On June 23, 2016, the Court of Appeal launched the Court of Appeal Legal Assistance Clinic, a pilot project intended to promote access to justice and legal education. The clinic has been successful and, as the clinic enters its eighth year, it is hoped we will continue to build on this success and continue to improve access to justice for people throughout the province.

The Legal Assistance Clinic offers free legal assistance for self-represented litigants with appeals (civil, criminal, or family) pending before the Court. The clinic is held once a month and a volunteer lawyer will speak with individual clinic users for a period of up to 30 minutes to provide summary legal advice and may assist in connecting the self-represented litigant to further services. The clinic is coordinated and managed administratively by a Court of Appeal Legal Officer.

Clinic meetings are typically done over the phone, however, the clinic will try to accommodate in-person meeting requests, where possible, based on the needs of the self-represented litigants. All clinic users are required to complete Terms of Service and Intake forms prior to their appointment. Volunteer lawyers are not expected to appear in court or complete any legal documents for clinic participants.  If a volunteer lawyer sees merit in the case, they may choose to provide further pro bono or low bono representation, however there is no obligation to do so.

The Court is seeking to update the list of volunteer lawyers and asks members of the Bar to consider participating in this initiative. If you are able communicate in French or other languages, please include that information. If you are interested in volunteering with the Court of Appeal Legal Assistance Clinic or have previously signed up as a clinic volunteer and wish to remain on the volunteer roster for 2024-25, please contact the Court of Appeal at (709) 729-0268 or calac@appeal.court.nl.ca.

This is an opportunity for all who work in the legal system to make a difference for those who struggle to find justice. The Court welcomes any help in achieving this goal.

Posted: October 21, 2024