Gladue principles and factors: What you need to know
R. v. Gladue established guidelines for courts when dealing with Indigenous people If you identify as an Indigenous person and find yourself charged with a criminal offence, the Court must consider these Gladue Principles and the Gladue Factors that apply to you. Be sure to ask your lawyer, duty counsel, or Indigenous court […]
New roster lawyers to attend first ever onboarding interviews
Legal Aid Alberta is pleased to announce that we are welcoming new counsel onto our roster through a new and enhanced onboarding process. LAA recognizes that our onboarding process was not as fulsome as it could and should be. At the application stage, new counsel joining our roster will now be provided with information that […]
Bail only certificates obtain more hours under new Tariff
In accordance with the new Tariff of Fees, bail only certificates will no longer be a maximum of two hours. Effective immediately, they align with tariffs 11.04 and 11.05. For example, if the highest legal level issue is Indictable, and bail is being spoken to in Provincial Court, three hours are provided under 11.04. If, […]
Ask a Lawyer: Canadian Justice System v. American TV Legal Dramas
Legal Aid Alberta staff lawyer Cameron Mitchell addresses common misconceptions about our justice system and how our courts work The allure of American legal dramas on TV like Law & Order and Suits often portray a day in the life of a lawyer with gripping courtroom showdowns and dramatic plot twists – but have you ever wondered just […]
When change of counsel comes into play
When our roster lawyers need to change counsel, working collaboratively with LAA Certificate and Tariff Officers (CTOs), knowing best practices and where to find valuable resources, can significantly facilitate a smooth transition. If your client fails to appear Where a client fails to appear for Court, and a maximum of 90 days have elapsed […]
Requesting duty counsel to act as an agent
Lately, we’ve had questions regarding the best process to request duty counsel (DC) to act as an agent on criminal matters. “If we have advanced notice of who duty counsel is on a particular date and location, can we send our instructions to adjourn directly to them?” This is not advised. Duty counsel staffing can […]
Child representation panel off to a strong start
In accordance with the Governance Agreement, Legal Aid Alberta carefully represents children in high conflict parenting matters. If the Court decides that the parties are engaged in high-conflict litigation, LAA promptly assigns counsel to protect the interests of the children and to express their views and preferences in full. To ensure we have experienced […]
Best practices in timekeeping for criminal lawyers
When the files of our criminal lawyers require to provide timesheets upon request through Lawyer Portal or use them to access extra hours under tariff item 11.19, it is important that these timesheets are legible and contain enough information for our Certificate & Tariff Officers (CTOs). Here are some quick tips on what CTOs are […]
A day in the life of a Contact Centre Intake Officer
Contact Centre team members are on the front lines of the justice system It’s 8 a.m. on a Thursday morning. Susan Roth, Contact Centre Intake Officer (CCIO) at Legal Aid Alberta is beginning her shift for the day at LAA’s Contact Centre. Just minutes after clocking in, she answers a call from an individual […]
What to do with prematurely created Immigration certificates
Legal Aid recognizes that, at times, Immigration certificates may be created prematurely (i.e., where the matter has not yet been referred to the Immigration and Refugee Board). If you have been issued a certificate where this occurs, please immediately complete an Authorization Request asking Legal Aid to cancel the certificate and advise the client to re-apply […]