Luke's Place: Client Intake and Public Legal Education Project

Project Type: 

• Client services (court forms, shadowing, mock hearings, intake, legal clinic, etc.)

Fields of Law: Family Law

Positions Available: 1

This is a joint project in which University of Toronto students may work with students from Lincoln Alexander Law School (TMU) and Osgoode Hall Law School (York University).

About Luke's Place:

Luke’s Place is a non-profit organization providing legal and support services to self-identified women across Ontario who have been subjected to intimate partner violence as they proceed through the family court system. Luke’s Place also engages in systemic advocacy, research and training on gender-based violence and family law.

Project Details:

Component 1 - Note Taking: Students will sit-in on summary legal advice appointments between women and a volunteer or staff lawyer and take detailed notes, which will then be provided to women following the appointment

Component 2 - Legal Research and Resource Creation: Students will assist in preparing case law summaries and/or brief legal informational handouts for family court support workers across Ontario to help them better understand a particular family law legal issues. Students may also be asked to prepare brief legal memos on an assigned topic in family law for internal use by the staff team.

Component 3 - Court Accompaniment: Students will accompany women to court appearances, including motions and conferences. Their role will be to provide support and take detailed notes, which will then be provided to women following the court appearance.

Students will complete legal research and assist with client support under the supervision of a lawyer or legal support worker. Students will also assist with the creation of informational resources on a particular family law issue. The student role will be flexible to reflect the day-to- day needs and realities of the organization, but will be closely monitored by their assigned lawyer. Depending on the needs of the organization and the nature of the assigned task, the students may work together collaboratively.

Will the student(s) be expected to show up for regular shifts each week, or is the schedule flexible?

Clinic note-taking and court accompaniments will be at set times during the workday. Legal research and resource development can be done on the student’s own schedule.

Requirements and Expectations:

Bilingualism is an asset. Family law is preferred but not required. Background and interests in working with women who have experienced intimate partner violence would be an asset.