Today, the Toronto Star published this article about Legal Aid Ontario’s failure to serve the middle class . (Click here to read the article “Legal Aid Urged for Middle Classes”, July 26, 2008.)
The major complaints about legal aid in Ontario, according to the article, are that
(1) The stringent terms of financial eligibility fail to serve even lower-middle-class workers;
(2) The (almost) below-cost pay for LAO funded cases is destroying the system.
As a lawyer who accepts legal aid, I offer the following comments:
I agree that the financial eligibility for Legal Aid is too stringent. One of the mandates of Legal Aid Ontario when it was established 40 years ago was to serve “individuals with modest means.”
However, in today’s reality, even individuals earning as little as $16,600 annually after tax may be rejected for LAO funding. Many individuals facing dire legal problems simply do not have access to LAO because their income is slightly above the prescribed limits. Many of them are forced to represent themselves, often with very poor results.
In my opinion, self-representing individuals often use up more court time and resources, as they are trying to weave their way through the legal system without little or no assistance. I suggest that the public would be better served if these self-represented individuals were provided with legal assistance and representation, since the court system would become more efficient.
The second part of the challenge is that LAO pays lawyers too little. LAO currently pays $78-$98 dollars per hour. According to the article, the petty pay is draining the pool of practitioners who are willing to take on cases.
As a practitioner, I agree that lawyers should be compensated more, but rather than increasing the hourly rate, more working hours should be authorized.
Speaking for myself, the number one problem that deters me from taking on a case is the fact that unrealistically few hours are authorized for certain cases. Generally, a “simple” family law LAO certificate allows 8 to 12 hours for a separation matter.
It often turns out that things are more complicated under the surface, and the matter soon mushrooms into a major case that requires more than double the authorized hours. LAO Solicitors, who are obliged to finish the case under the authorized number of hours, often end up working at 30% to 40% of the prescribed rate because the hours that exceed the authorization are seldom properly compensated, if they are compensated at all. Nothing destroys the morale of the lawyers faster than being forced to work at a heavily discounted rate. Would you keep your job if you were required to take a pay cut of 70%?
There is definitely room for improvement within the current legal aid system. At the same time, I do think that there are many competent counsels who accept legal aid with great pride. They work diligently and serve their clients faithfully. I think they deserve a round of applause.
