Interested in doing legal aid work?
We invite you to take a closer look at what legal aid work can offer.

Working in legal aid can be a rewarding alternative to working in a large corporate firm and offers significant benefits to new lawyers. It provides an opportunity to contribute towards improving Ontario's justice system by helping some of society's most disadvantaged people. Doing legal aid work is also an excellent way to make professional contacts and gain courtroom experience, and for many lawyers, the flexibility of legal aid work is an attractive career and lifestyle choice.

"Providing legal aid to low-income Canadians is an essential public service. We need to think of it in the same way we think of health care or education. The well being of our justice system - and the public's confidence in it - depends on it."
Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin
Supreme Court of Canada

For more information
You can make legal aid a part of your career in many different ways. If you think legal aid may be a good fit for your career goals please contact us. We would be delighted to help you and wish you every success as you begin your legal career.

How to apply

All lawyers who want to do legal aid work and bill to Legal Aid Ontario must complete and submit a Lawyer Empanelment Form (see below) to their local area director. Panel standards have been implemented for family, criminal, refugee, consent and capacity certificate bars, and duty counsel. Application forms for these panels must also be submitted to your local area director. Please refer to the Panel Standards section for more information.

Submission Checklist:

(Required forms are listed below)

• Step 1: Complete Lawyer Empanelment Form (page 1 of 2 pages)

• Step 2: Complete Request for Panel Membership (page 2 of Lawyer Empanelment Form)

• Step 3: Complete Direct Deposit Authorization (for business account)

• Step 4: Complete Tier level increase form if you have 4 or more years of experience

• Step 5: Complete applicable Panel Standard Forms

• Step 6: Return all forms to local area office

FAQ: Here are some of the more commonly asked questions by lawyers interested in certificate work with Legal Aid Ontario.

Once all forms are completed and returned the empanelment process takes about 4 weeks.

Lawyer Empanelment Form(s)

Listed below are the Lawyer Empanement Forms for new lawyers, available in both PDF and DOC formats. Before filling out the forms please be sure to read through the General Terms and Conditions.

/ Lawyer Empanelment Form Package

/ Empanelment Forms

/ Direct Deposit Authorization

/ Application Form for Tier Level Increase