As the regulator of Nova Scotia’s legal profession, we uphold and protect the public interest in the practice of law.
We are responsible for:
- Accrediting articling clerks and lawyers through a rigorous admissions and licensing process;
- Establishing ethical standards through our Code of Professional Conduct;
- Ensuring the professional responsibility of lawyers, including by receiving and investigating complaints concerning lawyers’ quality of service and allegations of professional misconduct;
- Setting practice standards and competency requirements for lawyers;
- Striving to improve the administration of justice – we work with the Courts, government departments and justice system participants and facilitate dialogue and cooperation to help improve all aspects of the justice system for Nova Scotians.
Our Mission
As the regulator of Nova Scotia’s legal profession, the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society (NSBS) exists to uphold and protect the public interest in the practice of law. To meet this public interest mandate, it works to ensure lawyers deliver competent and ethical legal services in accordance with the professional standards of the legal profession.
Objective, Strategy, Values
Objective
To regulate the legal profession in the public interest.
Strategy
TRUST – We achieve our objective by ensuring the trust of the public and the profession.
Values
TRANSPARENCY – means being open, honest, ethical, and transparent in our processes, and timely in our decision making.
RESPECT – is about acknowledging the humanity and worth of all individuals and treating them accordingly.
ACCOUNTABILITY – speaks to our commitment to being ethical, responsive, independent, and objective.
Snapshot of Nova Scotia’s Legal Profession
The Society’s Annual Lawyer Report (ALR) asks practising lawyers questions related to demographics, employment type, area of practice, equity and diversity within the profession, access to justice issues and compliance-related questions to help us track trends and identify areas where additional support or resources are valuable.
We use the statistical data from the ALR and information from our membership database to create an annual Statistical Snapshot.
The Society’s membership currently includes more than 2000 lawyers. Below is an overview of the membership. Additional statistical data is available in our most recent Annual Report.
