+ pbsc-uvic training session 2011-2012. + pbsc mandate pbsc aims (1) to provide vulnerable...
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+ PBSC-UVic Training Session2011-2012
+
PBSC MandatePBSC aims
(1) to provide vulnerable communities with legal services free of charge,
(2) to provide law students with out-of-the classroom legal experience, and
(3) to instill the pro bono ethic in future lawyers from their first day of law school.
+Pro Bono Students Canada The only national pro bono program in Canada
Has been serving the legal profession for 15 years
Operates 23 Canadian law school chapters
Approximately 1500 volunteers nationwide
Runs almost 500 projects every year
Provides 120,000 hours of legal services each year
+
PBSC Structure
National Offic
e
• PBSC has a National Office that supports and guides the work of students hired to run PBSC’s 22 chapters from coast to coast
Local
Chapters
• All 23 law schools in the country house a local PBSC chapter
• Each year approximately 40 law students are hired to run these local chapters
Program Coordinators
• PBSC Program Coordinators develop placements in the community and monitor the projects throughout the year;
• Your Program Coordinator is here to make sure your volunteer experience with PBSC is an excellent one!
+
How PBSC Works
PBSC increases access to justice by partnering with:
Not-for-profit
Organizations Legal Clinics and Law
Help Centres Government Agencies Courts and Tribunals Lawyers working on
Pro Bono files
+What Do PBSC Volunteers Do? Legal Research and Writing – summarize
legislation and write case briefs for non-profit organizations and pro bono lawyers
Clinical Projects – assist lawyers by conducting client intake, providing information to clients, assisting with document preparation
Public Presentations – develop and deliver legal information seminars to members of the public who do not have access to lawyers; create plain language documents for the public
+
What is Required from PBSC Students?
General PBSC Training
Westlaw Canada Training
Student Agreement Form
3–5 Hours per Week on Your PBSC Project
On-line, end-of-year survey
+Timeline 2011-2012
+PBSC Timeline
PBSC General Training (this is it!)
PBSC-Westlaw Canada Training
Make Contact with your Organization
Make Contact with your Lawyer Supervisor (if he or she is not also from your organization)
Meet With Your Organization and Supervising Lawyer
Develop a Work Plan and have it approved by your Organization and Supervising Lawyer
Begin Working on your Placement
September October
+
First Meeting
Prior to the meeting, gather background information
Ask for more details about your assigned project
Make sure to take careful notes!
Ask: Where should I begin with my
research? Are there any special
resources available that I can use?
Do you have examples of similar work that I can review?
What would you like the final product to look like?
Is there anything else I need to know?
What to Discuss
+
Develop A Work Plan
Discuss how you should work through the project with your supervisor
Devise a schedule with timelines and benchmarks you will need to hit
Set a final deadline and dates for a number of regular ‘check-ins’ along the way
Draft the work plan and ask your organization and lawyer supervisor to approve it
What it Should Contain
+PBSC Timeline
Continue Working on Your Project
Make yourself available to the Program Coordinator for Monitoring
Check in with your Organization and Lawyer Supervisor about where your project is at (if applicable)
Attend PBSC’s Fall Community Building Event!
Exam Time. We have made it clear to your Organization that this month, you will not be working on your PBSC project. Good luck!
November December
+PBSC Timeline
Resume Work on Your Project
Consider Applying to be a 2012-2013 Program Coordinator
Consider Applying to be a 2012-2013 National Office Coordinator
Continue Working on Your Project
Respond to the second Monitoring telephone call
January February
+PBSC Timeline
Submit Your Final Project (if Applicable) before the Exam Period Begins
Attend PBSC’s Final Appreciation Event!
Complete PBSC’s on-line, End of Year Survey
Your project should be completed and submitted at this point, so you can focus on your exams.
March April
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Potential Challenges You Might Face:
Time ManagementDisengagementWithdrawal
+Legal Advice vs. Legal Information
+Legal Information vs. Legal Advice
Law Students CAN provide legal information. Although the line between legal information and legal advice can be blurry, it is critical that all PBSC volunteers understand the distinction:
Legal information is a general, objective description of the state of the law and not based on a specific set of facts
Legal advice is a subjective opinion about how the law applies to a specific set of facts
Legal Information Legal Advice
+Sample Disclaimer for Written Documents
“This document does not contain legal advice. Pro Bono students Canada is a student
organization. This document was prepared with the assistance of PBSC law student
volunteers. PBSC students are not lawyers and they are not authorized to provide legal
advice. This document contains general discussion of certain legal and related issues
only. If you require legal advice, please consult with a lawyer.”
+
ConclusionWe are here to help: contact us for
assistance at any point in the year!
Office Hours this term: Friday, 1-2pm
Contact us by e-mail at [email protected], and stay updated via our website: http://www.probonostudents.ca/chapter/victoria
Good luck with your placement!
“The context you’re graduating into is a bit worrying for me, so I want to paint a brief contextual picture of what may be lying in wait for you when you graduate. And I tell you this not to spook you, but to prepare you for the frenetically fluid, intellectually sclerotic, rhetorically tempestuous, ideologically polarized and economically narcissistic rhetoric that will be clamouring for your attention when you finish law school. It’s a context that will try to cauterize your commitment and it will condescend to your compassion. Resist. How? By thinking about the other context, the humane one, that brought you into Pro Bono Students Canada’s fold.”
- Hon. Madam Justice Rosalie Silberman Abella, Supreme Court of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario