What is the need for pro bono clinics?

According to Statistics Canada, the median income for British Columbians is approximately $1,750 per month. This means pro bono clinics are serving over half the population of BC!

The increased complexity and the ever-quickening pace of change in the law has caused the need for legal counsel to increase dramatically over the past 20 years. In addition, severe provincial government cutbacks to the Legal Services Society mean that now no more than approximately 5 percent of persons on low income with legal problems can obtain help from legal aid.

How does our pro bono program work?

The basic concept of the program is to provide a professional setting in which lawyers give 2-4 hours of their time free per month to help those who cannot obtain legal help elsewhere. The key is to protect the lawyers' time and boundaries as well as to facilitate high professional standards. The Society works with various social and charitable agencies to arrange and administer half-hour legal appointments for the needy. Follow-up appointments are available.

Our pro bono lawyers give advice and help clients do the work. They do not prepare typed legal documentation as would normally be done for their office clients. They do not take work home. The lawyers do not go into court or go on record. They prepare the client to go into court, help the client gain a winning attitude (with emphasis on preparation) and take the fear out of the legal process.

The pro bono clients do not call the lawyers if they want to follow up, they call our clinic.

For a more detailed description of pro bono clinics in BC, view a PDF copy of the article entitled Pro Bono Clinics in British Columbia*, as published in the May 2003 issue of The Advocate.

What progress have we made in delivering our services?

Clinics now active:
We now have 61 active clinics and 400 lawyers who give 2 pro bono hours of their time each month. Our flagship clinic is at the courthouse at 800 Smythe Street with specialized clinics in Personal Injury, Family law, Wrongful Dismissal, Wills & Estates, "Leaky Condo" law, and Small Business law.

Video-conferencing project:
We are now operating video-conferencing clinics to serve more remote areas of the Province.

Website:
We have developed a website which has a calendar system for booking clients and lawyers and a system for storing client information.

Videos:
The Society has completed two videos to introduce clients to clinics and inform them on how to prepare. The videos are introduced by Chief Justice Brenner, and feature Douglas Robinson, QC, Hamish Cameron, QC, and a professional actress. Another lawyer's video is available on request.

Public phone line:
The Society has a client telephone line (604-878-7400) whereby clients can obtain information from volunteers on our 40 clinics in the Lower Mainland or toll free (1-877-762-6664) elsewhere in the province.

Resource manuals:
Our pro bono resource manuals, containing extracts of the LSLAP manual, the Criminal Code, and the Supreme Court rules, are available for our lawyers at our clinics.

Volunteers & staff:
We have several full-time workers, and over 100 non-lawyer volunteers who coordinate the program and provide administrative, typing, clinic chaperone and other services.