In brief: News for lawyers

This is a news posting. Please read “COVID-19: Several temporary emergency COVID measures set to end on November 18 – Legal Aid Ontario” for additional, up-to-date information. Legal Aid Ontario (LAO) implemented temporary certificate authorizations to assist lawyers representing immigration and refugee clients during the COVID-19 pandemic. In light of the continuing public health measures…

New lawyer assisted application forms are now available in the coverage areas of child protection proceedings, family law proceedings (where the applicant is experiencing domestic violence), and immigration and refugee proceedings. You may find these new forms linked below: Lawyer assisted application form for child protection proceedings Lawyer assisted application form for family law proceedings…

The annual self-report for roster lawyers is now available in the Personal Info section of Legal Aid Online. Legal Aid Services Act, 2020 On Oct. 18, 2021, the Legal Aid Services Act, 2020 (LASA 2020) came into force. It replaces the Legal Aid Services Act, 1998 (LASA 1998). LASA 2020 has made a number of changes that affect…

Starting Jan. 31, 2022, Legal Aid Ontario (LAO) will be resuming pre-pandemic financial certificate eligibility criteria for non-Indigenous people experiencing domestic violence and non-Indigenous families with child protection matters. The waiver of financial eligibility requirements will continue for Indigenous people experiencing domestic violence or facing a child protection issue, who will still be automatically eligible for…

Due to the COVID conditions impacting clients, lawyers will continue to be able to apply for legal aid on behalf of clients charged with a criminal offense. For in-custody applications, LAO has temporarily expanded the application to include charges which may be eligible for big case management. LAO is doing this to help reduce court…

Legal Aid Ontario’s Refugee Law Office (RLO) is hosting a free webinar to assist immigration lawyers and other practitioners working with racialized clients in immigration enforcement proceedings. Panelists include Nana Yanful (Legal Director of Black Legal Action Centre), Andrew Brouwer (Senior Counsel at the Refugee Law Office), and Prasanna Balasundaram (Director of Downtown Legal Services)….

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….