Guaranteed Daily Rates to increase by five per cent April 1
Published: March 18, 2024
Legal Aid Ontario (LAO) is continuing to raise the amount paid to lawyers who provide legal aid services in remote northern areas.
On April 1, 2024, LAO is increasing the Guaranteed Daily Rate another five per cent for:
- Services rendered in fly-in locations or locations at least 200 km from a lawyer’s regular place of business, and the place where the services provided is not the location of an area office
- Travel required prior to Guaranteed Daily Rate service dates
- Cancellation of flights or fly-in courts
Lawyers working with LAO should enter the increased rate for all services provided on or after April 1. To view the updated rates, visit the Guaranteed Daily Rate billing instruction page on the LAO website. We encourage you to bookmark this page for easy reference.
The raises to the Guaranteed Daily Rate are the second of three five per cent increases LAO is implementing over three years, and part of the amendments LAO has been making to the fees lawyers are paid for doing legal aid work. LAO implemented the first increase to the Guaranteed Daily Rate on Oct. 16, 2023 and will be implementing the third increase on April 1, 2025.
The amendments in 2023 and 2024 establish the first increase to the hourly rates paid to lawyers since 2015, which makes this the first new investment in improving hourly compensation for private bar lawyers in Ontario in nearly a decade. The changes to the compensation structure for roster lawyers are also an acknowledgement of the increased complexity of providing legal aid service.
Learn more
LAO increasing tariff rates March 4, April 1 and July 29, 2024