Lawyers
By volunteering with PBSC UCalgary as a supervising lawyer, you can demonstrate to our student volunteers what it means to uphold the pro bono ethic.
Developing a
Pro Bono Ethic
The goal of PBSC is to provide much-needed services to underrepresented communities and organizations across Canada. Since its creation, PBSC has accomplished both of these goals and helped to enrich relationships among law schools, the profession, and disadvantaged communities. By exposing law students to the value of pro bono service, PBSC aims to encourage the next generation of lawyers to make pro bono service an everyday part of their practice.
Mentor Students
Help train and mentor future lawyers by sharing the skills and knowledge you have developed through your own practice.
Give Back
Contribute to reducing the access to justice issue in Calgary by using your skills to assist disadvantaged groups.
Stay Connected
PBSC UCalgary can help you become more informed on the access to justice gaps that exist within the Calgary community.
Responsibilities
PBSC students volunteer approximately 3-5 hours per week, five months of the year: October, November, January, February and March, for a total of 60-100 hours. Students are not expected to work during exam periods or reading week. All projects need to wrap up by the last week of classes of the winter term.
Given this compressed timeline, it is critical that lawyer supervisors provide their feedback promptly, to ensure students will have time to make revisions and move the project along to completion within this brief, five-month window.
Important Dates & Deadlines
Aug.1
Deadline to register as a supervising lawyer
End of Sept
Project work begins
End of Mar
Project work ends
December
Students break for exams
January
Project work resumes
April - August
PBSC UCalgary Chapter prepares the projects for the following year
Our PBSC projects range from 1 – 20 students per project. Please contact PBSC UCalgary to discuss the number of student volunteers on the project that you are overseeing.
Generally speaking, we ask you to be responsive and to maintain regular contact with your student(s). Specifically, this includes meeting with the student(s) at least once early in each academic term and at the end of the project; holding all meetings in person, except for projects that are being supervised remotely or where it is not possible for any other reason to meet in person, in which case the lawyer supervisor and volunteer(s) should communicate over the phone; to be available periodically during the course of the project as reasonably required to answer questions of a legal nature, to provide guidance relevant to the project, and to review and provide feedback on the work product of the PBSC volunteer(s); and to complete in a timely fashion a final evaluation of the student(s).
Yes. All lawyer supervisors must sign a Lawyer Supervisor Agreement Form which sets out our expectations and confirms that all supervising lawyers registered have the appropriate professional liability insurance that extends to their role as a supervising lawyer.
The PBSC Program Coordinator will contact you by phone once in November and once in February as part of the project monitoring process. In order to make this monitoring process effective, it is vital that the monitoring calls take place within the planned time frame. Accordingly, we ask you to promptly return emails attempting to schedule a monitoring call. These calls typically take less than 10 minutes, and it is vitally important that we know whether things are going smoothly on your project. We also ask that you not wait until the monitoring process and notify your local PBSC Office with any concerns which come to your attention regarding the student or the project.
Every Law Society in Canada has a policy regarding the Continuing Professional Development of lawyers. In some provinces CPD is mandatory and in others it is merely recommended. In some cases supervision of a PBSC placement can counts as CPD. While PBSC makes every effort to keep up with the policies of every Law Society, please refer to your province’s policy to determine whether your work with our organization counts as part of your CPD.
PBSC relies on your feedback to strengthen our program, and report to our funders. In mid March we will send you a satisfaction survey to fill out. Please be sure to take a moment to complete the survey and provide us with your impressions of our program – we welcome both positive feedback and constructive criticism.
Featured Projects
Family Advocacy Support Centre Child Welfare Legal Education Project
The Family Advocacy Support Centre (FASC) reduces barriers faced by parents/families dealing with welfare services by increasing access to resources and supports for families with the goal of minimizing intrusive interventions and family separation.
Human Rights Project
In collaboration with Calgary Legal Guidance and with support from the Alberta Human Rights Project, students on this project will assist community members in dealing with human rights complaints. Students will develop their interview skills as they listen to the clients’ stories to gather the theory of the case. During the interview students will also explain the basics of the Alberta human rights process (including matters such as limitation periods, the Commission's complaint resolution processes, the likely timeline for getting to a hearing, and the range of possible remedies).
King’s Bench Amicus Project
In collaboration with Pro Bono Law Alberta (PBLA), this project assists self-represented litigants (SRLs) with their civil claims in Calgary’s King’s Bench Masters and Justice Chambers. Volunteer lawyers act as amicus curiae and appear in morning chambers to assist SRLs. This project also includes a “storefront” afternoon shift where SRLs can receive summary legal information regarding civil matters. Students participate by providing assistance with triage, client intake, client evaluation, research, and completion of project documentation and court forms. Students can also assist with procedural matters in morning chambers, thereby having an opportunity to practice oral advocacy and provide legal or referral information.
Civil Claims Duty Counsel
In collaboration with Pro Bono Law Alberta (PBLA), the Civil Claims Duty Counsel (CCDC) project provides summary legal assistance to self-represented litigants (SRLs) engaged in civil claims in Provincial Court. Students on this project assist volunteer lawyers with triage, client intake, and administering client evaluation forms. Students also provide research support, legal and referral information, and assist with the completion of required project documentation. All major Calgary firms participate in this project, thereby providing student volunteers with a great networking opportunity whilst also volunteering to improve access to justice for SRLs.
Get Involved with Us
Make a difference in our legal community, become an ambassador for the pro bono ethic.
Listen to the Hearsay Podcast
The Hearsay Podcast, is a public legal education podcast discussing hot topics like Zombie laws, the arrest process and rights during arrest, free legal services in Calgary, and wrongful dismissal. Each episode law students interview a legal expert on the topic and discuss the current state of the law in that area. This is a fun educational podcast, not legal advice!