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Our Case Criteria
A client may qualify for our services if:
1. The client meets our financial eligibility guidelines;
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The University of Ottawa Community Legal Clinic (the
"Clinic") serves low-income members of the community and
members of historically disadvantaged groups. Individuals seeking
legal services from the Clinic are required to declare their gross
monthly household income and its source (e.g. employment or social
assistance). Individuals whose income falls below a certain level or
who are in receipt of social assistance will be financially eligible
for representation or summary legal advice, subject to the remaining
criteria.
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Levy-paying undergraduate students of the University of Ottawa and
Carleton University are automatically financially eligible, subject to
the remaining criteria.
2. The client has a legal problem that meets our geographic
criteria
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Generally, we represent clients that reside in the City of Ottawa
regarding legal issues that arise in the City of Ottawa. We do not
appear in courts or tribunals outside the City of Ottawa, and are not
able to act on matters that occurred in another province such as
Quebec.
3. The client has a legal problem that meets division-specific case
criteria
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The Clinic does not provide legal assistance in all areas of law.
For example, we do not provide any advice regarding family law,
medical malpractice or young offenders.
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Additionally, each division of the Clinic has criteria for the
types of matters its caseworkers may work on. For example, the Civil
Division requires that the amount of money that the legal problem
involves must be more than $500 and less than $10,000, and the Tenant
Division only represents tenants (not landlords) and will not act in
tenant against tenant matters.
4. There is no conflict of interest between the client and the
Clinic
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Lawyers are prohibited from taking on a client where they have a
conflicting interest against a new client or a former client, and must
never advise or represent more than one side of a dispute. This could
include cases where a new client has a legal problem involving a
former client of the Clinic, or where co-accused persons in criminal
cases both seek representation from the Clinic.
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Whenever a client approaches the Clinic for legal assistance, we
are required to search our database of past clients to ensure that we
will not be acting against a previous client of the Clinic.
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