About Legal Aid Ontario
Fact Sheets
Services for Lawyers
Legal Aid Ontario’s online billing better for lawyers
Over 4,500 lawyers from across the province assist legal aid clients with matters ranging from criminal trials to family law disputes. Legal Aid Ontario (LAO) acknowledges the importance of this work with a commitment to improving services for these lawyers.
This commitment includes continued improvements to the online billing system, Legal Aid Online. Beginning with the Online Lawyer Acknowledgement initiative in 2007, (which allows lawyers who do legal aid work to acknowledge legal aid certificates online), LAO has made additional improvements, including the ability to view certificate amendments and authorizations online, as well as security and features upgrades to the billing system.
Client information update
Clients often miss important mailings from Legal Aid Ontario because they have moved, and did not update their address. To help resolve this issue, lawyers can instantly update their clients’ information through the online billing portal, ensuring their client receive important information relating to their legal aid certificate or contribution agreement.
Updates by text message
Lawyers can receive important information about certificates while they are on the go, attending court and dealing with a busy practice. Lawyers have the option of receiving notification of approved certificate amendments or authorizations via email or text message alert.
Online training and tutorials
Training tutorial podcasts for lawyers are available on LAO’s website on the Legal Aid Online page. These tutorials cover everything from the basics of how to sign in and create an account, to information on submitting criminal accounts with multiple proceedings. Lawyers can also view online tutorials that provide training on LAO’s block fee program.
Billing support for lawyers
Lawyers using Legal Aid Online can get assistance by calling the toll-free Lawyer Service Centre (LSC) at 1-866-979-9934. The LSC is available Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and is committed to providing the highest-quality customer service to lawyers and legal office staff. Specifically, the LSC will provide assistance with:
- Accessing and using Legal Aid Online
- Account requests and inquiries
- Contact information and updates
- Tier level change requests
- Tariff and billing information
Questions?
For more information on this topic contact media@lao.on.ca
