The Law Society of Upper Canada and Ontario's Lawyers, 1797-1997

The Law Society of Upper Canada and Ontario's Lawyers begins with the founding of the society by ten lawyers in 1797 and follows its history to the crises which shook the legal profession in the mid-1990s. Christopher Moore specializes in presenting non-fiction material to general audiences, and his work is accessible, replete with new information, and well-illustrated.

At the End of the Eighteenth Century, When Ten lawyers gathered in what is now Niagara-on-the-Lake to form the Law Society of Upper Canada, they were creating something new in the world: a professional organization with statutory authority to control its membership and govern its own affairs. Today's Law Society of Upper Canada, with over 25,000 members, still wields these powers. On the bicentennial of the society's foundation, Christopher Moore's The Law Society of Upper Canada and Ontario's Lawyers begins with the unprecedented step taken in 1797 and follows the evolution of lawyers' work and the idea of professional autonomy through two hundred years of growth and change.

The Law Society of Upper Canada and Ontario's Lawyers is a broad-ranging story of the growth and development of the Law Society and the legal profession, from the days of horseback barristers ranging the backwoods through the reforms of the late nineteenth century to the period of reaction between the two world wars, and the long struggles of women and minorities for access and equity in the legal profession. Moore traces the story to the present, describing how, following a period of tremendous growth and change, questions of governance, legal aid, and practice insurance triggered a series of crises that have rocked the Law Society to itsfoundations.

This is the first study based on full access to two hundred years of historical records, and Moore has organized his research into themes and periods to illuminate the story. He includes new material on the lives and careers of Ontario lawyers, and on the place of the Law Society in professional and public life. Readable and extensively illustrated, The Law Society of Upper Canada and Ontario's Lawyers shows that issues such as autonomy and internal organization, at the forefront of the debate at the society's inception, are continuing themes today.