Modernizing Legal Aid Services

Apr 29, 2010

By Susan Irwin, Executive Director / Lawyer, Rural Legal Services

If you need legal help in Ontario and cannot afford to pay for a lawyer, you may be able to take advantage of one of the programs operated by Legal Aid Ontario (LAO). Whether or not you can receive help from LAO will depend primarily upon the nature of your problem and your financial circumstances.

Like many organizations, LAO is relying on technology, including the internet and a toll-free number, in lieu of “face to face” personal services to deliver more cost-effective assistance. As a result, this spring saw the closure of many legal aid Area Offices, such as the one in Kingston, as LAO transformed and modernized its process for taking legal aid applications and issuing legal aid certificates. Until this spring Area Offices were responsible for taking and granting legal aid certificates to financially eligible applicants to hire a lawyer to defend them against a criminal charge or assist them with a family law problem.

When a legal aid certificate is issued, LAO agrees to pay the lawyer a prescribed fee. In exchange for the certificate, the applicant is asked to pay a one-time lump sum amount, make periodic payments to reimburse LAO for the full amount of the fee, or is asked to give LAO a lien on his or her property equivalent to the fee amount. Only if the applicant is determined by LAO to be in very straightened financial circumstances (i.e. on social assistance), is a certificate issued without a financial contribution requirement.

As part of its modernization strategy and in lieu of Area Offices, LAO will now provide the public with two new ways to apply for a legal aid certificate. The first is part of the Ontario Government of Ontario’s Justice on Target (JOT) initiative, whereby LAO will have an employee in the Courts to help with the application process in Criminal and Family matters. However, the details of the JOT placements, including the hours of service and which Courts are to have a JOT worker, are still being worked out. As a result and until further notice, persons in this area wishing to apply for Legal Aid Certificates must use the second method and call the LAO Client Service Centre at: 1-800-668-8258

According to LAO, “The success of the new convenient telephone-based services has surpassed expectations.” It seems, though, you may have a bit of wait getting to actually talk to a “Client Service Specialist”, as the statistics for February show that far more calls for help were received than could be answered (3,050 received and 2,497 actually answered).

Fortunately there is still some face-to-face help available. First of all, the Community Legal Clinics, of which Rural Legal Services is one, are still open. However, the areas of law that can be dealt with, especially by way of representation before the Courts, are limited, but we can always help you identify whether or not you have a legal problem, and refer you on to another agency or service for more assistance if we are unable to represent you. At the moment, although we can no longer take your initial application for a legal aid certificate for a criminal or family law problem, we are still able to help you sort out the application process (some documentation may be required to be prepared or copied and sent to LAO), and we can also help with the appeal process in the event that you are turned down.

Duty Counsel (i.e. lawyers paid by LAO) are also available at the Family and Criminal Courts to assist you, without cost, although the nature of their services is also limited. Duty Counsel will usually talk to the Court on your behalf, and will explain the Court process to you, but they generally do not act in trials and are not intended to be a substitute for your own lawyer.

In times of limited resources and an ever-increasing demand for public services, changes are coming very quickly to the way in which legal aid is made available. At the moment there are 79 Community Legal Clinics funded by LAO. The unique feature of these clinics is that each one is governed by a volunteer board of directors from the community, and the free services of each clinic are tailored to the needs of its community. Rural Legal Services, for instance, has recognized the unique needs facing our large population of senior citizens, and, given the barriers faced by some area residents in making use of urban-centred services, also continues to provide “summary advice” and legal information on a wide range of legal topics.

We also make house calls in some situations. Perhaps it’s not as cost effective as a toll-free number, but with any luck I won’t have to explain that to a client in crisis anytime soon.

Legalese is a column of general information and opinion on legal topics by the lawyers of Rural Legal Services, Box 359, Sharbot Lake, ON, K0H2P0, 613-279-3252, or 1-888-777-8916. This column is not intended to provide legal advice. You should contact a lawyer to determine your legal rights and obligations.