In brief: News for lawyers

Legal Aid Ontario (LAO) is refining Service Integration and aspects of the duty counsel worksheet in Legal Aid Online to enhance the accuracy of information recorded and improve reporting on client services. The changes, which will come into effect on June 14, include new fields and options to capture data such as: Income and asset…

Please join us on Wednesday, May 28, from 12:00 to 2:00 p.m., as LAO hosts a free Lunch-and-Learn webinar for refugee roster lawyers and their staff. The webinar will provide practical tips on how to be paid for your work on immigration and refugee certificates and ensure your billings comply with LAO requirements and will include a…

Legal Aid Ontario (LAO) has updated the Requirements for submitting completed Basis of Claim (BOC) forms to LAO webpage to include additional instructions and troubleshooting tips to reduce errors when uploading the BOC form and narrative. Since December 16, 2023, LAO requires roster members to submit completed (signed and dated) Basis of Claim (BOC) forms…

Today, March 31, LAO is raising the financial eligibility thresholds for criminal certificate services to help more low-income Ontarians get the legal help they need. LAO’s income threshold to qualify for criminal certificate services is increasing to $45,440 for families of up to four people. The income threshold for families of five or more will…

Legal Aid Ontario (LAO) is continuing to raise the amount paid to lawyers who provide legal aid services in remote northern areas. Effective April 1, 2025, the Guaranteed Daily Rate will increase by five per cent for: Services provided in fly-in locations Services delivered in locations at least 200 km from a lawyer’s regular place of…

On April 1, 2025, the hourly rates and block fees paid to roster lawyers will be increasing by five per cent. This is the final increase in a series of five per cent increases Legal Aid Ontario has introduced over three years. Legal Aid Ontario implemented the previous tariff increases on Oct. 16, 2023 and April 1,…

Legal Aid Online will be unavailable from March 29 to March 31 to implement the new financial eligibility threshold for criminal certificate services and complete LAO’s year end processes. The billing portal will be down from 5 p.m. on March 29 to 6:30 a.m. on March 31.

This is a reminder that all Legal Aid Ontario (LAO) roster members admitted prior to January 1, 2024 must submit their annual self-report by March 31, 2025. 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…

Each year, Legal Aid Ontario (LAO) closes duty counsel purchase orders and creates new ones for the upcoming year. ‘Old’ purchase orders are closed on March 28, 2025 and new purchase orders will be created to be effective March 31, 2025. Please prepare for this change by reviewing what you need to do. Per Diem Duty Counsel,…

Effective today, March 3, LAO is raising the financial eligibility thresholds for family and criminal duty counsel services to help more low-income Ontarians get the legal help they need. LAO’s income threshold to qualify for family and criminal duty counsel services increases to $45,440 for families of up to four people. The income threshold for…