Who does Legal Aid Alberta serve? Who qualifies? What type of cases do we handle? Answering questions about how we protect access to justice in Alberta.
Legal aid is essential to society to protect access to justice.
Legal Aid Alberta protects people’s rights, represents the best interests of children, youth, families and newcomers to Canada and defends clients at trial. We’re lawyers who serve the unrepresented and people of limited means. We also employ call centre staff and professionals who work behind the scenes to provide essential services to thousands of Albertans.
Here are answers to seven frequently asked questions we get from clients and the public. Visit our Help Centre for even more answers.
1. Who needs Legal Aid Alberta?
Legal Aid Alberta serves clients across the province in cities, small towns and remote communities. We help families in crisis and disadvantaged citizens of all ages who need legal representation. This includes youth, people with mental illness or addiction and refugees.
Legal aid duty counsel lawyers are in courtrooms across Alberta to provide immediate legal information, advice and assistance to unrepresented people.
2. How busy is Legal Aid Alberta?
In 2025, more than 49,000 clients across the province turned to Legal Aid Alberta for criminal, family and immigration cases. We also provided almost 125,000 duty counsel assists and received 87,000 calls to our Contact Centre.
Priority callers
- Youth and adults in custody
- Anyone calling for an emergency protection order
3. Who is financially eligible to receive assistance from Legal Aid Alberta?
If you’re an adult, your income must meet our financial guidelines to qualify for legal services. Not unlike applying for income assistance, a mortgage or a student loan, there is a process to determine eligibility. We may look at documents like income tax returns and bank statements to determine if you qualify.
If you qualify, you still must pay for legal services — but at a much more affordable rate than private lawyers.
We do provide some free legal services to all Albertans, regardless of income. See below for more information.
4. How much does legal aid cost?
For most legal issues, legal aid representation is not free but will cost much less than a private practice lawyer. The cost of having a legal aid lawyer represent you depends entirely on the scope of legal services you need.
Legal Aid Alberta lawyers charge a reduced hourly rate, plus any applicable fees. The fees a lawyer can charge are outlined in our LAA Tariff.
Legal Aid Alberta pays your lawyer during your case, and we work with you to set up a re-payment plan. All clients must re-pay Legal Aid Alberta for their lawyer’s services. Clients do not pay interest or GST.
5. What types of legal issues do you help with?
Our legal practice focuses on critical services Albertans need the most. To have a lawyer appointed to represent you, your legal issue must be one that we cover:
- Adults and youth charged with a crime
- Family disputes, including child welfare and domestic violence
- Immigration and refugee matters
- Mental health-related legal issue
People with legal issues that do not qualify for legal aid, such as housing and tenant disputes, wills and estates and traffic tickets, get referred to other partner agencies in Alberta. This can include legal clinics or social assistance organizations and counselling services.
6. Can I still get legal aid if I live in a remote community?
Yes. We are Alberta-wide, which means legal help is close no matter where you live.
We represent clients in more than 75 communities. This is possible because we have a network of 1,200 roster lawyers who take legal aid cases. Roster lawyers are private practice lawyers who play a crucial role in serving disadvantaged Albertans, especially in remote communities.
7. Is it true that some legal aid services are free?
Yes, some legal aid services are free for all Albertans.
Duty counsel advice
Duty counsel lawyers are available by phone and in courtrooms to provide brief legal advice to Albertans regardless of income. Duty counsel lawyers are your voice in a system that can seem complex, adversarial and overwhelming. Duty counsel service is free to all Albertans.
Mental health review hearings
In most cases, legal representation in mental health cases is free. We may be able to help you if you have a hearing coming up before the Alberta Review Board or if you want a mental health review panel to:
- Release you from a hospital where you’re being held under the Mental Health Act
- Prevent a doctor from declaring you incompetent to make treatment decisions
- Stop a doctor from treating you against your will
- Cancel or change your Community Treatment Order
Bail hearings
All Albertans qualify to have a legal aid lawyer speak for them at a bail hearing at no cost. During the last year, LAA lawyers conducted more than 32,000 bail hearings. This free service operates 16 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.
24/7 hotline from jail
Last year, Albertans held in police custody placed almost 30,000 calls for help to LAA lawyers. These phone calls are free, giving Albertans an opportunity to get critical advice and to know their rights so they can make informed decisions.
Emergency protection orders
Any Albertan facing imminent domestic danger can contact LAA to apply for an emergency protection order. Last year we facilitated more than 3,800 applications.
Learn more about Legal Aid Alberta services
Visit our website to learn more about Legal Aid Alberta, our services and eligibility requirements.