Nova Scotia Legal Aid Commission

The 1977 Legal Aid Act, (1989) R.S.N.S., c. 252 created the Nova Scotia Legal Aid Commission and made it responsible for Legal Aid in the Province. The Commission has 17 Directors, 2 of whom are non-voting members selected from the public service. All other directors are appointed by the Provincial Governor-in-Council; 8 are nominated by the Minister of Justice (Attorney General) and 7 are nominated by the Council of Nova Scotia Barristers' Society. One of the directors is named as Chair. The directors need not all be lawyers; they represent all geographical areas of the Province, serve three-year terms and may be reappointed.

The Nova Scotia Legal Aid Commission is provided a grant from the Province of Nova Scotia under the Department of Justice (Attorney General). The Commission is designated as the Provincial agency for the delivery of Legal Aid services. There is an agreement respecting Legal Aid in Criminal Law and Youth Criminal Justice Act matters which provides for a federal contribution to the cost of adult criminal and young offender legal aid in the Province and imposes obligations on the Province to provide certain levels of service.

The Commission delivers most of its services via a network of 16 community-based law offices as well as 1 sub-office known as Nova Scotia Legal Aid. The offices are staffed by salaried lawyers and, in certain situations, supplemented by lawyers in private practice on a fee-for service basis.

Put very simply, Legal Aid may provide a lawyer to someone who could not otherwise afford one. To be eligible for the service in Nova Scotia, an applicant must be receiving Social Assistance Benefits or be in an equivalent financial position. It must also be determined that there is some merit in the case and that the applicant will receive some benefit if service is provided. Legal services are provided mainly in the areas of family and criminal law.

For further inquiries, please refer to your telephone directory for the Nova Scotia Legal Aid Office nearest you. If you are unable to locate the telephone number for the office nearest you, please contact:

Office of the Executive Director
Nova Scotia Legal Aid Commission
102-137 Chain Lake Drive
Halifax, NS B3S 1B3
(902) 420-6578 or toll-free 1-877-420-6578
(902) 420-3471 Fax
nsla.exec@ns.sympatico.ca

To view the Commission's Routine Access Policy please click here: