Nova Scotia Legal Aid receives funding to attract more private lawyers

The Nova Scotia government is looking to attract more private lawyers needed to take on legal aid cases by announcing millions of dollars in new funding to help increase their compensation.

Nova Scotia Legal Aid will receive an additional $3.98 million for 2024-25, and $5.6 million annually starting in 2025-26, the province said Thursday in a news release.

The funding will contribute to hourly wage increases for private lawyers. 

"Nova Scotia Legal Aid is an important pillar of our justice system," Justice Minister Barbara Adams said in the release. "It ensures that people who can't afford legal representation get it, providing representation, advice and information.

"This funding will help ensure that legal aid has the resources to support our most vulnerable who need help with legal matters."

Last rate increase in 2014

The legal aid commission relies on private lawyers to step in when staff lawyers are unavailable or conflicts of interest arise. Private lawyers provided services for about a quarter of legal aid files opened in the province in 2023-24.

Charlene Moore, CEO of Nova Scotia Legal Aid, said the rates paid to private lawyers had not increased since 2014.

She said lawyers often cited the rates — which were among the lowest in the country — as a reason for not taking on cases with legal aid certificates. People seeking representation must apply and be approved for a certificate, which allows them to find a private lawyer who will represent them at the legal aid rate.

"The number of private lawyers who could take our certificates has been decreasing in both the family and the criminal [cases] across the province," said Moore. 

'Lawyers further and further away' 

Moore said private lawyers who accept legal certificates were particularly limited in rural areas.

"We had to look for lawyers further and further away from where the court was and where the client lived," Moore said. "Although technology helps in being able to meet with your client ... it's still not the same as when they're in the community." 

Moore said travel costs for lawyers to attend court also added to an administrative burden. 

Lawyers with 10 or more years of experience who take on homicide cases will receive $160 per hour, up from $95. Cases involving custody or return of a child will also receive $160 per hour — double the previous rate. 

Lawyers with less than five years of experience will see an increase to $120 an hour from $70, and those with five years or more of experience will see an increase to $140 an hour from $80.

The provincial budget had allotted $29.5 million to Nova Scotia Legal Aid for 2024-25.