Legal Resources
UBC First Nations Clinic
April 23, 2008 - 12:13pmFirst Nations clients include individuals, Band Councils, Aboriginal societies, organizations and groups. The Clinic focuses on legal matters confronting these parties. The students work part of the week at the First Nations Legal Clinic, situated at 50 Powell Street (in the Native Courtworkers office), and for the balance of the week attend classes at the university. The Clinic classes include direct instruction in the "lawyering process", such as interviewing skills, case evaluation and management, investigation, trial work, general advocacy, ethics and substantive law issues.
The Canadian Bar Association - L'Association du Barreau Canadien
April 23, 2008 - 12:03pmLocation
Osgoode Hall Law School
April 23, 2008 - 11:44amLocation
BC Public Interest Advocacy Centre
April 23, 2008 - 11:39amLocation
Université d'Ottawa Faculté de droit - University of Ottawa Faculty of Law
April 23, 2008 - 10:35amLocation
Neighbourhood Law Centre
April 23, 2008 - 10:30amLocation
PovNet
April 23, 2008 - 9:33amLocation
Income Security Advocacy Centre
April 23, 2008 - 9:07amLocation
Five Habits for Cross Cultural Lawyering
April 16, 2008 - 8:49pmThis article describes how “culture” shapes what each of us knows, understands and values; culture shapes how we make sense of the world. The authors suggest that all lawyering is in fact cross-cultural, not only because lawyers and their clients frequently have different cultural backgrounds, but because “law” itself can be understood as a particular culture. Lawyers need to learn how to identify their own assumptions, and to develop the capacity to enter the cultural imagination of others if they are to form meaningful relationships with clients that are grounded in trust. The authors propose “five habits” that lawyers should attempt to develop, so that they learn to challenge their own cultural assumptions and to genuinely hear and respect others. The “habits” are also intended to assist in planning the presentation of a legal case, anticipating how decisionmakers will hear and understand (or misunderstand) a client’s situation.
Although this article was written with lawyers in mind, these assumptions of course are also of relevance to advocates and community workers who work with immigrant and refugee communities regarding access to justice issues.
Self-Represented Litigants in Nova Scotia: Needs Assessment Study
April 16, 2008 - 8:12pmThe Self-Represented Litigants Project of the Court Services division of the Nova Scotia Department of Justice surveyed judges, court staff and self-represented litigants (SRLs) to identify the greatest needs for courts and SRLs and to make recommendations to improve services and develop realistic programs for people representing themselves. The project team also observed 20 court hearings that involved the participation of one or more SRLs. The research confirmed that people representing themselves’ lack of knowledge puts them at a disadvantage in their proceedings, most commonly in relation to family, criminal and small claims matters. The inability to properly represent themselves stems from a lack of knowledge about the pre-filing preparations such as filling out forms, the rules of evidence, and how to present a case. A lack of awareness of where to obtain legal information and the inability to distinguish between legal information and legal advice is also a factor. The study made 20 recommendations for ways to improve the ability of self represented litigants to represent themselves effectively.
