*UPDATED TO INCLUDE THE LSO’S MESSAGE TO THE PROFESSION MAY 23 2026

On Saturday MAY 23, 2026, the LSO posted this to their Website

https://lso.ca/news-events/news/latest-news-2026/administrative-suspensions-following-march-31-dea

and on Sunday May 24, 2026 to LinkedIn

It says in pertinent part the following:

The Law Society implemented administrative suspensions for non-payment of annual fees on May 20 as part of the standard process under By-Law 5, following the March 31 payment deadline.

Advance communications, including reminders through multiple channels, were issued in the weeks leading up to March 31. In April, weekly emails were sent to licensees who had not fulfilled their annual fee obligations.

We are here to help and support licensees who are experiencing difficulties, or who have questions about their annual fees or their licence status. We encourage licensees to contact us at lawsociety@lso.ca so we can review their situation and work with them to resolve issues promptly.

While the weekend messaging acknowledging there may be a problem for some is good news, the issues include something altogether different from what has been identified or addressed in the messaging.

It’s not necessarily or only that the people who had not complied with their obligations did not receive emails reminding them that they should do so now.

It’s the people who in fact HAD fulfilled their annual fee obligations who were notified of their impending suspension for failure to pay those fees who say they’ve suffered harm in the result, whether through the stress of that notice, and consequent administrative suspension, which they knew to be in error OR through double paying their fees to avoid the suspension by 5 pm on the 20th of May, 2026.

MY EARLIER POST REGARDING THIS ISSUE, ON MAY 23, 2026

You can see my LinkedIn Post on this, which reads as follows:

PSA on a Saturday Afternoon = Public Service Announcement from me to Ontario’s 77 thousand legal professionals – licensees.

First the good news, Blue Jays win 4 in a row. Louis Varland is still warming up in the bullpen……probably (that’s a post post-season meme I dearly loved).

Next the not so good news. There are escalating reports of serious issues with the Law Society of Ontario portal and confirmation of payment of fees going AWOL leading to administrative suspensions. It’s all anecdotal for now of course, but check on yourselves to save you trouble later on. An ounce of prevention…

This may be very important for you and all of us. To be clear, I am not personally affected at this time, but my own impression is ‘there but for the grace of G-d go I…….’

I suggest paying very close attention to the LSO’s website’s information about your license “Administrative Suspension and Reinstatement” here:

https://lso.ca/lawyers/about-your-licence/manage-your-licence/administrative-suspension-and-reinstatement-of-law

Check your LSO Connects Portal to ensure you were not suspended last week, on May 20, 2026. Some may find you were. You might find this very surprising.

As a result of one person’s experience, it has now come to my attention that dozens of licensees shared effectively identical experiences last Wednesday, which reportedly has resulted either in administrative suspension by 5 pm on that day or double payment by them of their fees to avoid suspension by 5 pm on that Wednesday.

Some people, despite duly paying their annual dues before March 31 and receiving confirmation that they had done so, report that they were nonetheless either suspended for non-payment or told they had to pay the amount “owing” by 5 pm last Wed to avoid suspension. Many chose to pay twice to avoid suspension hoping to recoup the double payment in due course.

There are related other issues being flagged. I suggest every Ontario licensee check their LSO portal but also check your LawPro portal to ensure you’ve paid the mandatory quarterly transaction levies for real estate and civil litigation or have properly exempted yourself for every year in which you’re eligible for that exemption, including this year.

Go forward and portal play!! This is serious business, the exposure to liability can be costly and the collateral consequences may be severe. Even where the admin error is on the LSO’s end or elsewhere but somehow interconnected or related.

I make this a public service announcement because my impression is that everyone currently going through this experience thinks they are alone with it. From where I sit, it’s not an isolated incident, but many licensees find themselves in the same unenviable boat, in many cases due to admin error(s) out of their control and it’s important to address any issue as quickly as possible to avoid further inevitably harrowing complications.