The Law Society of Ontario Archives collects and preserves records and other material that documents the history of the legal profession in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. The Archives acquires and preserves records of permanent value to the

Law Society of Ontario The Law Society of Ontario (LSO; french: Barreau de l'Ontario) is the law society responsible for the self-regulation of lawyers and paralegals in the Canadian province of Ontario. Founded in 1797 as the Law Society of Upper Canada (LSUC; frenc ...

(formerly the Law Society of Upper Canada), the regulatory body for lawyers and paralegals in the province of

. The Archives also accepts external donations of material that is significant to the legal profession in

. The Archives serves as an information resource centre for Law Society staff, the legal profession, and the public.

Holdings

The bulk of the Archives' holdings are corporate records that document the administration, activities, and functions of the

since it was established in 1797. In addition to corporate records, the Archives accepts donations of non-Law Society records significant to the legal history of Ontario. The Archives currently houses records of over 240 organizations and individuals, such as: * The Lawyers Club *

William Osgoode William Osgoode (March 1754 – January 17, 1824) was the first Chief Justice of Upper Canada (now known as Ontario, Canada). Life and career He was born William Osgood in London, England, in 1754 to William Osgood (died 1767). His family was ...

Sir John Graves Simcoe John Graves Simcoe (25 February 1752 – 26 October 1806) was a British Army general and the first lieutenant governor of Upper Canada from 1791 until 1796 in southern Ontario and the watersheds of Georgian Bay and Lake Superior. He founded Yor ...

* Chief Justice

William Goldwin Carrington Howland William Goldwin Carrington Howland (March 17, 1915 – May 13, 1994) was a Canadian lawyer, judge and former Chief Justice of Ontario. Life and career Howland was born in Toronto and educated at Upper Canada College. He graduated from th ...

Women's Law Association of Ontario A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardl ...

Sir John Beverley Robinson Sir John Beverley Robinson, 1st Baronet, (26 July 1791 – 31 January 1863) was a lawyer, judge and political figure in Upper Canada. He was considered the leader of the Family Compact, a group of families which effectively controlled the ea ...

* Essex Law Association * The

Juvenile Advocate Society Juvenile may refer to: *Juvenile status, or minor (law), prior to adulthood * Juvenile (organism) *Juvenile (rapper) (born 1975), American rapper * ''Juvenile'' (2000 film), Japanese film * ''Juvenile'' (2017 film) *Juvenile (greyhounds), a greyh ...

, an early 18th-century law students' club *

Cyril Frederick Harshaw Carson Cyril (also Cyrillus or Cyryl) is a masculine given name. It is derived from the Greek name Κύριλλος (''Kýrillos''), meaning 'lordly, masterful', which in turn derives from Greek κυριος ('' kýrios'') 'lord'. There are various varia ...

* Chief Justice

George Alexander Gale George Alexander Gale, (June 24, 1906July 25, 1997) was a Chief Justice for the province of Ontario, Canada from 1967 until his 1976 retirement from that post. Born in Quebec City, he would move to Vancouver, British Columbia for his youth befor ...

* Toronto Lawyers Association *

Fasken Martineau Fasken, formerly Fasken Martineau DuMoulin, is an international business law firm with approximately 700 lawyers and offices in Vancouver, Surrey, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa, Montréal, Québec City, Beijing, London and Johannesburg. On 29 Novembe ...

DuMoulin LLP The Archives contains over 100,000 photographs, which includes an almost complete set of

Osgoode Hall Law School Osgoode Hall Law School, commonly shortened to Osgoode, is the law school of York University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The law school is home to the Law Commission of Ontario, the Journal of Law and Social Policy, and the ''Osgoode Hall La ...

class photographs from 1891 to 1968. The photograph collection also includes photographs of lawyers and judges, various views of

Osgoode Hall Osgoode Hall is a landmark building in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The original -storey building was started in 1829 and finished in 1832 from a design by John Ewart and William Warren Baldwin. The structure is named for William Osgoode, ...

, and Law Society and legal events. The Archives also collects printed and published material about or by the

(and the Law Society of Upper Canada) that is deemed important. Special Collections includes brochures, special reports, posters, postcards, and ephemera (programmes, menus, invitations, etc.). In addition, the Archives collects periodicals that relate to the

or the Ontario legal profession, such as copies of "Obiter Dicta", the

student newspaper. Osgoode athletic sports

The Archives' holdings can be searched via an on-lin
Description Database

Exhibits

Several on-line exhibits have been developed and are available on the Archives' website. Virtual exhibits focus on individuals or legal organizations,

, or interesting items from the archival collection. The Archives also maintains two display cases, located outside of the Great Library at

References

* Moore, Christopher, ''The Law Society of Upper Canada and Ontario's lawyers, 1797-1997'', University of Toronto Press, 1997.

External links

Archives' website

Archives' photostream on Flickr

Archives' Facebook page
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