For more than 50 years, LAA has been providing access to justice for Albertans in need of legal support.
February 5 – 9 is Access to Justice Week in Alberta, sponsored by the Canadian Bar Association. For more than 50 years, Legal Aid Alberta has been a champion of access to justice. We take innovative measures to remove barriers that would make it impossible for disadvantaged Albertans to reach out to us for legal representation.
Albertans faced with challenging legal and life circumstances benefit from legal support through LAA every day.
Those facing family violence, for example, receive free support through LAA’s Emergency Protection Order Program. Our EPOP team applied for more than 2,100 protection orders in 2022-23.
Read more: How roster lawyers helped establish duty counsel services in Alberta
And across the province, duty counsel – the lawyers who provide free, on-the-spot legal advice to Albertans at their first court appearances – offer legal support countless thousands of times each year. This support is coordinated provincewide by LAA.
Every day, in every corner of the province, our network of approximately 1,200 roster lawyers plays a vital role in providing access to justice.
In addition to staff and roster lawyers, our Contact Centre team members play a key role in access to justice. They answer hundreds of calls each day, responding to disadvantaged Albertans seeking legal support.
At any given time, Legal Aid Alberta is representing approximately 35,000 Albertans who need comprehensive legal assistance. Our staff and roster of private-practice lawyers serve Albertans in 75 communities across the province, managing over 64,000 active files.
As we observe Access to Justice Week, we reflect on the fact that, by improving access to justice and protecting the rights and freedoms we all cherish, LAA is having an important impact on the lives of all Albertans. In focusing on access to justice, we are carrying out our mission:
“We resolve legal problems for disadvantaged Albertans and, in doing so, protect the Rule of Law for the benefit of everyone.”
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