In Ontario, Canada Duty Counsel refers to a lawyer paid by Legal Aid Ontario, an agency of the provincial government, who provides limited legal services in criminal, family law and child protection matters to people who are currently under arrest, or who arrive at court without representation, mainly in the Ontario Court of Justice.
The Duty Counsel lawyer is often the first point of contact for legal advice provided to a detained or arrested individual. People arrested by police services across the province of Ontario, as well as by Canada Border Services Agency officers at land, air, and sea ports of entry in Ontario also have the right to contact Duty Counsel. Any person arrested or detained in Canada has the right to speak to a lawyer without delay (with very narrow exceptions), and the police are required to inform them of that right, and facilitate access to a lawyer. The Duty Counsel system is the way in which these rights are implemented in Ontario.
Duty Counsel lawyers may serve as the arrested person's representative to the court on an ad-hoc basis, unless the accused has secured other legal advice.
Legal Aid Ontario employs both staff, and per diem lawyers (private bar members who work part-time) as duty counsel. Most lawyers providing telephone duty counsel services to arrestees and detainees are private bar lawyers contracted by a private firm to provide service on behalf of Legal Aid Ontario. Some of these private contractor lawyers work a few shifts a month in addition to their own work in private practice in order to serve the community. Others work on a full-time basis with the company under contract to Legal Aid Ontario.
Duty counsel is also available in family law and child protection cases. Duty counsel will advise clients and sometimes speak for them in court, but will not take on cases in the long-term. They can also assist with paperwork and, depending on the court, attend case conferences with clients.