santiago, chile april - 2011

Santiago, Chile April - 2011

ROTATING PRESENTATION OF PRO BONO INITIATIVES

Pro Bono Students CanadaORGANIZATIONLOGO HERE

The PBSC Model:

• Staffing: local, law student staffing model

• Collaborative Governance: centralized oversight by National Office and support from local law schools

• Quality-Control: consistency of programming, quality-assurance and best practices

• Placements: rely on volunteer law student labour to increase access to justice

• Funding: long-term private and public sector funders and diversification of funding stream


PBSC Overview:

• Founded in 1996 at the University of Toronto

• National organization

• Operate in all 21 law schools in Canada

• Mandate to

1. provide law students with practical legal experiences2. expose students to the value of pro bono 3. increase access to justice in Canada


“I founded PBSC at the University of Toronto in 1996 because I was troubled by the fact that law students tended to assume if you wanted to ‘do good’ on graduation, you opted for traditional poverty law practice. By championing the value of pro bono service, we were able to remind students that there are many opportunities for public interest work in traditional practice settings. I am proud of the fact that PBSC quickly became one of the key galvanizing organizations for pro bono practice in Canada.” Ronald J. Daniels, President, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland and former Dean, University of Toronto, Faculty of Law


1996:

1 law school

50 law students

A handful of pro bono placements

2 funders

2011:21 law schools – every one in Canada

1451 law students – ¼ of all law students

436 pro bono placements

116,080 hours of free legal services

5 major national funders

Over a dozen local funders


Governance


.Staffing Model:

•Every chapter staffed by law student Program Coordinators

•One Summer Program Coordinator

•Two School-Year Program Coordinators

•Hired by the Local Law Schools

•Trained and Supervised by National Office

•Local Oversight by “On-Site Supervisor” at the law school


Role of Program Coordinators:

•Network with and recruit local organizations (June)

•Develop legal placements (July-August)

•Launch program at start of school-year (September)

•Recruit, train and match student volunteers (September)

•Monitor placements (November & February)

•Hold events and raise profile of PBSC (Year-Round)

•Hire and transition successors (March)


Role of National Office: •Train Program Coordinators

•Monitor Program Coordinators

•Provide resource materials and other support

•Help chapters develop local and regional partnerships

•Create our own national programs and partnerships

•Monitor and evaluate our program annually

•Maintain quality-control

•Provide overall strategic vision for program


Quality-Control Through Standardized Policies and Procedures:

•Mandatory attendance at training conference

•Approval of all placements by National Office

•Signed Agreements from all volunteers, partners and lawyers

•Workplans and timelines for all placements

•In-person monitoring of all volunteers, partners and lawyers

•Standardized data collection and reporting

•Monthly telephone meetings with National Office staff

•Local oversight and guidance

Pro Bono Students Canada

Advantages of Student Leadership Model:

• Affordability

• Passion

• Relatable

• Local knowledge

• Leadership

Disadvantages of Student Leadership Model:

• Turnover

• Training

• Accountability

• Professionalism

• Capacity


Local Oversight Through On-Site Supervisor: •Either a faculty member or staff person at the law school

•Selected by the law school, not PBSC

•Responsible for monitoring and overseeing students’ work

• Reviewing legal placements

• Meeting with Program Coordinators

• Helping Program Coordinators Hire Successors


PBSC Assists Law Schools in Meeting a Number of Goals:

•Pedagogy

•Career development

•Community Outreach & Service

•Alumni Development

•Law School Collaboration


Programming Requirements

• Must respond to a legal or policy need in the community

• Must be legal in nature

• Must be supervised by an insured lawyer

• Must allow for 5 hour per week commitment

• Students cannot provide legal advice


PBSC Placements

•Projects that interest students from all backgrounds

•Any area of law

•Serve all diverse and vulnerable populations

•Partners from a wide array of legal settings

•Wide range of practical experiences and project deliverables

Students contact

organizations

Students contact

organizations

Work with org to develop placement

Work with org to develop placement

Organization fills out formal

project description

Organization fills out formal

project description

Organization attends

information Session

Organization attends

information Session

Organization signs

agreement form

Organization signs

agreement form

Recruit lawyer supervisor

Recruit lawyer supervisor

Lawyers sign agreement

forms

Lawyers sign agreement

forms

Post placements on

website

Post placements on

website

Hold launch events

Hold launch events

Hold student information

sessions

Hold student information

sessions

Sign up student volunteers

Sign up student volunteers

Match students to projects

Match students to projects

Contact students to

advise of placement

Contact students to

advise of placement

Hold volunteer training sessions

Hold volunteer training sessions

Volunteers connect with supervisors

Volunteers connect with supervisors

Volunteers and lawyers meet to create work plan & timeline

Volunteers and lawyers meet to create work plan & timeline

Placements take place

(monitoring)

Placements take place

(monitoring)

Work product submitted to

lawyer for approval

Work product submitted to

lawyer for approval

Revisions if necessary

Revisions if necessary

Final product submitted to organizations

Final product submitted to organizations

Pro Bono Students Canada


10 Current Projects:

1. Immigration and Refugee Detention Centre Project2. Family Law Project3. HIV/AIDS Wills Clinic 4. Health Law Advocacy Project5. Tax Court of Canada Advocacy Project6. Not-for-Profit Corporate Law Project7. Stella Project (Sex-Workers Rights) 8. Canadian Civil Liberties Association Rights Watch Blog9. Equality Rights Central Website Project10.Small Claims Court Project


National, Private and Public Sector Funders:

University of Toronto

Funds our Family Law Program

PBSC’s Main Funder

PBSC’s National Law Firm Partner

PBSC’s National Legal Research Provider


Locally, Public Sector Funders:

•Each local law school

•Provincial Law Foundations

•University Work-Study Programs

•Federal Government Student Summer Jobs Program

•Local Student Associations

•Fundraisers

•PBSC National Office


“Lawyers are in a position to provide a fundamental service that most people will be in need of at some point in their lives. There is a growing need for social justice, and the PBSC program instilled this notion in not only me, but the entire student body.” Sonal Kulkarni, student,University of Windsor Law School

“Our family court—the biggest and busiest family court in the country—would not be able to function half as well without the assistance of the PBSC students.” Justice Harvey Brownstone, North Toronto Family Court

“The existence of PBSC has helped to rekindle a sense of obligation in students and lawyers alike. The graduates of PBSC enter the profession as agents for change, with a new level of expectation regarding the role of public service in a legal career. PBSC has raised the profile of pro bono service in the community through a tremendous infusion of support to community groups. This innovative, exciting organization has permanently changed the landscape of the profession…” Mr. Justice Robert Armstrong, Ontario Court of Appeal, Toronto, Ontario

santiago, chile april - 2011

Documents

law school50 law students

canada1451 law students

pro bono practice

pro bono placements116

value of pro bono service

volunteer law student

augustlaunch program

national programs