In brief: News for lawyers

Legal Aid Ontario (LAO) is providing Federal Court judicial review certificate coverage to challenge refugee claim ineligibility decisions made under the new restrictions introduced under Bill C-12. This coverage will help ensure affected clients can benefit from any successful outcome in the test case litigation that is contesting the legality of the C-12 restrictions on…

Legal Aid Ontario (LAO) has updated the client portal eligibility criteria for newcomers to Canada who have no income. These clients may now apply for a legal aid certificate through the client portal only if they have been in Canada for less than six months. The client portal wording has been updated accordingly to reflect…

Legal Aid Ontario is pleased to share that we have upgraded our phone system to serve our callers better. What’s new for callers to the Lawyer Service Centre? You may notice a new voice to our phone system when you call the Lawyer Service Centre at 1-866-979-9934 or 416-979-9934. The Lawyer Service Centre can be…

Legal Aid Ontario has launched a new, live phone service that responds quickly to the needs of vulnerable clients who are trying to navigate their legal path with criminal law matters. The new Criminal Law Live Call Service patches hard-to-serve clients with a legal professional through a live transfer from the Contact Centre, which means callers do…

On June 1, changes were made to the Account Tab on the Solicitor Portal. Please refer to the original notice for more details. Previously, when performing an account search, up to 300 results were displayed. Following the June 1 update, the number of displayed results was reduced to 100 accounts. Based on user feedback, this change has now been reverted, and the system has…

All-day event on Wednesday, June 24, 2026 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. In person and online Reception from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Register now Legal Aid Ontario’s Refugee Law Office is pleased to present the 2026 Refugee Law Office Conference. This year’s conference will take place at: University of Toronto – Henry N.R. Jackman…

Effective June 1, users logging in to Legal Aid Online will notice minor updates to the Account tab for criminal, civil, and duty counsel statements. While all existing fields and functionality remain unchanged, the layout has been refreshed. Fields will now appear in a horizontal format rather than vertical, making the page easier to navigate and more user-friendly. Users will continue to be able to add…

As you may be aware, on March 26, 2026, Bill C-12 received royal assent. The bill introduces significant changes to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) that directly affect the refugee claim process. Most notably, the bill creates two new eligibility bars that prevent claims from being referred to the Refugee Protection Division (RPD). A claim is now ineligible to be referred to the RPD if it is submitted: More than one year after the claimant’s first entry into Canada after June…

LAO has introduced a new process to speed up legal aid applications for clients facing deportation. Lawyers on the Refugee-Appellate roster can now use a lawyer-assisted application form to request coverage by email on behalf of clients who need the following services: Requests to Canada Border Services Agency to defer removal Motions in Federal Court…

This is a reminder that all Legal Aid Ontario (LAO) roster members admitted prior to January 1, 2025 must submit their annual self-report by March 31, 2026. You may find the self-report on Legal Aid Online in the Personal Information section. Roster lawyers who do not file their self-report by the deadline will be automatically…