Area of law: Family Law
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. To learn more about Luke's Place, check out their website here: https://lukesplace.ca
In this project, students will assist with client support under the supervision of a lawyer or family court support worker and may complete some legal research. Students will also assist with the creation of informational resources on a particular family law issue. Depending on the needs of the organization and the nature of the assigned task, the students may work together collaboratively.
There are three components to this project. Component 1 is courthouse support - students will attend the courthouse office with one of the family court support workers to assist with intake and referrals for women who drop-in to the courthouse office. Component 2 is court accompaniment - students will accompany women to court appearances, including motions and conferences. The volunteer's role will be to provide support and take detailed notes, which will then be provided to women following the court appearance. Component 3 is legal research and resource creation, which would take place if there are no women to support during the courthouse support. 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 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.