Refresher: Be aware of the immigration consequences criminal matters can have on clients

There can be significant immigration consequences for permanent residents and foreign nationals (aka temporary residents such as visitors, students and workers) when they are charged with or convicted of criminal offences. This summary is to help criminal defence counsel understand the main problems that arise when clients who are not Canadian citizens are criminally charged […]

Register for Child Representation training

As you may be aware, Legal Aid Alberta established the Child Representation Panel on April 1, 2022, with a three-year term. Lawyers who have a minimum of five years’ experience practicing family law and are interested in applying to join the Child Representation Panel in April 2025, may be interested in attending this upcoming training […]

Support national Duty Counsel Day in the classroom

October 27 is Duty Counsel Day – a national day of recognition of the vital role duty counsel play in our justice system. You can support the national Duty Counsel Day in the Classroom by sharing this curriculum-tailored teaching program with educators you know: Duty Counsel Day in the Classroom. And you can help raise awareness using these Duty […]

Ask a Lawyer: LAA brings Duty Counsel Day to the classroom

Justin Hjelsvold image

Every day, thousands of people appear in courts across the country for the first time, with little understanding of legal procedures, what’s going to happen, or even that they have a Charter right to legal representation.    Fortunately, duty counsel lawyers are on the front line of the justice system to protect our Charter right […]

Client recoveries: A roster lawyer’s obligation

This is a reminder that Legal Aid Alberta clients must pay their LAA legal fees before receiving funds from their legal matters. LAA roster lawyers are critical to ensuring this occurs. Under Administrative Policy 5, Section 4.6: “LAA requires lawyers who represent clients on certificates to take steps to protect LAA’s financial interest when those […]

Early closure Sept. 30: National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

LAA will close early on Monday, Sept. 30 to allow our teams to participate in an employee learning event.    September 30 is National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.   The day honours the children who never returned home and survivors of residential schools, as well as their families and communities. Public commemoration of the tragic […]

Lawyer Portal restored; Multi-factor login required

We are pleased to inform you that the scheduled maintenance has been completed, and all systems, including the Lawyer Portal and DC Portal, are now fully operational. As a reminder, Multi-Factor Authentication is now required when signing in to the Lawyer Portal. Multi-Factor Authentication Resources Getting started guide FAQ Video tutorial If you experience any […]

Reminder – systems maintenance in September: what you need to know

LAA systems temporarily unavailable or limited use from Sept. 18-23 What is happening?   Some of Legal Aid Alberta’s central technology systems, including the Lawyer Portal and DC Portal, will be temporarily unavailable or have limited functionality from 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 18, through to 7 a.m. on Monday, Sept. 23. We are conducting a ground-to-cloud data […]