Pro Bono Students Canada

Hi 1Ls! As I'm sure you're all well aware, UBC Law has tons of volunteer opportunities. This can often be the most overwhelming part of starting law school. To make Orientation Week a little less of an information overload, I've asked a few friends and classmates to write guest posts about some of the organizations they've worked with this year.

And - as always - if you're feeling antsy about starting at UBC Law, have a question, want to take a tour of Allard Hall, or just want to talk to someone, you can call or email me anytime!

Now, here's Kalie and Claire from PBSC!

Hey 1L’ers, it’s your friendly Pro Bono Students Canada Coordinators here!

By now you’re probably in the midst of preparing for the craziest three years of your life. While the importance of preparation can’t be over-rated, remember to use the rest of the summer as a time to relax and enjoy your last few months of freedom.

So what exactly is ‘pro bono’? Pro bono work is when a lawyer (or law student) provides legal services for free.  These services are hugely important to the community as they ensure every person has access to our justice system and legal information readily available to them.

Pro Bono Students Canada is a student run organization that aims to help public interest organizations provide pro bono services to vulnerable members of our community. We do this by matching law students with a wide range of public interest organizations in a wide variety of areas, including immigration, health, environmental, and sports law.  Last year we matched 65 volunteers with 21 organizations, so there is definitely something for everyone!  Student volunteers (you) then provide these organizations with a variety of legal services including research, creating public legal education documents, running legal workshops and doing client intake. The result of this structure is a win-win-win situation; organizations benefit from the valuable work students provide, members of the community get access to high quality legal services they could not otherwise afford, and students gain research skills, networking opportunities, and the opportunity for one on one feedback from a supervising lawyer.  Some of our students have even ended up on the Boards of the organizations they volunteered for.

By joining PBSC-UBC not only do you get great hands on legal experience, the opportunity to meet members of the Vancouver legal community, and great karma by providing assistance to non-profit organizations and vulnerable individuals, you also become part of a national movement.  PBSC is a national organization with chapters in every Canadian law school, all promoting the mutual goals of social justice and access to our legal system.

We will be busy developing some exciting projects and placements for you this summer, and will see you at our Lunch Launch during Orientation Week!

If you have any questions feel free to email us at pbsc.ubc@gmail.com or visit our website at www.pbsc.law.ubc.ca.

Sincerely,

Kalie McCrystal (2L) and Claire Haaf (3L)

Program Coordinators, PBSC-UBC