LSS Tariffs changes
The Legal Services Society (LSS) will implement several changes to the LSS Tariffs effective April 27, 2015, to support the launch of LSS Online, our new lawyer portal. These changes include the following:
- new terminology,
- changes to authorization and invoicing procedures (including a requirement to attach timesheets when billing for hourly tariffs),
- a simplified Appeals and Judicial Reviews Tariff, and
- other housekeeping changes.
For more details, see our summary of the changes.
The revised LSS Tariffs applies to all contracts issued on or after April 27, 2015, including those contracts that replace pre-existing open referrals migrated to LSS Online.
The updated chapters of the LSS Tariffs will be available on April 27, 2015, on the LSS website at legalaid.bc.ca (under Lawyers – LSS Tariffs) and in LSS Online under Resources.
Migration of pre-existing referrals to LSS Online
Billing history and tariff maximums
Lawyers are responsible for taking into account prior billings through Lawyer e-services when submitting invoices on migrated contracts via LSS Online. If you billed against a pre-existing referral through Lawyer e-services before migration, the hours/units available for most tariff items on your LSS Online contract will not reflect your Lawyer e-services billings (i.e., for most tariff items it will show the total available on a contract as if you had not billed any fees or units yet). However, tariff maximums continue to apply to the total amount billed through Lawyer e-services and LSS Online.
Other contract changes
The migration of pre-existing referrals to LSS Online should not result in any material changes to your contract. However, if you do see a material discrepancy (e.g., wrong charges or legal issues) between a pre-existing referral and your LSS Online contract, you are responsible for informing LSS and requesting a change to your contract by using the LSS Online authorization process. LSS does not consider procedural changes and compliance with the requirements of LSS Online to be material.
As always, we welcome your feedback regarding the LSS Tariffs. If you have any comments, please email lawyersresources@lss.bc.ca.
Heidi Mason
Director, Legal Advice and Representation
April 27, 2015