"Legal aid" is legal assistance for people who cannot afford to pay a lawyer from their own resources. In Alberta, legal aid is provided through the Legal Aid Alberta. Legal aid is independent of government, and the government has no involvement in appointing counsel in individual cases. Legal Aid Alberta does receive funding by way of an annual grant from the provincial government, through Alberta Justice.
Legal Aid Alberta delivers both criminal (including young offender) and civil legal aid. Criminal legal aid is cost shared with the federal government, through the Department of Justice Canada. There is a relatively small federal contribution to civil legal aid from the Department of Human Resources Canada. Other sources of funding are the Alberta Law Foundation (interest from lawyers' trust accounts) and client payment contributions (payments and partial payments).
Legal Aid Alberta makes assistance available free of charge to all people who request it in most criminal courts of first appearance (i.e. docket court). The lawyers who provide this service are known as duty counsel, and may be either staff lawyers or lawyers in private practice who are being paid for the day. There is no eligibility testing for this service. It is available to anyone requesting it, although if the court is very busy, priority is given to people in custody. The duty counsel service is a major legal aid program.
Individuals may also apply to have a lawyer appointed to represent them. To receive legal aid in this way, the applicant must be financially eligible and have the type of problem that Legal Aid Alberta is allowed to cover. People who receive legal aid are required to repay unless it would cause severe hardship. Many people repay by means of small monthly payments. There is no interest charged.
Pursuant to the Governance Agreement between the Law Society of Alberta, Alberta Justice and Legal Aid Alberta, a Board of Directors appointed by the Law Society of Alberta oversees the operations of Legal Aid Alberta.
There are 11 Legal Aid Alberta offices in the province. The provincial office is located in Edmonton, sharing space with the regional office. The province is divided into northern and southern districts, and within these, into 11 regions. The regional offices are located in Calgary, Edmonton, Fort McMurray, Grande Prairie, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, Peace River, Red Deer, St. Paul, Wetaskiwin, and Whitecourt. Staff from these offices travel on circuits to many surrounding communities.
Legal aid in Alberta is mostly delivered by lawyers in private practice who bill Legal Aid Alberta instead of their clients. The Legal Aid Alberta tariff of fees is significantly lower than the fees that would generally be paid to a lawyer on a private retainer. In Edmonton and Calgary there are full-time staff lawyers who provide eligible applicants with legal assistance in the family law area.
Legal aid to young people charged under the Youth Criminal Justice Act is delivered in Edmonton and Calgary by staff lawyers who work directly for Legal Aid Alberta. In other parts of the province, legal aid for youths is provided by private lawyers.