Panel standards

Panel standards set out requirements for admission to, and continued standing on, the consent and capacity certificate panel. The standards include minimum experience, educational requirements, and a requirement that panel members abide by the practice expectations set out in Legal Aid Ontario's (LAO) Expectations for Consent and Capacity Panel Members.

Applicants to the Consent and Capacity Board (CCB) panel are required to attend or view Continuing Legal Education (CLE) in the basics of advocacy before the Consent and Capacity Board, before being admitted to the panel, and will participate in CLE thereafter as required by Legal Aid Ontario. Contact your district area director regarding the CLE requirement.

Education beyond the prerequisite for panel membership will be required only when there are significant changes in the legislation or case law. For the specific criteria, please refer to the panel standards document.

To maintain membership on the Consent and Capacity panel, a panel member shall have accepted a minimum of three retainers for CCB cases in the previous two years and shall maintain a caseload of at least three such retainers every two years. The district area director has discretion to exempt a panel member from this requirement if local conditions make it impracticable or if the district area director is satisfied that the panel member has the necessary knowledge and skill.

New lawyers who wish to do consent and capacity law certificate work must attend or view the mandatory consent and capacity training prior to being admitted to the panel. They must also observe at least one CCB hearing prior to appearing before the CCB for a LAO client. The district area director has the discretion to exempt a panel member from the hearing observation requirement if local conditions make this impracticable. In addition to submitting their consent and capacity panel application and agreement, new lawyers are also required to sign an agreement stating they will meet the minimum experience standards within two years.

• Contact your district area director for information regarding CLE options for the Consent and Capacity panel.
• LAO's online research facility, LAO LAW also provides comprehensive research support.

Every year, lawyers are required to report their compliance with the standards and their completion of the annual professional development in the lawyer’s annual self-report.

Only lawyers meeting the standards will be allowed to acknowledge certificates and placed on the consent and capacity law panel and district office lists. This information will also be clearly stated on the front of the certificate.

Please contact your district area director for more information.