LAO continues tariff rate increases for criminal and family cases
Published: July 29, 2024
Legal Aid Ontario (LAO) is continuing to raise the compensation available to roster members doing legal aid work.
Today, LAO is implementing several new tariff items for criminal, family, child protection and civil matters. For criminal matters, LAO is implementing new hourly allotments and block fee rates for global resolutions, Impact of Race and Cultural Assessment reports, fitness hearings and the use of interpreters. For family, child protection and civil matters, LAO is introducing a new tariff allotment for the use of interpreters.
These most recent compensation changes represent a continued acknowledgement of the increased complexity of providing legal aid services. Previous tariff amendments include the following:
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On Oct. 16, 2023, LAO implemented the first set of amendments to the Legal Aid Rules, establishing the first increase to the hourly rate since 2015 and the first change to the tariff fee structure in more than 20 years.
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On March 4, 2024, LAO increased the number of hours under the hourly tariff, and the block fee rates for certain additional criminal proceedings. LAO also created new areas of coverage under the tariff and expanded eligibility for mid-case management.
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On April 1, 2024, LAO implemented the second of three five per cent increases to the block fees, hourly rates and guaranteed daily rates paid to roster members. The first increases were implemented on Oct. 16, 2023, and the third will be implemented on April 1, 2025.
Before these amendments, the hourly fee structure for roster lawyers had not substantially changed over the past 25 years. LAO’s increases to the hourly and block fee rates are the first new investment in improving hourly compensation for Ontario roster lawyers in nearly a decade.
For details, refer to the summary in the Tariff and Billing section of the LAO website.
Resources
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Visit the LASA 2020 Rules and Policies section of the website to view the amended rules that come into effect on March 4, 2024, and in July 2024.