Staff practice criminal law and family law. Several urban legal aid offices have developed specialized teams who practice in family law or in criminal law. In other offices individual staff lawyers may specialize in family law or criminal law and in some cases lawyers practice in both areas of law.

About 12.1% of staff have indicated they are Aboriginal Persons, 1.3% have indicated they are a Visible Minority, and 7.6% have indicated they have a Disability. 70% of staff are women, 38.9% of the management positions are held by women and 50% of lawyers are women. (Click HERE  to view our Employment Equity progress chart.)

The staff include (as of January 2007):

• 75 lawyers
• 10 of the lawyers (about 13.3% of the total) have received the designation "Queen's Counsel" (see Note 1).
• about 1/3 of the lawyers have been practising law for 10 to 20 years
• about 1/3 of the lawyers have been practising law for more than 20 years.
• our lawyers practice in all levels of Court, including the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal and when required, The Supreme Court of Canada.
• 1 articling student for the 2006-07 year, who works under the supervision of a lawyer
• 17 legal assistants (also known as paralegals)
• 95% of the legal assistants have worked for the Commission for more than 20 years
• 44 support staff, including legal secretaries, receptionists and eligibility officers
• about 35% have been employed by the Commission for 10 to 20 years
• about 20% have been employed by the Commission for more than 20 years.
• 8 administrative staff, ½ of whom have been employed by the Commission for more than 15 years.

Note 1 - Queen's Counsel is an honorary designation. Appointees must live in Saskatchewan and must have practised law at least 10 years in the superior courts of any province or territory of Canada, or the United Kingdom and Ireland. Individuals receiving the Queen's Counsel (QC) designation have been recommended by a selection committee comprised of Saskatchewan's Minister of Justice, the Chief Justice of the Court of Queen's Bench for Saskatchewan or the Chief Justice of the Court of Appeal (on an alternating basis), and the past presidents of the Saskatchewan branch of the Canadian Bar Association and the Law Society of Saskatchewan.