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Fearing the public is confused and alienated by its outdated name, The Law Society of Upper Canada is set to vote on changing its name to the Law Society of Ontario.

The issue will be brought to a vote of the LSUC’s executive board, known as benchers, at a meeting next week. But the outcome is not guaranteed. For one thing, this will be the third time since 1993 that the proposal has come up for a vote, and both previous times failed.

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There is also broad support for the historical name, in which many Ontario lawyers take a deep pride. The proposed new name “doesn’t have the cachet, it doesn’t have the dignity, and most importantly, it doesn’t have the historical significance of the Law Society of Upper Canada,” said Earl Cherniak, a senior lawyer and former bencher who has been a member of the LSUC for half a century, but will not have a vote next week.

Changing your name does not turn your back on your history

The Law Society of Upper Canada was established by an act of the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada in 1797, making it the oldest self-governing professional body in North America.