Legal Aid Alberta took time to recognize all duty counsel and the vital role they play in protecting access to justice, on Oct. 27 – Duty Counsel Day.
In Calgary and Edmonton, LAA set up information stands sharing Duty Counsel Day cookies, candies and, most importantly, information about duty counsel and other services LAA provides to Albertans every day.
“I love duty counsel,” was printed on the Duty Counsel Day cookies, and it also sprang from the lips of appreciative clients.
LAA helped raise awareness of Albertans’ Charter right to representation and the ways duty counsel protect those rights in other ways, too. In Red Deer, LAA staff duty counsel Murray Shack spoke with Red Deer News Now about the impact of duty counsel. And in Edmonton, LAA staff duty counsel Justin Hjelsvold spoke to CBC radio about the role of duty counsel. Earlier this month, staff duty counsel Nicole Sissons and Stephanie Ma appeared on Global news to speak about the impact of duty counsel.
At present, Legal Aid Alberta is looking to add to our Roster duty counsel complement to attend criminal courts (and circuit points) in:
- High Level
- High Prairie
- Peace River
- Rocky Mountain House
- Lethbridge
- Brooks
- Medicine Hat
If you are an experienced lawyer in the areas of criminal law and are interested in providing duty counsel services in these locations, please contact [email protected] for more information on the application process and selection metrics.