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UNIVERSITY OF OTTAWA COMMUNITY LEGAL CLINIC
INTRODUCTORY LEGAL AID
CLINIC COURSE
CML 3248
WHY TAKE THE COURSE:
Do you want to gain practical legal skills and experience during law
school? If you enroll in the introductory legal aid clinic course at the
University of Ottawa Community Legal Clinic, you can expect to learn
skills and gain experience in some of the following areas:
- Interviewing and advising clients
- Negotiation
- Drafting letters,
pleadings, memoranda, submissions, and other legal documents
- Legal
research
- Advocacy at pre-trials, trials, and hearings before courts and
tribunals
- File and practice management
- Professional responsibility
Note that students admitted to the Community Legal Education and Outreach division have community organizations instead of individuals as clients, e.g. Centre Espoir Sophie, The Mission, Le Carrefour d'Ottawa and the AIDS Committee of Ottawa. In addition to gaining some of the experience listed above, students in this division can expect to:
- Give informational workshops on a broad variety of legal topics;
- Reach out to people in the community and inform them of their legal rights in general;
- Promote the work conducted by the Clinic in the community; and
- Represent Criminal division clients at remand court
Please consult “Our Divisions” section for more information.
COURSE COMPONENTS:
- 1 day of mandatory intensive training during orientation week on
September 6, 2011
- A weekly three hour skills development seminar during the fall
term
- Work on client files under the supervision of a lawyer throughout
the school year in one of the following divisions based on different areas
of law:
- Civil
- Community Legal Education & Outreach
- Criminal
- Landlord & Tenant
- Women's (must be a woman to apply)
- Participate, depending on the division, in general Clinic duties such as representation at Remand Court. See "Our Divisions" section for more information.
- Participate in a rotating schedule of intake interviews for prospective
clients which are held at the following times:
- Monday 7:00pm-9:30pm
- Wednesday 7:00pm-9:30pm
- Thursday 2:00pm-4:00pm
- Students will be required to participate on a rotating basis during at least two of these three time slots.
The University of Ottawa Community Legal Clinic holds 3 intake clinics every week, i.e. Monday and Wednesday nights from 7pm to 9:30pm and Thursdays from 2pm to 4pm. Since participation at intake clinics is on a rotating basis, a student may work one intake clinic during a given week, may work 2 intake clinics another week or may work no intake clinic yet another week.
- Students are responsible for all duties assigned to them, i.e. general Clinic duties (e.g. appearance at Remand Court) and intake clinic duties (e.g. screen).
- The course is worth 6 credits and given from September 2011 to April 2012. Students cannot register for internships during the January term.
APPLICATION PROCESS:
- WHO:
- Students entering their 2nd or 3rd year of common law in
2011-2012
- National Program students (i.e. students with a civil law
degree who are enrolled in the common law program)
- Joint program
students who are able to add the 6-credit introductory clinic course to
their schedules
- WHAT:
- C.V.
- Cover letter (please indicate your top
three choices of which division you wish to work in, though note there is
no guarantee you will get your first choice)
- Grade report
- WHERE:
- The University of Ottawa Community Legal Clinic at 17 Copernicus St., Ottawa ON K1N 6N5
- Or by email at uoclc@uottawa.ca
- WHEN:
- Deadline for submitting completed applications: TUESDAY, JULY 5, 2011, 5:00 pm.
JOINT PLACEMENT:
The University of Ottawa Community Legal Clinic has established joint placements with:
- Community Legal Services Ottawa Centre
- South Ottawa Community Legal Services
- West End Legal Services of Ottawa
- Various Legal Aid Ontario offices
The student selected for a placement will be required to:
- Attend all CML 3248 weekly skills development seminars
- Conduct all casework in accordance to the placement clinic (or office) where he or she is placed. Casework shall be conducted at the student's respective placement clinic (or office), not at the University of Ottawa Community Legal Clinic.
There are no evening intakes at the clinics (or offices) participating in the joint placements. The following is a brief description of the joint placements:
- Three placements (South Ottawa Community Legal Services , Community Legal Services Ottawa Centre and West End Community Legal Services) where casework will consist of assisting with appeals at the Social Benefits Tribunal (Ontario Disability Support Program)
- One placement at Community Legal Services Ottawa Centre where casework will be in the area of immigration/refugee law
- One placement at West End Community Legal Services where casework will be in the areas of landlord-tenant and immigration/refuge law
- One placement at South Ottawa Community Legal Services where casework will be in the areas of landlord-tenant or immigration/refugee law
- One placement at the Family Law Office where casework will be in the area of family law. Preference will be given to students who have completed the family law course
- One placement with Criminal duty counsel where casework will be in the area of criminal law
- One placement with Family duty counsel where casework will be in the area of family law.
If you are interested in one of the joint placements, please indicate it in your cover letter.
For more information about the Ottawa Community Legal Clinics, please visit www.aidejuridiqueottawalegalaid.ca
For more information on the Family Law Office and Family duty counsel, go to www.lao.on.ca, click on “Getting legal help” and click on “Family” under the heading "Types of help," and click on "Family duty counsel" under the heading "Family law services."
For more information on Criminal duty counsel, go to www.lao.on.ca, click on “Getting legal help” and click on “Criminal” under the heading "Types of help," and click on "Duty counsel program" under the heading "Legal aid services for criminal matters." |
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