New show and hide address function for Legal Aid Online

Published: July 15, 2024

In response to feedback from roster members who either work from home or on a hybrid basis, LAO’s Roster Management and IT Departments have launched a new functionality through which roster members will now easily be able to show or hide their addresses. This new functionality is now available through the lawyer portal, Legal Aid Online.

This new functionality allows roster members to control the display of their addresses without impacting the ability of legal aid clients to find them on Legal Aid Ontario’s (LAO) Find A Lawyer tool. By default, all information will be displayed to clients.

With the onset of COVID-19, more roster members began working from home and expressed concerns about their home addresses being displayed on LAO’s website. This new function addresses that concern, while still allowing clients to find local roster members.

If a roster member chooses to hide their address, they will still automatically be listed in relevant searches with a message directing the client to contact the roster member by their listed phone number for specific contact information if an in-person meeting is required.

If a roster member chooses to hide their address, clients will be able to see the general geographic area in which the roster member is located but will not see an exact address.

For roster members who wish to change their address, this feature requires switching on the conceal function on the date the address change comes into effect. The scheduled address change will not automatically be concealed unless the roster member does so through Legal Aid Online.

More information

For technical issues, please either refer to the job aid or contact the Lawyer Service Centre at 416-979-9934 or 1-866-979-9934 from Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.