Ontario Law Statistical Snapshot
Lawyer Data
| 55,360 | Total Number of licensed lawyers in Ontario in 20191 |
| 2,423 | New lawyers licensed in Ontario in 20192 |
| 37,900 | Number of licensed lawyers practicing law3 |
| 29,000 | Number of lawyers in private practice4 |
| 40-49 | Median age of Ontario lawyers5 |
| $93,000 | Median salary of Ontario lawyers6 |
| $2,334.58 | Annual LSO licensing fees (inc. HST)7 |
| $175.00 | Annual licensing fees in NY State |
| $3,075.00 | Mandatory LawPro Insurance (including Innocent Party Premium, for lawyers in full time practice) |
| 1.6 | Average number of billable hours collected by lawyers each day8 |
| #75 | Rank on Canadian Business Top 100 Jobs 2019 report9 |
Lawyers to Members of the Population
| Year | Ontario Population | # Lawyers Licensed | # of Ontario residents per Lawyer |
| 2010 | 13,135,100 | 42,166 | 311.51 |
| 2020 | 14,745,040 | 55,360 | 266.35 |
Complaints & Claims Data
| 5,838 | Complaints made against lawyers to the Law Society10 |
| 4,379 | Complaints referred to Professional Regulation for additional investigation11 |
| 25% | Percentage of (4,379) Complaints transferred for prosecution12 |
| 2,973 | Number of claims reported to LawPro |
| ~20% | Percentage of claims reported on which LawPro must pay out |
| $36,946 | Average cost per reported claim to LawPro13 |
Paralegal Data
| 9,470 | Total Number of licensed paralegals in Ontario in 201914 |
| 1,057 | New paralegals licensed in Ontario in 201915 |
Firm Size
| 1 lawyer | 8204 |
| 2 – 10 lawyers | 2678 |
| 11 or more lawyers | 288 |
| Total | 11,17016 |
Articling Statistics
| ~2700 | Approximate number of Articling Candidates yearly17 |
| 10% | Percentage of firms hiring Articling Students18 |
| ~250 | Number of Articling Candidates who fail to secure Articling positions by August/September19 |
| ~235 | Number of students enrolling annually in Ryerson and Ottawa’s Law Practice Program20 |
| ~80% | Ryerson LPP Graduates employed in law related field 1 year post completion.20a |
| $83,000.00 | Average debt load of legal graduates upon graduation.20aa |
Ontario Court Performance
| Criminal | 14 months (median)21 |
| Civil | 6-7 years 21a |
| Family | 12 months (53% within)21b |
| Court Budget | $1,682,230,41421c |
| 2021 Population | 14,755,211 |
| Court Budget Per Capita | $114.00 |
New York Court Performance
| Criminal | 6 months21d |
| Civil | ~ 27 months21e |
| Family | 12 months21f |
| Court Budget | $2,417,118,47221g |
| 2021 Population | 20,215,751 |
| Court Budget Per Capita | $119.56 |
Florida Court Performance
| Criminal | 6 months (median)21h |
| Civil | 18 months 21i |
| Family | 6 months21j |
| Court Budget | $914,643,78121k |
| 2021 Population | 21,733,312 |
| Court Budget Per Capita | $42.08 |
California Court Performance
| Criminal | Less than 1 year (85%)21l |
| Civil | Less than
2 years (85%)21m |
| Family | Less than one year (82%)21n |
| Court Budget | $4.1B21o |
| 2021 Population | 39,924,926 |
| Court Budget Per Capita | $102.69 |
Judge Compensation
| $314,100.00 | Salary for regular Justice of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice22a |
| $208,000.00 (USD) | Salary for regular Justice of the NY State Supreme Court22b |
Family Law
| 57% | Proportion of family court litigants who are self-represented22c |
| 13-26% | Winning percentage of self represented litigants when against represented litigants22c |
| $15,118 | Average cost of a contested divorce (without Trial)22c |
| $19,833 | Average cost of a 2 day Family Law Trial22c |
| ~$350 | Average hourly rate of counsel22c |
| ~40-50 | Average (paid) lawyer hours per contested divorce (to first pre-trial)22d |
| ~55 | Average additional (paid) lawyer hours per 2 day Family Trial |
Regulator & Benchmarking
| $139,438,800 | LSO's budgeted 2020 expenditures23 |
| 608 | LSO's 2020 Number of Full Time Equivalent Employees24 |
| $75,581,693 | 2019 Budget for the College of Physicians and Surgeons on Ontario25 |
| 315 | Number of full time employees at the College of Physicians and Surgeons |
| 43,612 | Number of Physicians in Ontario26 |
| $142,700,000 | 2020 Taxation Revenue in the City of Oshawa27 |
LSO Cost Per Area of Operations
| Number of Full Time Equivalent Employees | Total Cost | Average Cost Per Employee |
| Governance Policy | 12.5 | $6,556,400 | 524k |
| Administration | 125.5 | $28,554,800 | 227k |
| Professional Development | 160.5 | $32,335,300 | 201k |
| Professional Regulation | 229 | $44,520,600 | 194k |
| Client & People Services | 81 | $11,452,400 | 141k |
| Total28 | 608.5 | $123,419,500 | ~203k |
[1] Annual Report 2019, Law Society of Ontario , pg. 4.
[2] Id.
[3] Id.
[4] LawPro Report to Convocation, September 24 2020.
[5] Annual Report 2019, Law Society of Ontario , pg. 23.
[6] Canadian Business, Claire Brownell, Canada’s Best Jobs 2019: The Top 100 Jobs.
[7] Law Society’s 2020 budget decreases annual fees for lawyers and paralegals .
[8] Clio Legal Trends Report 2018, pg. 11.
[9] Canadian Business, Claire Brownell, Canada’s Best Jobs 2019: The Top 100 Jobs.
[10] Annual Report 2019, Law Society of Ontario , pg. 33.
[11] Annual Report 2019, Law Society of Ontario , pg. 33.
[12] Annual Report 2019, Law Society of Ontario , pg. 35.
[13] LawPro Report to Convocation, September 24 2020 pg. 12.
[14] Annual Report 2019, Law Society of Ontario , pg. 4.
[15] Id.
[16] Annual Report 2019, Law Society of Ontario , pg. 29.
[17] Annual Report 2019, Law Society of Ontario , pg. 31.
[18] LSO to mandate pay for articling students.
[19] Id.
[20] Law Society of Ontario, Options for Lawyer Licensing A Consultation Paper, May 24, 2018 pg. 10.
[20a] Ryerson’s Law Practice Program (LPP) Six Years of the LPP, October 2020
[20aa] Law Grads’ Student Loan Burden is an Access-to-Justice Issue, The Canadian Bar Association, April 11, 2019.
[21] Adult criminal court processing times, Canada, 2015/2016 in Superior Court .
[21a] Ontario Civil Trial Statistics 2016 to 2019, Trial delays in personal injury disputes add insult to injury. Note civil trial times in BC are reported to be 2 years.
[21b] Divorce and other family breakdown court cases, by time since initiation, selected provinces and territories, 2009/2010 .
[21c] Expenditure Estimates for the Ministry of the Attorney General (2020-21) .
[21d] New York State Unified Court System 2018 Annual Report.
[21e] New York State Unified Court System 2018 Annual Report.
[21f] New York State Unified Court System 2018 Annual Report.
[21g] Unified Court System FY 2022 Budget Request
[21h] Florida Rules of Judicial Administration .
[21i] Florida Rules of Judicial Administration .
[21j] Florida Rules of Judicial Administration .
[21k] Court Funding & Budget.
[21l] 2017 Statewide Caseload Trends, pg. 18
[21m] 2017 Statewide Caseload Trends, pg. 18
[21n] 2017 Statewide Caseload Trends, pg. 18
[21o] Judicial Branch Budget Summary
[22a] Judges Act, R.S.C., 1985, c. J-1.
[22b] Salaries of NY State Supreme Court Justices Now on Par with Federal Court Judges
[22c] Family Legal Services Review, Justice Bonkalo
[22d] Legal Aid Tariff & Billing Handbook, pg. 159.
[23] Audit & Finance Committee October 24, 2019 Report to Convocation, pg. 48.
[24] Audit & Finance Committee October 24, 2019 Report to Convocation, pg. 50.
[25] CSPO Annual Report 2019, pg. 45.
[26] CSPO Annual Report 2019, pg. 2.
[27] Oshawa 2020 Budget Overview and Summary Report, pg. 4.
[28] Audit & Finance Committee October 24, 2019 Report to Convocation, pg. 49.
