Under s.15(1) of the Legal Profession Act, no member can resign from the Society without the consent of the Executive.
Pursuant to s.58 of the Rules, a Notice of Cessation of Practice or Change of Status (Form R.1) shall be submitted to the Executive. However:
- If you change employer while remaining an active member, you do not need to submit Form R.1 with the exception of cessation of private practice.
- Whether you were practicing law in a law firm, as a sole practitioner or as an employee, you may be required to provide more details on the disposition of your files & documents that relate to your practice in Nunavut.
- Examples where you are considered an employee : Working at Legal Aid, the Government of Nunavut, Justice Canada, etc.
Please complete the Form R.1 relevant to your practice:
If you are ceasing your private practicei.e. you are leaving practice of law in Nunavut as a sole practitioner |
Complete Form R.1-A for members leaving practice as a sole practitioner |
If you are ceasing your practicei.e. you are resigning from the Law Society |
Complete Form R.1-B for members leaving practice in a law firm Complete Form R.1-C for members leaving practice as an employee |
If you are changing your status from active to inactive |
Complete : Form R.1-D for members changing their status |
How to Submit your Notice of Cessation of Practice or Change of Status
The Notice of cessation of Practice or Change of Status (Form R.1) shall be submitted to the Executive at least 14 days before an anticipated resignation/change of status.
The LSN administrator will be notified and will share your notice to the Executive for their review.
Pursuant to ss.58(2) of the Rules, the Executive may:
- approve the intended disposition described in your notice;
- provide direction with respect to the intended disposition described in your notice; or
- require that you submit an official statement confirming the disposition described in the notice.
The LSN administrator will communicate with you and share the Executive's decision after their review.
- A member who has resigned is NOT permitted to provide legal services in Nunavut and will not continue to receive Society notices and communications.
- If you wish to resign prior to the membership renewal deadline, you should ensure your application is submitted in advance of the January 31st deadline or you may be automatically suspended for failing to renew your membership.
- If you wish to resume practicing law in Nunavut after resigning : please see the Resumption of Practice section for instructions on how to be reinstated as an active member.
Inactive members retain membership with the Law Society but are NOT permitted to provide legal services in Nunavut.
If you wish to resume practicing law in Nunavut after inactivating your membership: please see the Resumption of Practice section to change your membership status from inactive to active.
- Inactive members are:
- eligible to be nominated as a candidate for the Executive;
- entitled to cast their vote in the Executive elections;
- required to renew their membership each calendar year (please see the Fees Chart for regular inactive membership).
- Inactive members are not required to:
- maintain professional liability coverage;
- report CLE hours for the period they are not active.
- Inactive members will continue to receive LSN notices and communications.
**If you are changing your status during renewal period, please refer to the renewal webpage for more information. You will need to upload your Form R.1 directly in your renewal application.
STEP 1 : LOG INTO YOUR LSN ACCOUNT
STEP 2 : ONCE LOGGED IN, CHOOSE "CHANGE MEMBERSHIP STATUS"
STEP 3: CHOOSE "CESSATION OF PRACTICE"
STEP 4: UPLOAD YOUR COMPLETED FORM R.1
See Chart above to know which document to complete
STEP 5: SAVE AS "READY TO PUBLISH" WHEN YOU WISH YOU SUBMIT YOUR NOTICE
The LSN administrator will be notified and will share your notice to the Executive for their review.
Pursuant to ss.58(2) of the Rules, the Executive may:
- approve the intended disposition described in your notice;
- provide direction with respect to the intended disposition described in your notice; or
- require that you submit an official statement confirming the disposition described in the notice.
The LSN administrator will communicate with you and share the Executive's decision after their review.
A member who fails to comply with the CLE requirements will have their licence to practice suspended unless they complete and report the required hours of eligible CLE within 30 days of receipt of a notice of a failure to comply from the Secretary and remains suspended until the member has completed and reported the required hours.
Following subrule 53.1(1)(a), to be reinstated, the member will need to pay the reinstatement fees in addition to completing and reporting the required hours of CLE (the Fees Chart for the reinstatement of a member who resigned is available here. You will be able to report those hours in your CLE Report.
Where the circumstances warrant, irregularities may be referred to the Chair of the Discipline Committee for further investigation.
Standard of Service
Receipt - Applicants will receive a confirmation of receipt within three (3) working days, which could include a request to provide any outstanding information or materials.
Courtesy follow-ups for outstanding paperwork and/or information - Applicants will receive two (2) follow-up emails within a period of four (4) weeks before closing the application file.
The Membership and Admission Committee (MAC) will examine an application and provide a recommendation to the Executive Committee within fifteen (15) working days, assuming no further information is required from the applicant.
The Executive Committee will consider the MAC’s recommendation and provide their decision to approve (or not) the application for admission within ten (10) working days, assuming no further information is required from the applicant.