January 25, 2024
Thank you to those who responded to our recent survey asking what type of content you’d like to see in your Roster Report. With the survey results in mind, this week we’re sharing an updated version of one of the resources on our website: tips for navigating challenging client relationships.
Among the strategies we suggest: having a separate retainer letter, making sure your client understands which specific legal issues are covered by the certificate, establishing rules of communication, creating a list of resources that clients can access, and more. Click here for more details and more tips.
Many of these strategies can be used to work with both Legal Aid clients as well as your private files. We hope that these tips and tricks will be useful for those who are new to the roster and serve as a helpful refresher for the community as a whole.
Under s. 9.01 of the old LAA Tariff and s. 18.01 of the new LAA Tariff, Counsel may request approval to fund a Voice of the Child Report or a PN7. The Authorization Request must contain:
Additionally, you must provide to LAA a copy of the Order directing the Report/Practice Note, as well as a detailed breakdown of the cost of obtaining the expert’s report. Ideally, the expert would prepare a quote, which would include the hourly rate (paid at a maximum of $155.00 per hour for psychologists), the number of hours the expert requires, and the steps the expert would take.
Refer to section 3.23 of LAA’s Administrative Policy 5 for the maximum hourly rates permitted for expert or professional fees, including for expert testimony at trial. Note that LAA does not pay for individual counselling for a child client (or the parent-parties) or family restructuring therapy, and LAA does not pay psychologists at a rate above the $155.00 per hour. Arrangements where LAA would effectively be subsidizing the cost of the psychologist are not permitted.
