Checking a Real Estate Lawyer's Licence in Ontario

Key points

• The Law Society of Ontario regulates lawyers and paralegals in the public interest.

• Its public Lawyer and Paralegal Directory shows whether a person is, or was, licensed, and their practising status.

• The Law Society's Compensation Fund is a last resort for money lost through a licensee's dishonesty, including trust funds held for real estate closings.

Why it matters on a real estate deal

When a lawyer receives money in trust for a client, the lawyer must immediately pay it into a trust account, subject to the limited exceptions in By-Law 9. That includes real estate closing funds such as purchaser deposits, mortgage proceeds and amounts required to complete a transaction. Before you send a deposit, closing funds or your Agreement of Purchase and Sale, it takes a minute to confirm who you are dealing with.

How to check a licence

The Law Society of Ontario regulates lawyers and paralegals in the public interest. It does not give legal advice.

Its Lawyer and Paralegal Directory lists lawyers and paralegals licensed in Ontario, as well as people who held a licence in the last 10 years but are no longer licensed.

The directory can be used to check whether a person is, or was, licensed by the Law Society, to find their contact information, and to check their practising status.

You can search by first or last name, by Law Society Number, or by postal code or city.

Search the directory: LSO Lawyer and Paralegal Directory.

What an entry shows

An entry may show the licensee's name, business contact details, practising status, languages and areas of law (where provided). It may also show any limits on their practice, whether a trustee is managing their practice, and information about current or past regulatory hearings and regulatory meetings.

Former licensees listed in the directory include people who gave up their licence by choice, people who lost it for regulatory reasons, and people who have died.

If the name is not there

A person who does not appear in the directory may not be licensed in Ontario. The Law Society suggests checking the spelling or searching by city or postal code, and then raising any concern through its page on people providing legal services without a licence.

The Compensation Fund

The Law Society's Compensation Fund helps people who lost money because of the dishonesty of a lawyer or paralegal licensed by the Law Society.

The Law Society says the fund typically covers losses involving money from estates, trust funds held for real estate closings, and settlements in legal actions. The loss must arise in connection with the licensee's authorized practice.

The fund is a last resort. A claimant must first try to recover the loss from the lawyer or paralegal directly and from other sources, such as insurance.

A claimant must notify the Law Society in writing within two years of first learning of the loss.

The fund does not reimburse negligence, except in special circumstances where a lawyer intentionally failed to report a claim to, or cooperate with, LAWPRO (the lawyers' professional liability insurer), so that the client receives no insurance payment.

Reimbursement is limited to the actual amount taken. It does not include damages or lost interest.

Reimbursement depends on proof of dishonesty, and the Law Society says the process may take 12 to 24 months or more.

The fund covers only lawyers and paralegals licensed by the Law Society of Ontario. Money given to a lawyer in another province is a matter for that province's law society.

Read more: LSO Compensation Fund.

Send your Agreement of Purchase and Sale

Related: Checking a mortgage agent's licence | Checking a builder's licence and Tarion status | Home purchases

This article is general information about Ontario law as of November 10, 2026. It is not legal advice.

Sources: Law Society of Ontario, Lawyer and Paralegal Directory (https://lso.ca/find-a-legal-professional-and-public-resources/how-to-find-a-lawyer-or-paralegal/lawyer-and-paralegal-directory); Law Society of Ontario, Compensation Fund (https://lso.ca/complaints-and-public-protection/how-we-respond/compensation-fund); Law Society of Ontario, By-Law 9, Financial Transactions and Records (https://lso.ca/about-lso/legislation-and-rules/by-laws/by-law-9); Law Society of Ontario, Guide to managing trust accounts, "A. What is a trust account, when is it required and what funds can it hold?" (https://lso.ca/lawyers/practice-supports-and-resources/topics/guide-to-managing-trust-accounts/a-what-is-a-trust-account,-when-is-it-required-and). All checked November 10, 2026.

Wolf Law Professional Corporation. Legal services provided by lawyers licensed by the Law Society of Ontario. The information on this site is general information, not legal advice. Contacting us does not create a lawyer-client relationship.

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