“[Canada is] increasingly failing in our responsibility to provide a justice system that [is] accessible, responsive and citizenship focused.”
The above was a statement by our Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin of the Supreme Court of Canada, about the inability for Canada’s families to obtain affordable legal counsel. The Chief Justice has also stated that “legal-aid funding and coverage is not available for most people and problems, and the cost of legal services and length of proceedings is steadily increasing”, and that “statistics show that people who get legal assistance in dealing with their legal problems are much more likely to achieve better results than those who do not.”
As Canadians, the majority of us believe access to justice is a fundamental right. Contrary to this belief, Canada is witnessing a gap between the fundamental right and the stark reality that the wealthy the are the ones that can afford a lawyer’s legal services. With specific reference to British Columbia, cuts to BC Legal Aid have taken a toll on access to justice, especially for those with low-incomes. A list of cuts from 2005-2010 can be found here.
In 2013 the Canadian Bar Association released the ‘Reaching Equal Justice Report’. The report states that there is a need for more federal funding for civil legal aid. It says that the Canadian Bar Association will reach its goal for Canadians living at and below the poverty line to be eligible for full coverage of essential public legal services by 2020. Additionally, the report puts forth that all law schools in Canada will have a student legal clinic to help low-income people by 2020. The Canadian Bar Association advises that all 31 targets mentioned in the report are expected to be completed by 2030. A video about the proposed legal aid system can be watched here.
It is important to note that change does not fall solely on governments or the bar association. As the report says, law schools and other stakeholders must be involved. It is obvious that “tinkering” or making a few changes here and there will not be enough. The report states that “the civil justice system is too badly broken for a quick fix. People fall between the cracks at an unacceptable cost. Injustice is too deeply woven into the system’s very structure for piecemeal reforms to make much of a dent.”
It is obvious that now is the time to use the resources we have, like our Canadian law students, to help improve Canada’s access to justice for low-income people. With 18 law schools in Canada teaching common law, these numbers have the potential to create a significant positive difference. If that is not motivation enough, pro bono work by law students helps not only those who find themselves facing a legal conundrum, but also the law students involved. The students typically receive training to be more understanding, companionate, and patient, and in turn become more competent lawyers to enter the work force.
From what I could find, only one Canadian law school (Osgoode Hall Law School at York University) has what they call a public interest graduation requirement. If pro bono work by law students is part of the answer, why are we not making full use of this potential resource? Is it lack of resources, lack of incentive, or lack of an enforced requirement?
In correspondence with TRU Law’s Professor Dhand (who is currently the Project Leader on a Law Foundation Large Project Grant for a poverty law clinic), she informed me that the school is implementing the Community Legal Advice Clinic in 2016. The Community Legal Advice Clinic will assist low-income earners in the Kamloops and Interior region with legal problems – initially in the area of residential tenancy law and housing issues – with direct client services. The clinic will run approximately two to three days a week and can be found at the Centre for Seniors Information in Kamloops, BC. Additionally, Professor Dhand advises that TRU Law has the Legal Information Service, located on campus, where she supervises and mentors 60 student volunteers each year, who provide legal information, resources, and public legal education workshops in all areas of law. Lastly, Professor Dhand also teaches TRU Law’s Community Lawyering course where students receive instruction about the substantive and procedural aspects of community lawyering such as client interviewing, strategic litigation, legal research, and ethical issues.
It is clear that TRU Law is taking steps towards improving the ability for low-income British Colombians to access justice, well before the Canadian Bar Association’s goal of 2020. Are there additional steps that TRU Law and other law schools can take to facilitate access to justice for the low-income? Should TRU Law’s Community Lawyering class be a required course for students?
Great post, Meghan!
I agree that students (and new lawyers) have an important role to play in fixing this access to justice issue. A lot of us attend law school with a romantic notion of what the purpose of practice is. However, as law school unfolds and debt accumulates, those idealistic ideas of practice soon begin to dissipate. I think an indirect and complimentary way to enhance access to justice is to some how reduce the cost of legal education. As we discussed a few weeks ago, the cost of legal education forces prospective lawyers to take less risks with their law degree and simply go towards the highest paying jobs at major law firms, which in turn exacerbate the increasing cost of legal services. Debt-forgiveness programs or increased government funding to help reduce the cost of legal education, coupled with legal clinics that serve low-income individuals can help keep our pre-law school perceptions of what legal practice is supposed to be like and supposed to achieve alive.
Niki
Well put. I agree the we all have a role to play in ensuring that the legal system is accessible. That system is at the core of our democracy and access to it – and assistance in navigating through it – is essential. Pro bono work speaks to the best of the traditions of our profession and it is a shame more of our fellow citizens do not see how much volunteer time lawyers give to pro bono activities each year. I am thrilled to see that TRU is taking steps to encourage pro bono to be apart of the professional lives of its graduates and is raising awareness of issues around access. THE CBA EEJ report you mention contains recommendations about how we might restructure the court system to help increase access (things like triage) and how we might do more preventative lawyering to reduce the need for court services (see the Legal Heath Checks for example). Might any of those ideas be adapted to use in law offices as another way to help Canadians get the help they need?
In addition to the Legal Information Services on campus, Prof. Margaret Hall and a number of upper year students currently provide legal information at the Centre for Seniors Information, as well as organize a speakers series to bring more information to the general public. One difficulty that arises when providing information or conducting the speakers series is the fear of crossing the line of providing advice rather than the general information. This makes it daunting to speakers and students to fully address the questions and feel that they are being helpful. I have found participating in these programs is extremely beneficial in that it provides great insight into just what is misunderstood about the law by members of the public. This perspective is often lost in law students and young lawyers after having been insulated by law school but is essential to relating to clients. Community lawyering is another great way of reminding future lawyers that understanding the law is hard, complex and time-consuming and our clients are coming to us to make it easy, quick, and cost-efficient.
A thoughtful post, Meghan. I think we have some fantastic upcoming initiatives that you have discussed e.g. the Legal Advice Clinic. I also like the idea of a ‘public interest’ requirement as part of the curriculum – this could perhaps be satisfied through a specific course (e.g. Community Lawyering) or a number of volunteer hours served through a variety of options e.g. the Legal Information Service, Legal Advice Clinic, Access Pro Bono etc.
An innovative initiative I think would make a strong impact – especially for the Thompson Okanagan region – is a “Law Centre” based on the University of Victoria’s model. “The Law Centre…[provides] advice, assistance and representation to eligible clients who cannot afford a lawyer. The Law Centre also provides law students with clinical and legal education. Students are trained and supervised in the conduct of legal matters by lawyers who are members of the University of Victoria, Faculty of Law. While enrolled in the Program students will develop skills, including: interviewing, counselling, negotiation, drafting and oral advocacy skills. Students will use the latter when appearing before the Provincial Court (in the Criminal, Family and Small Claims Divisions) and administrative tribunals (such Employment and Assistance Tribunals, EI Board of Referees, CPP Tribunals, and Residential Tenancy Arbitrators).” Each year hundreds of clients are provided services through the Law Centre.
This clinical offering at UVic enrolls students for an entire academic term to work at the Law Centre (under supervision), operating much like a firm on a Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm schedule. Students earn a full semester’s worth of credit toward their JD programs.
More information about the Law Centre Program:
http://thelawcentre.ca/
http://thelawcentre.ca/virtual_tour
Great post!
I think Niki is right, there seems to be a disconnect between leaving young law students with enormous school debt and then expecting those students to steer themselves away from corporate-driven, high-paying practice.
I think this idea is compounded by the focus that law school puts on large-firm practice. Even at TRU the focus on getting articles in urban centres is seemingly unquestioned. There is a great deal of support for students applying to these positions (OCI prep and organization, firm tours etc.). However, there’s very little support for students looking to apply to rural communities.