About JusticeNet
JusticeNet is a Canadian not-for-profit organization committed to reducing financial barriers to legal assistance and creating opportunities for legal professionals to serve people of limited means, those in distress or with special needs, and the communities and organizations that support them.
Our vision is a Canada in which financial circumstances do not stand between people and meaningful access to the justice system. We pursue that vision through fairness, flexibility and cooperation, with public service at the heart of the legal profession’s contribution.
Addressing the justice gap
For people who cannot afford standard legal fees yet do not qualify for legal aid, a legal problem can become an impossible financial choice. Pursuing a matter may put household resources at risk; proceeding without professional assistance can leave people struggling to navigate an unfamiliar system; abandoning it may mean leaving important rights unprotected.
JusticeNet was founded in 2008 in response to this gap. Its reduced-fee program connects eligible clients with participating lawyers, paralegals and mediators who make a portion of their practice available at fees that take account of a client’s financial circumstances.
Meaningful access to justice.
A shared responsibility.
JusticeNet gives legal professionals a practical way to translate their commitment to access to justice into public service. By voluntarily offering reduced fees for a portion of their work, participating professionals make their expertise more accessible while sustaining their independent practices.
This approach belongs within a wider, cooperative effort. JusticeNet is designed to complement legal aid and pro bono services, helping to address needs that these essential programs cannot fully meet. Lasting progress depends on the engagement of the legal profession, governments, community organizations and others with a stake in a fair and accessible justice system.
Our purpose is to help close the distance between the rights people hold and their ability to exercise them, so that meaningful access to justice becomes a practical reality for more Canadians.