February 12, 2021 – It’s not too late to register for LAA’s youth criminal law webinar series taking place throughout the month of February.
February 12, 2021 – As you know, under LAA’s administrative policies, roster lawyers must submit a final invoice within six months of when they complete work on a certificate. But, when possible, we’d like our roster lawyers to submit their duty counsel certificates earlier – and ideally, within 30 days of when you acted as duty counsel.
February 12, 2021 – We know the pandemic has had a dramatic impact on Alberta’s economy – and Alberta’s lawyers are no exception. We wanted to remind our roster lawyers that you have the option of issuing an interim account on your outstanding certificates. Instead of waiting until a file is complete, you can send us an invoice for the work you’ve completed to date.
January 15, 2021 – LAA has been informed that the Government of Alberta has discontinued in-court services for their Family Court Counsellors (FCC) program through Resolution and Court Administration Services (RCAS). We have been informed that as of January 4, 2021, RCAS is no longer offering FCC in-court assistance in Calgary and in Medicine Hat.
November 18, 2020 – Last week, we became aware that ACPS has advised all Crown prosecutors to appear virtually for all docket courts, as well as for trials whenever feasible. While LAA’s operations at the courthouse continue to be business as usual, given the Crown’s approach we wanted to remind you that you are encouraged to contact us in advance with any concerns you may have about appearing in person.
November 3, 2020 – LAA is launching a new process to improve client service by streamlining the process for clients who already have active coverage for an adult criminal matter.
October 1, 2020 – We are excited to share with you a number of improvements to the Change of Counsel request process. As you know, clients sometimes experience delays when requesting a change of counsel, which has had negative impacts on them and you, as well as creating delays in the courts. We will be implementing several changes on October 2, which will streamline and expedite the change of counsel process.
September 3, 2020 – The Criminal Trial Group will expand our full-scope criminal law offerings to select adult clients, taking on a limited number of specific matters only, where our staff lawyers might be able to provide a high level of service to especially vulnerable clients, such as youth transitioning to adult court.
September 3, 2020 – On July 6, 2020, Legal Aid Alberta implemented appropriate hours on family certificates. Every family matter is reviewed by an assessment team lawyer, and appropriate hours are determined based on the presented legal issues and information provided by the client.
