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- Alberta Lawyers Indemnity Association (ALIA)
- Making a Payment to ALIA
Please make payments payable to Alberta Lawyers Indemnity Association (ALIA).
Payments can be made by:
- Electronic Bill Payment
- Electronic Funds Transfer
- Wire Transfer (Recommended for international payments only)
Please be advised that payments by cheque, e-transfer/email transfer, direct deposit, and bank drafts cannot be accepted. Payments made by bank teller are not accepted as the financial institutions do not provide the Law Society with the appropriate information to associate lawyer’s membership information to their payment.
Note: Confirmation of receipt of payments and payment processing can be found on the Lawyer Portal following completion of payment.
Fees
To certify your invoice, please log into the Lawyer Portal and follow the certification and payment instructions.
Paying by Electronic Bill Payment
Electronic bill payment (EBP) lets you make individual or recurring electronic payments through your financial institution. Payments are facilitated in the same way as paying utility bills online. ALIA is registered as a payee with the major financial institutions under the vendor name Alberta Lawyers Indemnity Association.
Account Numbers
Your account number must be indicated for your payment to be properly processed via EBP. Payee and account numbers will be listed on the invoices; avoid using invoice numbers.
For ALIA invoices, your account number is your Law Society member ID number.
| Fee Type | Account Description | Account Number | Payee |
| ALIA Indemnity Dues | Law Society member ID number | 4 to 6 digits | Alberta Lawyers Indemnity Association |
Paying by Electronic Funds Transfer
EFT is a system of transferring money from one bank account directly to another. Payments are facilitated in the same way as a preauthorized debit/credit transaction. To make an EFT payment, please refer to the Law Society bank account information found on your invoice.
Please log into the Lawyer Portal and select Return Sheet from the dropdown menu. Select how you will be remitting payment (i.e. Full or Instalments) on the left, review the list of lawyers, and select Pay Now at the bottom of your Return Sheet. Once you click Submit, your Return Sheet will generate and will include our banking details and required reference numbers to make a payment. The “RTN” portion of your reference number is not required when remitting payment through your bank.
Paying by Wire Transfer
Wire Transfer payments are used primarily for international transactions where lawyers do not have a bank account in Canada. To make a wire transfer payment, please refer to the ALIA bank account information found on your invoice and email payment details to Accounting to ensure payment is processed accurately.
Your financial institution may charge a fee to complete this wire transfer. It is your responsibility to account for additional bank fees and currency exchange rates when remitting your fees to the Law Society.
Making Payments for Multiple Lawyers
To make payments for multiple lawyers, complete the following:
- Download a copy of your Return Sheet from the Lawyer/Firm Administrator portal. The Return Sheet is a comprehensive invoice that itemizes the lawyers on whose behalf you are paying. The Return Sheet Payment Reference number (8 digits) will be your Account Number for payment remittance.
- Provide your Return Sheet Payment Reference number in an email to Accounting to notify that you have made payment. This helps Accounting accurately trace and apply the payment against each lawyer’s outstanding invoice.
Payment Processing Timelines
Once a payment is made at a financial institution, it can take anywhere from three to five business days for your payment to be reflected in the Lawyer Portal. Please check the Lawyer Portal for payment status.
We strongly encourage you to pay the right organization to avoid processing delays. Indemnity and Civil Litigation Filing Levies, and Lawyer Deductibles should be paid to the Alberta Lawyers Indemnity Association. Payments should be submitted prior to our deadlines to avoid the risk of administrative suspension. For example, if you pay your Indemnity Levy on the June 30 deadline, your payment may not be received until the next business day, which could result in administrative suspension.
For payment related inquiries, please contact Accounting.
For all other inquires, please contact Customer Service.
Following an in-depth analysis by the Law Society of both the costs and the impact internally and to the profession, the Law Society decided to eliminate the credit card payment option from its infrastructure in early 2020. Similarly, the Law Society determined that the benefit of accepting cheques as a form of payment was outweighed by the cost of the manual process required to accept them. As all billing of ALIA’s levies – and all processing of payments associated with them – is done through the Law Society, this change by the Law Society means that ALIA can no longer accept credit card or cheque payments. ALIA’s Subscribers benefit from the substantial cost savings. Going forward, payment to the Law Society or ALIA can be made through your online bank (for individual lawyers) or via electronic funds transfer (for firms/firm administrators). Unfortunately, the Law Society’s research indicates that it is not possible at this time for ALIA to charge a convenience fee when paying by credit card to compensate for the merchant banking fees. If the ability to offset such banking fees does become possible, the Law Society will revisit this issue. Setting up Online Bill Payment is an easy, one-time process. If you’ve ever paid a bill through your online bank, the process is the same – simply record your member ID and invoice number via the Lawyer Portal, certify that you will complete your payment and submit. Once you have submitted, pay your invoice amount via your online bank and you’re all set. For support on setting up online payment, contact your financial institution. You must complete all the EFT steps in the Lawyer/Firm Administrator Portal for this information. To send an EFT, you must have two pieces of information: the full name of the company (Law Society of Alberta or Alberta Lawyers Indemnity Association) and the bank account information for the company. The bank account information is provided on the return sheet (reference number) in the Lawyer/Firm Administrator Portal. Paying by Online Banking/EFT is fast, secure, there are no hidden fees. You only need to set up our banking information once for the Law Society and once for ALIA, and payments can be made quickly. It takes approximately one business day for the ALIA to receive an EFT on online bill payment. After logging in to the Lawyer Portal, view your invoice and record your member ID. Make sure to certify that you have made your payment in the Lawyer Portal and that you complete your payment prior to the relevant deadline to avoid suspension. We strongly encourage you to submit all payments prior to our deadlines to avoid the risk of administrative suspension. For example, if you pay on the March 15 deadline, your payment will not be received until March 16, which may result in an administrative suspension. Yes. EFT payments are a secure way of sending money. If you have any questions about your banking security, please reach out to your bank. Each bank has a different way of managing EFTs, so we encourage you to contact your bank to set up EFT payments. In the meantime, we are happy to help you with any Lawyer/Firm Administrator Portal questions you may have regarding the EFT payment method. When you are setting up EFT, please ensure you note the payee as the Alberta Lawyer’s Indemnity Association. Yes. It’s possible for you to post-date an EFT payment. If you select this method, we encourage you to post-date the payment for two business days prior to our deadline. Like many organizations, we are committed to a digital strategy that is transitioning our paper processes to electronic ones. Processing cheques is a manual paper process that is time and resource intensive. Paying the Law Society and ALIA electronically is fast, simple and secure. It’s best to pay by online banking as soon as possible. Make sure to certify that you have made your payment in the Lawyer Portal and that you complete your payment prior to the relevant deadline to avoid suspension.Frequently Asked Questions