TORONTO - Attorney General Chris Bentley says legal aid will take a look at a new report that claims people in Brampton, Barrie and Ottawa are paying too much for legal advice.
The County and District Law Presidents' Association says people who took their cases to three criminal law offices in those cities paid as much as 85 per cent more than those who used private lawyers.
The group also says overhead costs in those offices are too high -- and doesn't want legal aid to expand those offices elsewhere.
Bentley says there have been several reports on the staff law offices and they are all before the legal aid board.
The criminal law offices -- or CLOs -- are a pilot project set up by Legal Aid Ontario to determine if they're a better way to deal with cases and should be expanded.
They involve salaried lawyers who work in the specific offices instead of private lawyers who are paid by legal aid on a case-by-case basis.
The fees for people who choose to use the CLOs include administrative and office overhead costs as well as those of the lawyer.
The Ontario government funds legal aid but it works as an independent entity.
