CELA Clinic Research and File Assistance Project

Organization: Canadian Environmental Law Association (CELA)

Project Type: client assistance; legal research and writing; public legal education

Fields of Law: environmental law; administrative law

Positions Available: 1

This project will appeal to students with interests in community legal clinic work .  Student volunteers will participate in client intake and legal research and drafting on client files.

What is the CELA Clinic Research and File Assistance Project?

The Canadian Environmental Law Association (CELA) is a non-profit, public interest organization established in 1970 to use existing laws to protect the environment and to advocate environmental law reforms. Funded by Legal Aid Ontario, CELA is one of 76 community legal clinics located across Ontario, 18 of which offer services in specialized areas of the law (for contact information, see Getting Legal Help: A Directory Community Legal Clinics in Ontario). CELA also undertakes additional educational and law reform projects funded by government and private foundations. To find out more see our most recent Annual Report.

Clinic Mandate

CELA works toward protecting public health and the environment by seeking justice for those harmed by pollution or poor decision-making and by changing policies to prevent problems in the first place. Since 1970, CELA has used legal tools, undertaken groundbreaking research and advocated for increased environmental protection and to safeguard communities. As a specialty clinic funded by Legal Aid Ontario, our primary focus is on assisting low-income people and disadvantaged communities.

When implementing our legal aid mandate, CELA's strategic objectives are to:

• hold governments and polluters legally accountable in relation to environmental harm or adverse effects upon public health and safety;
• maintain and expand citizens’ environmental rights, and improve environmental equity;
• seek proactive solutions including via the precautionary principle in order to reduce or avoid activities or exposures that may harm human or ecosystem health; and
• ensure timely, effective cleanup of past or present pollution to achieve improvement in public health and environmental quality.

Student Responsibilities

Research memos on current files; assisting lawyers with files and law reform; producing summaries based on recent government changes to federal environmental and energy regulations (plain language translations). 

Deliverables:

Client assistance, legal research and writing, public legal education (drafting plain language resources).

Specific projects will depend on case file needs at the time, and lawyer availability.  In the past, PBSC students have completed tasks included the following: researching and drafting summary advice letters to clients, drafting jurisdictional reviews of asbestos regulations to support CELA's law reform initiatives, drafting plain-language guides to environmental legislation to be used by agencies, other legal research on water, toxics, energy.

Student volunteers will be expected to work 3-5 hours weekly.  Work hours are flexible, but student volunteers are encouraged to dedicate a set time period each week for work.  Volunteers will be expected to work from the workstations provided by CELA, rather than remotely.

Who can apply?

Only upper year JD students may apply for this placement.   Students must have taken or be taking Administrative Law prior to/concurrently with the placement.

The ideal student volunteer will show a keen interest in environmental law, social justice and public interest law.

If you are interested in applying for this project, please submit a General PBSC Application Form.