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PBSC- UVic Training Session

PBSC- UVic Training Session. 2011-2012. PBSC Mandate. PBSC aims to provide vulnerable communities with legal services free of charge, to provide law students with out-of-the classroom legal experience, and

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PBSC- UVic Training Session

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  1. PBSC-UVicTraining Session 2011-2012

  2. PBSC Mandate PBSC aims • to provide vulnerable communities with legal services free of charge, • to provide law students with out-of-the classroom legal experience, and • to instill the pro bono ethic in future lawyers from their first day of law school.

  3. 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

  4. PBSC Structure

  5. 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 How PBSC Works

  6. 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

  7. General PBSC Training • Westlaw Canada Training • Student Agreement Form • 3–5 Hours per Week on Your PBSC Project • On-line, end-of-year survey What is Required from PBSC Students?

  8. Timeline 2011-2012

  9. PBSC Timeline September October • 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

  10. 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? First Meeting What to Discuss

  11. 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 Develop A Work Plan What it Should Contain

  12. PBSC Timeline November December • 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!

  13. PBSC Timeline January February • 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

  14. PBSC Timeline March April • 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.

  15. Time Management • Disengagement • Withdrawal Potential Challenges You Might Face:

  16. Legal Advice vs. Legal Information

  17. Legal Information vs. Legal AdviceLaw 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 Legal Advice • 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

  18. 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.”

  19. Conclusion • We 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 pbsc.uvic@gmail.com, and stay updated via our website: http://www.probonostudents.ca/chapter/victoria • Good luck with your placement!

  20. “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 SilbermanAbella, Supreme Court of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario

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