PRO BONO STUDENTS CANADA
dalhousie
Building legal partnerships for the public good!
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What Students are Saying...

"I loved my project. This year I was part of the 'Legal Appeals Project' at Dalhousie Legal Aid. I helped individuals appeal unsuccessful applications for financial support from Nova Scotia Legal Aid. Being able to work directly with members of the community was invaluable, and I was able to actively involve and familiarize myself with the shortcomings of our legal aid service in Nova Scotia, and with the broader social issue of access to the justice system in Canada... among other things. It was great!"

-Tiffany Robertson, 1st-year 2007-2008

Pro Bono Publico: For the Public Good

Pro Bono Students Canada is a national student movement that is active in every law school across the country. Every year hundreds of students contribute thousands of volunteer hours per week to benefit their communities. PBSC matches law students with non-profit public interest organizations, government agencies and legal clinics to do law-related volunteer work. Since the program began at Dalhousie in 2000, we have worked hard to further three main objectives:

To promote public interest law & a pro bono ethic among law students;

To provide law students with the opportunity to contribute to their community while gaining valuable legal experience;

To build legal partnerships that improve access to social justice in our community.


How Does Dalhousie's Pro Bono Program Work?

Law students volunteer their time to complete projects during the academic year for local organizations and lawyers. A Project Supervisor from the organization oversees the assignment and helps students understand and meet the project's goals. A Project Lawyer is responsible for assessing the students' work and providing supplemental support. Students may also work directly with lawyers requiring assistance with pro bono files. They may work on-site or from home.


What Kind of Work Can Pro Bono Students Do?

Projects that are appropriate include:

Policy research for lobbying and advocacy work
Researching, drafting or revising legal memos, policy papers and plain language guides
Case preparation and assistance to counsel in legal proceedings (working with a lawyer on a pro bono basis)
Conducting client interviews, assisting with filling in forms and communicating legal information to clients
Providing information through legal information hotlines, lawyer referral services, drop-in information sessions, and legal workshops

Projects that are inappropriate include:

Projects that are not supervised by a lawyer
Projects with no legal content
Legal advocacy for private individuals, not organizations
A placement which requires a student to provide legal advice rather than legal information.