About us

The Law Foundation of Ontario was established in 1974 under the Law Society Act. The Foundation receives and uses the interest on lawyers’ and paralegals’ mixed trust accounts to support legal education, legal research, legal aid, and law libraries in Ontario. We do this through grantmaking to nonprofits and providing funds to Legal Aid Ontario.

We are the sole foundation in Ontario with the mandate of improving access to justice. A priority for the Foundation is to pay particular attention to groups who have experienced injustice or inequity – past or current – and those who have experienced exclusion or barriers in society.

The Foundation also administers the Class Proceedings Fund, which provides cost assistance in class actions. The Class Proceedings Committee is responsible for deciding who will receive funding.

Our vision

Our mission

Our approach

Our vision

Putting people at the heart of justice.

Our mission

Our approach

The Law Foundation of Ontario strives to:

Act with fairness
We endeavour to act with fairness in all our dealings. We exercise integrity and good governance to ensure our actions, relationships and decisions are transparent and accountable

Be open and supportive
We foster relationships that are open and supportive. We encourage our grantees and partners to approach us in good times and bad. Often the best ideas come from lessons learned.

Build bridges
We bring our grantees, partners and other community members together around common ideas and issues. We build bridges among groups to find new partnerships and approaches.

Expand knowledge
We continually deepen our knowledge of access to justice, including the contribution of community organizations. We are committed to sharing our knowledge about what is happening and what works.

Act as a catalyst
We actively engage with others to assess needs, encourage collaboration, and identify promising long-term solutions. We initiate funding and action to address complex problems.

Support innovation
We encourage new and creative thinking. We strive to be flexible so we can support the development of innovative and fledgling ideas.

Access to justice exists when the public can understand, use, and afford information and services to prevent and resolve their legal disputes and to achieve just outcomes without delay.

Our people

The Law Foundation of Ontario is governed by a five-person voluntary Board of Trustees and supported by a staff team. Meet our Board and staff.

Strategic plan

Following a process that included input from stakeholders, The Law Foundation of Ontario’s 2016-2020 strategic plan identifies four strategic directions.