Legal aid services and estates law
Monday, May 10, 2021 @ 8:42 AM | By Kim Gale and Malvin Seto
Legal Aid Services Act (LASA) received royal assent in July 2020 as part of the
Smarter and Stronger Justice Act. The LASA is a step forward to modernize the legal aid framework for low-income Ontarians through a shift from a regulatory regime to giving Legal Aid Ontario (LAO) more flexibility to develop and adapt its own rules, policies and services that better serve low-income Ontarians.
Why is the LASA relevant today?
The LASA gives LAO the power to set its own rules. On April 8, 2021, LAO released a statement indicating that it had created the rules to support the implementation of the LASA. A large part of its modernized approach asks for feedback from the private bar, clinics, other service providers and stakeholders. This feedback period is open from April 2, 2021, to May 20, 2021. You can provide your feedback for the LAO draft rules here.