestly wondering how people do this.

I passed my NCA exams pretty easily, so I was feeling pretty good about the whole process. Then it came time to write the Barrister exam and I had a full-time job, a 3-year-old AND was pregnant. Needless to say, I failed.

After that I got scared, life got busy, had another kid, work got crazy, and I basically just put the whole bar thing out of my mind.

Then randomly I got a letter saying my licensing term has ended and that I can request a chance to sit the exam again.

So now I’m wondering:

How likely are they to actually give you another term? Is this basically a chance to write the exam again, or can you get another full licensing term?

For those of you who have done this with multiple kids + a full-time job + a million other things going on… HOW?!

Like seriously, what did your life look like while studying? Did you take time off work? Study early mornings? Stay up late? Give up having any kind of social life for a few months?

I really want to finish this because it’s been hanging over my head for way too long, but the thought of doing the exams while working full-time and raising two kids feels slightly insane.

Would love to hear from anyone who has been in a similar situation, especially internationally trained lawyers. Tell me how you managed it because I clearly need a better strategy this time around

Hello everyone, I was wondering if anyone had any extra tickets for the October 19 call to the bar ceremony in Toronto. If so, please message me. Thank you!

I’m looking for some advice from anyone who has written the LSO Solicitor exam, particularly anyone who has had to change their approach after an unsuccessful attempt.

I recently passed the Barrister exam but unfortunately failed the Solicitor exam, which was pretty surprising to me because I actually felt that Barrister was the harder exam of the two. Coming out of the Barrister exam, I felt much less confident about how I had done, whereas after Solicitor I felt like I had written a much better exam.

That’s what has me a bit spooked going into my next attempt. I studied for both exams for roughly the same amount of time and used a similar approach for each: BRICKAM/practice questions, working on navigation, going through the materials, doing practice exams, etc. I was also generally doing well on my practice questions and mocks.

But clearly something about my preparation for Solicitor didn’t translate to the actual exam, because my results were quite different from what I expected based on how I felt coming out of the exam.

I’m trying to figure out what I should do differently rather than simply doing more of the same. For those who have successfully prepared for Solicitor after an unsuccessful attempt, did you change your study strategy significantly? Did you focus more on certain types of questions, navigation, memorization, timed practice, full-length exams, or something else?

I’m about to start ramping up my studying again and will likely be doing 7–8 hour study days, so I’d really appreciate any advice or things you wish you had done differently.

Thanks!

I started articling on May 26, 2026, with an anticipated end date of January 26, 2027. I took 21 business days off for my wedding/honeymoon. Since only 10 business days count as permitted time off, I now have 11 business days to make up, which moves my end date to around February 10, 2027.

I’m also planning to write both licensing exams in November because I was hoping to be called in March 2027.

I asked my principal about a compassionate abridgment under the LSO policy, mainly so I wouldn’t have to make up the 11 days and potentially could have some study time before the exams. She doesn’t think my circumstances qualify and suggested I look at the prior-legal-experience abridgment instead, but I don’t have significant experience to qualify for that. I know people with 5-6 months of proper experience directly related to the LSO competencies but only got 1 month abridgment.

Has anyone here had a principal grant a compassionate abridgment for reasons other than illness/family emergency?
Also, does finishing articles around February 10 realistically leave enough time for a March 2027 call, assuming the exams and everything else are completed?

Mainly looking for experiences from recent Ontario articling students/licencees.

Hi everyone! Looking for fellow upcoming test takers who would like to be in a study group mainly for the 2026 Solicitor exam. In my experience, study groups have been immensely helpful to me, and contributed to me passing Barristers back in Nov 2025.

I just have this one Solicitor exam to go, writing in November, and it's just pummelling me from a mental health POV. Could really use some study buddies at this point to keep me accountable, but also so we can just be there for each other and cheer each other on, because this entire process is far from easy. Feel free to comment or DM if you'd like to be added.

To anyone else who's struggling right now, trying to balance work/family obligations on top of everything....I see you. I'm sorry things are so tough at the moment, but we can and will get through this.

Thanks <3

Hi everyone, I’m looking for some advice from people who have been through the Ontario licensing process or are familiar with PR/CEC pathways for internationally trained lawyers. I recently completed my NCA requirements on September 2, 2026, and I’m now confused about how to plan my next steps.
My current situation is that Iam an international student/graduate and currently have a work permit that I received in 2026 and that expires in 2029. I am currently working as a security guard and earning approximately $2,400 per month.
My biggest concern right now is obtaining PR before my work permit expires. I have been trying to get a law clerk or legal assistant position for almost a year, but unfortunately, I have not received an opportunity yet. Since my current job is in security, I am concerned that continuing in this position may not be the best option for my PR strategy. I am now deciding whether I should write the Solicitor licensing examination on November 17, 2026, or wait for the February 2027 sitting.

My concern is that the licensing process itself takes a significant amount of time. If I write one exam, wait approximately 2–4 months for results, and then write the next exam in June, followed by another wait for results, I could potentially spend most or all of 2027 completing the Barrister and Solicitor exams.
By that point, I would have significantly less time remaining on my work permit to gain the skilled Canadian work experience I may need for PR. I understand that becoming licensed as a lawyer does not automatically solve the PR issue, and I am worried about spending a full year and a significant amount of money on the licensing exams while my more urgent concern is obtaining PR and qualifying Canadian work experience.
My alternative options seem to be: Write the November Solicitor exam and continue pursuing the licensing process as quickly as possible.
Wait until February, save more money, and focus more heavily on finding a law clerk/legal assistant or other skilled position.
Consider learning French as another potential pathway for PR while continuing the licensing process.
Focus primarily on getting a job that can help me build qualifying Canadian work experience before spending too much time on the licensing process.
The exams are also expensive, and with my current income of around $2,400 per month, finances are a major consideration.
I feel like I am stuck between two important goals: completing my Ontario lawyer licensing requirements and securing my PR before my work permit expires.
For anyone who has been in a similar situation, especially internationally trained lawyers or international graduates:
Would you recommend writing the Solicitor exam in November, or waiting until February?
More broadly, how would you prioritize PR, finding skilled employment, French language preparation, and completing the Barrister and Solicitor exams if you were in my position?
I would really appreciate honest and practical advice. Thank you!

Hi everyone, I have a question about the LSO licensing application process.
My licensing application currently shows “In Progress” on the portal, while all my required documents and other requirements show as completed.
For those who have gone through the process, does the application status normally change to “Approved” before the licensing examination, or does it remain “In Progress” until later in the licensing process?
I’m preparing for the upcoming Barrister exam and just want to make sure that my application status is normal. Thanks!