In brief: News for lawyers

Legal Aid Online will be unavailable from 6 a.m. ET on Dec. 4 while we archive and remove completed certificates.  This is routine maintenance called a purchase order close. It applies to concluded appeals and all cancelled, final billed or terminated certificates completed prior to June 1, 2015.  Certificates that will not be closed include:  BCU cases  PCU cases  Appeals pending  Cases with accounts in exception  Select GATC cases, which will first be referred to Lawyer Services and Payments for review  No action is required on your part.  Please note that accounts older than June 1, 2015 will no longer be visible on Legal Aid Online. To inquire about previously closed certificates, contact the Lawyer Service Centre. 

Schedule 2 of the Legal Aid Services Rules regarding fees and disbursements no longer provides coverage for Charter applications on block fee matters. The two-hour tariff enhancer for preparing and filing Charter applications remains available: When the authorized criminal proceeding on the certificate has been set down for trial. On block fee exempt certificates (Youth…

Legal Aid Ontario (LAO) has clarified its Charges Heard Separately policy. These clarifications affect the way lawyers submit requests for additional certificates on an existing certificate, through the online portal. Under both LASA 1998 and LASA 2020, the expectation has always been that multiple criminal charges should be scheduled for joint resolution, where the lawyer…

The Judge-Led Intensive Case Management Court (JICMC) is an important initiative, established by partners in the justice system, to eliminate the extensive case backlog as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.   The JICMC certificates are for the accused who are ineligible, either financially or legally, for Legal Aid’s existing certificate program. These are not Legal Aid clients.   The JICMC initiative supports the unrepresented accused facing criminal charges, who would otherwise have no lawyer and no source of case-specific legal information and advice….

The Legal Aid Services Act, 2020 (LASA 2020) has now been proclaimed. The new act allows Legal Aid Ontario (LAO) the opportunity to innovate and modernize both legal aid services and how those services are delivered. Under LASA 2020, LAO has established rules and policies to manage and administer legal aid. This rule-based framework enables LAO…

Legal Aid Ontario (LAO) is covering the cost of a lawyer for those whose matters are more than twelve months old and have had their cases adjourned to Judge‑Led Intensive Case Management Court (JICMC). The JICMC was set up to address the large backlog of cases resulting from the COVID‑19 pandemic. Accused people whose matters…

Judge-Led Intensive Case Management Court (JICMC) certificates are time-limited and meant to help the Ontario Court of Justice as it addresses the backlog due to the COVID‑19 pandemic in case management court. LAO staff will support the JICMC by identifying self-represented accused who qualify for the JICMC certificate. LAO staff will also ensure that clients…

After thoughtful, thorough consultation with Indigenous stakeholders, the Aboriginal Justice Strategy (AJS) at Legal Aid Ontario is publishing Relationships First, Business Later, Part I, of a consultation report on the AJS’s and LAO’s effectiveness in the delivery of legal aid services to Indigenous clients in Ontario. It is vital for us to be the most effective…

As part of our ongoing response to COVID-19, LAO has temporarily reinstated certificate coverage for substitute decision makers (SDM) in Consent and Capacity Board (CCB) end-of-life proceedings. Until further notice, applications for this coverage will be expedited, and financial eligibility requirements waived for the SDM or the incapable person. If an applicant does not have a lawyer…

Legal Aid Ontario (LAO) is committed to the professional development of private bar lawyers who take on legal aid work. Our second chair mentorship program permits new and mid career lawyers to learn from the knowledge and experience of senior lawyers on interesting and complex cases. Serving as ‘second chair’ on a case, new or…