The Federation of Law Societies of Canada (FLSC) is the national coordinating body of the Canada’s 14 law societies mandated to regulate Canada’s 95,000 lawyers and Quebec’s 3,500 notaries.

Law societies are independent bodies established by provincial or territorial legislation to regulate members of the legal profession in the public interest. They are charged with ensuring that people in Canada are served by legal professionals who meet high standards of education, competence and professional conduct. To fulfill this role, law societies set standards for admission to the profession and the conduct of members; they investigate complaints and discipline members of the profession who breach the established standards of conduct; to provide further protection for the public, they also maintain plans to provide compensation to clients when a member of the profession is negligent or misuses client funds.

The Federation is the voice of Canada’s law societies on a wide range of issues critical to the protection of the public and the rule of law, including solicitor-client privilege, the importance of an independent and impartial judiciary, and the role of the legal profession in the administration of justice.

The Federation is governed by a national Council that includes representatives from each of the 14 member law societies. The Federation President for 2009-2010 is John Campion of Toronto.

Through the National Committee on Accreditation (NCA) the Federation also assess and certifies the qualifications of individuals with international legal credentials who wish to apply for membership in a Canadian law society (other than in Quebec).

The Federation of Law Societies of Canada also sponsors continuing legal education programs. The National Criminal Law Program began in 1974, while the first National Family Law Program began four years later. Each program brings together volunteer lawyers and judges from across Canada to discuss various issues. Through their hard work and dedication, the programs provide valuable education and up-to-date reference materials for the profession and the judiciary.

The Federation operates the popular CanLII, Canada's publicly accessible and free online search engine for the country's laws and court decisions.

The Federation also represents member societies internationally and participates in the activities of the International Bar Association and the Union Internationale des Avocats.