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LAO increasing tariff rates March 4, April 1 and July 29, 2024

Published: March 4, 2024

Legal Aid Ontario is continuing to raise the fees that it pays roster members to do legal aid work.

On Oct. 16, 2023, LAO implemented the first set of amendments to the Legal Aid Rules. These amendments established the first increase to the hourly rate payable to roster members since 2015.

LAO is pleased to continue the changes to the compensation structure for roster lawyers that began in October 2023. The changes are an acknowledgement of the increased complexity of providing legal aid services.

On March 4, 2024, LAO will:

  • increase the number of hours allocated under the hourly tariff and increase the block fee rates for certain additional criminal proceedings;
  • create new areas of coverage under the tariff;
  • expand eligibility for criminal cases costing between $8,000 and $20,000 (mid-case management).

On April 1, 2024, LAO will:

  • implement the second of three five per cent increases to the hourly rates and block fees paid to roster members. The first increase was implemented on Oct. 16, 2023, and the third will be implemented on April 1, 2025.

On July 29, 2024, LAO will:

  • introduce new hourly and block fee rates dealing with global resolutions, Impact of Race and Cultural Assessment reports, fitness hearings and the use of interpreters.

Before LAO began implementing these series of amendments to the legal aid tariff, the hourly fee structure for roster lawyers had not substantially changed over the past 25 years. In addition, the hourly rates and block fee rates had not increased since 2015, which makes this the first new investment in improving hourly compensation for private bar lawyers in Ontario in nearly a decade.

To implement the amendments for April, LAO will be updating the billing portal. As a result, Legal Aid Online will be unavailable on Sunday, March 31 from 6 a.m. to Tuesday, April 2, at 6:30 a.m.

Resources

Tariff reform 2024: Summary of changes, phase 2, no. 1

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.

Learn more

Amendments to the Schedule 2 of the Legal Aid Services Rules comes into force today (Oct. 16, 2023)

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