May 4, 2022 – Many of you work directly with our tariff. And you find it lacking – to put it politely. We know it has become an outdated administrative burden for roster lawyers and members of our own teams. It is too demanding of your time and energy. And ours.
That’s about to change. In consultation with the Ministry of Justice and Solicitor General, Legal Aid Alberta has been asked to lead the review and update of our tariff – something that has not been done in many years.
Though the tariff rate is and will continue to be the responsibility of the Ministry, an updated tariff framework means modernization and simplicity. It means you can focus on representing disadvantaged Albertans instead of overcoming administrative hurdles.
Starting immediately, LAA has started its tariff review planning process. We want to make your life easier, and with that in mind, our new tariff aims to:
While we move forward with this project, your input continues to matter to us. Soon we will be reaching out to you to arrange coordinated consultations to ensure that we address concerns specific to you and your practice.
With your help, we can create a sustainable tariff that meets the needs of our clients, lawyers, and staff.
And there’s more.
While an updated tariff is needed, it’s not just about that.
We have always had a broader goal of collaboration. It’s simply not enough to only modernize the tariff without also modernizing our underlying processes and systems.
As part of our Governance Agreement commitment to being innovative, flexible and responsive, Legal Aid Alberta is constantly improving services to enhance access to justice for Albertans.
This has resulted in the establishment of the Roster Management Strategy Committee – a committee of 12 internal staff members focused on the planning, implementation and communication around new procedures and projects that directly affect our roster lawyers. For example, the tariff.
Legal Aid Alberta’s community of 1,200 dedicated roster lawyers is essential to the effective delivery of our services to Albertans. In order to best serve clients, we believe that roster lawyers require robust systems, high quality training and clear, timely and consistent information regarding Legal Aid Alberta processes and initiatives.
This is our commitment to you. As we look to the future, we will keep you informed as new projects are undertaken and current projects are completed.
As our tariff planning continues, please stay tuned for more news and updates.
