Legal aid system is not designed in a way that it can give the best possible defence to and every person, at the time it is a right call to go with private lawyers who accept cases under legal aid. When the lawyer of a firm accepts the proposal of a client to represent him under the legal aid setup, the lawyers happily make themselves available to the client, most of the legal firms who accept cases under legal aid montreal mandate, they are very professional, they take cases under legal aid mandate as seriously as any other corporate case, sometimes they also take pro bono cases when they think they are fighting for the right cause which is win-win for both the parties involved. The client gets free legal help, and the firm consolidates its brand.
Consultation and process
When private bar lawyers take cases under the legal aid mandate, the government of the province paythem for the services. But if the case not pro bono most of the private bar lawyers charge fees for their consultation which varies case by case. Recently the private firms have started to represent the clients for appeals too, under the same legal aid montrealmandate. The consultation fee for the appeals is usually is comparatively lower than criminal offences. To avail, the legal aid individuals are needed to contact their local legal aid office and get an appointment. It is mandatory, as there is no website or system to know the eligibility of legal aid mandate. It has to be in person, and it depends upon the credentials of the individual and the discretion of the officer who is verifying details.
What do lawyers get from the government?
The government pays the private bar lawyers on a flat rate depends upon the cases they represent for less serious cases, the flat rate is also lesser, and the more serious cases like criminal offences, the flat rate on the slightly higher side. The remuneration for legal aid montreal government does not vary with the amount of time they spend on a particular case, it will be according to the above-mentioned categorization. This is why private lawyers are forced to charge the consultation fee from their clients because the business of law is highly unpredictable, one cannot predict the amount of time a case may take.
The perception battle
There’s a perception among the large section of society that the private lawyers who accept legal aidmontreal cases are bad lawyers, this is entirely false. And this has to change, other than improving the services the law firms should act in this direction too so that this perception could be averted. Maybe spend some money on Public Relation Management, collectively. As the lawyers put it, this nothing else but a mild allegation. All boils down to the competence of the lawyers when they get in to represent their clients. If lawyers are spending their time energy on your file and getting you justice, they are as good as any other lawyer. Find a good lawyer for yourself through montreal legal aid lawyer.
