Fact sheets and backgrounders are easy to access summaries of Legal Aid Ontario's programs and activities. They are handy for fact checking and as reference materials.

How is LAO funded?

Find out where LAO's revenue comes from.

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Legal Aid at a glance

A brief overview of Legal Aid Ontario, how its funded, its operations, programs and services.

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Courthouse Applications

Legal Aid Ontario's initiatives to help promote easier access to justice, including the simplified online application process, a service that helps clearly eligible clients get legal aid faster.

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Who Qualifies for Certificate Services?

Legal Aid Ontario makes sure clients only get assistance when it is appropriate to their circumstances.

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Community Legal Clinics

Community legal clinics are independent, non-profit organizations funded by Legal Aid Ontario. Most of their work focuses on securing basic needs for low-income individuals, such as shelter and income support for those unable to work.

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Complaints

A step by step outline of LAO's complaints process for people who are unhappy with any issue related to legal aid services.

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Duty Counsel Services

DUty counsel lawyers assist more than 700,000 people a year and represent the most visible aspect of Legal Aid Ontario.

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Responding to the Aboriginal Community

LAO supports programs that integrate traditional native practices and customs with the justice system to address the over-representation of First Nations people in Canada's prisons.

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Big Case Management (BCM)

The Big Case Management (BCM) program is a cost monitoring and control system for large-scale criminal cases. It is a key component of Legal Aid Ontario's mandate to provide quality service to clients and accountability to taxpayers.

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SOAP and OLA

Simplified Online Application Process (SOAP)
To expedite clients through the court process,, LAO introduced a simplified online application process (SOAP). This program helps clearly people who are clearly eligible for legal aid receive help faster.

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Panel Memberships

As part of Legal Aid Ontario’s commitment to ensure that all clients receive high quality legal aid services, LAO has implemented panel standards, which detail the minimum experience and professional development requirements for lawyers working with legal aid clients.

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