Tariff reform: number of hours, hourly rates and block fee rates closed

OVERVIEW

Legal Aid Ontario (LAO) is consulting on proposed amendments to the fees roster lawyers are paid for doing legal aid work. LAO is proposing to:

• increase the hourly rates for roster lawyers and the amount paid for block fees.
• increase the number of hours allocated under the hourly tariff.
• allow per diem duty counsel to bill according to their tier rate.

LAO is interested in any other ideas regarding changes to the tariff, particularly those that could help address backlog issues in the courts.

CONSULTATION MATERIALS

We encourage you to review the consultation materials prior to providing a written submission. Materials include:

• Consultation outline
  An overview of the proposed amendments to the compensation structure for roster lawyers

• Draft rules
  A draft of the rules outlining the proposed amendments to the compensation structure for roster lawyers

REFERENCE MATERIALS

We’ve also included a summary of the tariff reforms for each area of law for reference.

• Criminal law tariff reforms
• Family law tariff reforms
• Immigration/refugee law tariff reforms 

PURPOSE OF CONSULTATION 
LAO is seeking public feedback on the proposed changes to the fees paid to lawyers who do legal aid work. In line with our consultation policy, we are consulting to hear the perspective of service providers and members of the public. 

HOW TO PARTICIPATE IN THE CONSULTATIONS 
If you are interested in participating in the consultation, please provide a written submission to consultation@lao.on.ca with the subject line:
“Written submission – Tariff reform: number of hours, hourly rates and block fee rates.”

JOIN OUR CONSULTATION REGISTRY 
We encourage anyone interested in providing feedback to join our consultation registry to be notified about upcoming consultations. To learn more, visit our consultation registry web page.