Welcome to Amy Parker who recently joined us in the role of Civil / Employment Law Review Counsel.  We are so pleased to have Amy with us.  She brings a wealth of legal experience to our clinic.

LUCLS is pleased to announce that we are recruiting for a new Review Counsel in the area of Employment Law, to help expand our services.  If you are interested in joining our team, or know someone who might be, see the full job ad at:

https://www.lakeheadu.ca/faculty-and-staff/departments/services/hr/employment-opportunities/employment-opportunities-db/node/48013

Staff and Students at the Bora Laskin Faculty of Law and Lakehead University Community Legal Services are showing their Hallowe'en spirit with lots of fun and spooky costumes.

Richard Garrett, a member of the M'Chigeeng First Nation (Manitoulin Island) and a third year Student Caseworker with LU Community Legal Services, was recently invited by Mr. Oliver Rusnak (Aboriginal Student Support worker at St. Patrick's High School) to attend at the high school on October 11th, 2017 and speak to students.

Richard presented to a number of Indigenous students at the high school, on his personal journey of apply to and attending law school at Lakehead University.  He discussed his pursuit of a career as a lawyer and encouraged the students to consider law as a career path.  He talked about the law school admission process and writing the LSAT.  He also provided students with an overview of the Canadian Constitution and their rights there under, including rights to counsel, and rights with respect to search and seizure by police.

Thanks to St. Patrick's High School for hosting this terrific event!

Third year Lakehead University Law Student, Richard Garrett (right), addresses students in the Aboriginal Cultural Support Room at St. Patrick's High School.

On October 10th, 2017, students from LU Community Legal Services traveled to Geraldton to provide members of the public and front line workers information about Provincial Offences charges and the POA court system.  The presentation took place at the Thunderbird Friendship Centre.

Pictured below are the presenters: Erin Kearney (left) and Amanda Gallo (middle), both second year law students at Lakehead's Bora Laskin Faculty of Law.

On October 11th, 2017, two Review Counsel and three Student Caseworkers from LU Community Legal Services were invited to Long Lake 58 First Nation to assist community members with birth certificate applications. 

Official government issued ID is essential to obtain a number of key services including eligibility for government benefits such as Ontario Works and ODSP, driver licences, banking, subsidized housing, access to food banks, and applications for Status cards, to name just a few. The ID Clinic was an overwhelming success.  It lasted over four hours and we took 56 applications.  Demand was so high that we are planning a return trip in the not too distant future to assist even more community members.

A big thanks goes out to Denise Bouchard, Community Social Development Director, for inviting us to partner with Long Lake 58 in this important initiative and for arranging the funding to make it possible!  We look forward to more joint initiatives in the future.

Third Year Lakehead Law Student Becky Langille-Rowe (right) assists with filling our birth certificate applications.

Review Counsel, Joanna Goldenberg, brought great snacks and supervised Law Students during this event.

Second Year Lakehead Law Student, Amy Grann (right), assisting with Birth Certificate Applications.

On September 18th and 19th, Review Counsel from Community Legal Services attended in Marathon in partnership with Kinna-aweya Legal Clinic to help support the training of front line service providers to obtain birth certificates for their clients.  Community Legal Services is now providing some free legal services in the Marathon area.  On this trip, we had the opportunity to provide information on our services to support workers in Marathon and the surrounding area.  We look forward returning to Marathon again soon.

On August 14th and 15th, staff and Caseworkers from Lakehead University Community Legal Services visited the town of Geraldton, Ontario, to provide legal assistance and information to residents.

On August 14th, we held an ID Clinic, in partnership with the Geraldton office of Kinna-aweya Community Legal Clinic.  We were able to help some individuals with an application for a birth certificate, which is often a necessary component to accessing a multitude of social services, including banking services, access to housing, food banks and much more.  We will be taking all necessary steps to ensure applications are properly processed, dealing with any issues that may arise, and ensuring the birth certificates are put in the hands of the clients.

After the ID clinic, we had the opportunity to meet with some potential clients in the region as well. 

On Tuesday, August 15th, law clinic students observed proceedings in the Provinicial Offences court in Geraldton.  This was a useful opportunity for students to see how court works in Northern Ontario communities.  There were a few interesting cases which prompted discussion and learning opportunities.

Finally, in the afternoon, we attended the PACE ("People Advocating for Change Through Empowerment") office, to do a presentation on Tenants' Rights.  Our Caseworkers advised the attendees about what tenants have a right to expect from their landlords, and what they can do if the landlords aren't respecting those rights.  The presentations was very well received.

Community Legal Services is planning further visits to the Greenstone area, with future ID Clinics and Public Legal Education presentations on the way!  Keep an eye on the EVENTS section of our website ( https://www.lakeheadu.ca/academics/departments/law/clinic/events ) for more details on upcoming Public Legal Education initiatives.

Pictured below:  Community Legal Services law student Caseworkers who attended the Geraldton ID clinic hosted by Kinna-aweya Community Legal Clinic. (Melanie Mayhew-Hammond (left), Erin Kearney (middle), and Victoria Methot (right)).