Duty Counsel Day: Oct. 27, 2022
Canadians benefit from outstanding social services. We’re all familiar with our public health care, but few know about our legal services. We made a day to change that.
What is duty counsel?
Duty Counsel are legal aid lawyers who give free, on-the-spot legal advice in family, criminal and immigration cases for people living in Canada.
In Alberta, duty counsel lawyers are providing legal assistance and advice in some 75 communities.
- On-call 24/7 from police stations
- Representation at bail hearings
- Adult and youth criminal cases
- Family breakdown and family violence
Duty counsel services in Alberta
Did you know?
Duty Counsel Lawyers provide help to Canadians over 1.2 million times per year. Annual stats may vary.
The future generation
On Oct. 27, Canada’s 13 legal aid associations are teaming up with schools across the country to educate the next generation of citizens about the importance of duty counsel to the justice system.
Teachers are encouraged to set aside a few minutes of classroom time to play short videos, do a word search together and discuss how the justice system works in simple terms. Learning materials are available in English and French.
In Alberta, Legal Aid Alberta lawyers are hosting “Ask Me Anything” Q&A sessions in high school classrooms around the province. Students will learn about a day-in-the-life of a duty counsel lawyer, come to better understand their rights as citizens and discover career opportunities in the law.
