Current Projects 2022-2023

Description:  Students will assist Anova in preparing legal information surrounding sexual assault, consent, and domestic abuse for survivors that have been subject to abuse or oppression.  The resources will analyze what behaviours fall under the law on this topic, legal definitions, the complainants’ legal rights, legal implications facing the accused, information surrounding reporting, and the criminal proceeding for sexual assault with a view to the complainant’s role. After their research, students will plan for the dissemination of the content via podcast, social media (in collaboration with Anova’s social media team), and written memo with citations that will be used to update Anova’s training and website content.

Organization: Anova

Type of Project: Public Legal Education

Area of Law: Criminal law

Number of Students: One student

Prerequisites/ assets: N/A

Eligible to apply: 1L, 2L, 3L

Description: Family law issues are incredibly complex, and the community members that Atlohsa works with would benefit from having information synthesized into accessible formats. The project will specifically focus on the issue of divorce. Within that, how property is divided, spousal support, child custody, and child support. The research will include information on the Family Law Court process related to those subjects for those living both on, and off reserve.  The research should consider how the issues are addressed in the common legal system in relation to Indigenous peoples, and what issues arise from this system. The final deliverable will be a plain language resource for the Indigenous peoples that Atlohsa works with.  The final deliverable could be a brochure, flow-chart, podcasts, or the format that best suits the final research, which will be decided in conjunction with the partner organization and lawyer supervisor.

Organization: Atlohsa

Type of Project: Public Legal Education

Area of Law: Aboriginal law, family law

Number of Students: Four students

Prerequisites/ assets: N/A

Eligible to apply: 1L, 2L, 3L

Description: Community Living London supports individuals with developmental disabilities and their families. This project will be focused on providing plain language legal information on Henson trusts in Ontario. Henson trusts are a way for family members to provide for relatives living with disabilities by protecting the assets of the beneficiary and preserving eligibility for government benefits such as the Ontario Disability Support Program. The final product will be an informational document designed to be routinely used by Community Living London. The students will have the opportunity to present this information to the families of those with developmental disabilities.

Organization: Community Living London

Type of Project: Public Legal Education

Area of Law: Family law, health law, disability law.

Number of Students: Two students

Prerequisites/ assets: N/A

Description: CLS Workshop project is delivering public legal education to the community partners of the CLS. Student volunteers will be responsible for preparing and delivering presentations. This will include conducting legal research and preparing public legal education (PLE) material on legal topics as identified by the Project Leads. This can include introduction to the Residential Tenancies Act, introduction to Human Rights, Youth Criminal Justice Act, and introduction to Consumer Protection Laws.

Organization: Community Legal Services

Type of Project: Public Legal Education

Area of Law: Housing law, employment law, family law, criminal law.

Number of Students: Six students

Prerequisites/ assets: N/A

Eligible to apply: 1L, 2L, 3L

Description: In partnership with the Department of Anthropology, the students will be creating plain language presentations on legal issues pertaining to the rights of Indigenous Peoples. The Outreach Coordinators for the Western Anthropology Graduate Society have started to create a  multi-lesson education module on the structural racism facing Indigenous Peoples in Canada from an anthropological perspective. The next step of their research is including the legal perspective. The topics that will be explored are landmark cases on Indigenous legal issues (ex. R v Sparrow, R v Van der Peet, Tsilhqot’in Nation v BC), Aboriginal Title, Aboriginal Rights, the Indian Act, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The presentations will be posted on Western’s Department of Anthropology website as a resource for educators as they will be designed to align with the Ontario secondary school curricula. The target audience for the presentations will be Ontario secondary school students.

Organization: Western Anthropology Graduate Society

Type of Project: Public Legal Education

Area of Law: Indigenous law, Aboriginal law, constitutional law, criminal law, human rights.

Number of Students: Three students

Prerequisites/ assets: Given the nature of the target audience, we welcome applications from an Indigenous, Inuit, or Métis student, and/or  students passionate  about  reducing  injustices  for  Indigenous  peoples. Passionate about education and creating educational opportunities.

Eligible to apply: 1L, 2L, 3L

Description: The Office of Indigenous Initiatives at Western has developed an Indigenous Learning Honour that is awarded to undergraduate students upon successful completion of various workshops and academic course requirements.  The Indigenous Learning Honour will recognize students’ engagement in their efforts to critically engage with historical and modern perspectives of national and local Indigenous-settler relationships and Indigenous perspectives in Truth and Reconciliation during their time at Western. One of the workshops will look at Indigenous legal practices vs Aboriginal law in Canada. Student volunteers will conduct research relating to this topic to be taught in the workshop.

Organization: Office of Indigenous Initiatives  

Type of Project: Public Legal Education

Area of Law: Indigenous law, Aboriginal law, constitutional law, criminal law, human rights.

Number of Students: Three students

Prerequisites/ assets: Given the nature of the target audience, we welcome applications from an Indigenous, Inuit, or Métis student, and/or students passionate about reducing injustices for Indigenous peoples. Passionate about education and creating educational opportunities.

Description: Legal Line provides access to Canadian laws in plain language. Legal Line has covered over 47 areas of law including business law, injury law, cyber law, child custody and immigration law.  Students will assist Legal Line by helping edit and produce content for the website. The student will learn how to: (i) translate ‘legalese’ into plain language, (ii) understand what is most important when communicating with the end user (who is akin to a client), (iii) be able to break-down legal concepts and information into meaningful, yet understandable answers, (iv) get a broad and general scope of the magnitude of the laws and legal system in Canada, (v) improve access to justice for our citizens. 

Organization: Legal Line

Type of Project: Public Legal Education

Area of Law: General project, will address many areas of law.

Number of Students: One student

Prerequisites/ assets: Strong writing and legal interpretation skills.

Eligible to apply: 2L, 3L

Description: This project will be focused on creating plain-language resources for people with low-income, explaining how to access disability benefits for children under the age of 18 years, including forms, policies and regulations that will be applied. The second part of the project will be to develop plain-language resources on how to access the Developmental Services of Ontario (DSO) resources -regarding the process of how to access the services, including a description of specific client services which may be accessed for an individual, according to the developmental barriers they face. The research will be used to provide legal education to clients of LIFE*SPIN.

Organization: LIFE*SPIN

Type of Project: Public Legal Education

Area of Law: Poverty law, social assistance, disability law.

Number of Students: Two students

Prerequisites/ assets: Interest in poverty and disability law is an asset

Eligible to apply: 1L, 2L, 3L

Description: Settlement.Org is facilitated by OCASI and provides newcomers with an electronic community to find information, read relevant news, ask questions, share their experiences with others, and access a database of community organizations. The Settlement.Org moderated discussion forum works to answer questions with well-researched legal information. Students will aid in answering questions from the discussion forum providing detailed legal information in plain language, as well as in making competent referrals to lawyers and services offline to deal with legal problems. Students will conduct research into questions asked by those experiencing issues because of the immigration process –and will help draft legally informative answers in the form of memos.

Organization: Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants

Type of Project: Public Legal Education

Area of Law: Immigration Law

Number of Students: Two students

Prerequisites/ assets: Interest in immigration law is an asset, but not required.

Eligible to apply: 1L, 2L, 3L

Description: PHSS serves a wide community of people. The project focuses on employee rights and the promotion of diversity, equity and inclusivity. This project will be designed to serve staff and employees of the PHSS Community. The primary deliverable will be public education documents to be given to the leadership of PHSS. Students will be responsible for conducting research into the current legislation regarding employee rights. They will focus on issues surrounding accommodating leaves, access to technology, and accommodations for people with disabilities. The outcome of their research will be compiled into a PowerPoint presentation in plain language. The presentation will be given in person – if covid regulations allow – to the leadership team at PHSS. At no point will students provide legal advice or recommendations.

Organization: PHSS Community

Type of Project: Public Legal Education

Area of Law: Employment and labour law

Number of Students: Three students

Prerequisites/ assets: Employment law would be an asset

Description: Students will prepare radio shows to discuss important legal issues or interesting and unique/obscure legal topics that stimulate interest and provide information. The radio show will inform the public by providing various perspectives on a topical legal issue in an accessible way but will not look to provide legal opinions or advice on any subjects. Each episode must be structured with proper scripts, use simple language, and should be designed to catch the audience’s attention

Organization: Radio Western

Type of Project: Public Legal Education

Area of Law: General

Number of Students: Three to five students

Prerequisites/ assets: Students should be passionate about legal education and strong public speakers

Eligible to apply: 1L, 2L, 3L

Description: Project Consent is a public legal education program that is focused on providing objective legal information to high school students (potentially junior high) about consent, sexual assault, and their legal options if they are a victim of these types of crimes. Project Consent was developed by Western Law students in 2019 to help youth understand consent and the legal aspects of consent. Student volunteers will give presentations on consent, sexual assault, and sexting to high schools within the London area as directed by the Project Leads. Student volunteers will create presentations and a short memo summarizing the law around sexual assault and the options victims have.

Organization: Community Legal Services

Type of Project: Public Legal Education

Area of Law: Criminal law, human rights, health law.

Number of Students: Six to eight students

Prerequisites/ assets: N/A

Eligible to apply: 1L, 2L, 3L

Description: This project will be focused on creating plain language resources for tenants to understand their rights according to the Residential Tenancies Act. Part of the final deliverable will explain the different eviction notices that tenants can be presented with and possible next steps. The secondary part of the project will be creating plain language resources for landlords to understand their obligations when filing notices.

Organization: Youth Opportunities Unlimited

Type of Project: Public Legal Education

Area of Law: Housing law

Number of Students: Two students

Prerequisites/ assets: Passionate about working with vulnerable populations within the London community.

Eligible to apply: 1L, 2L, 3L

Description: In May 2016, the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council appointed Francesca Albanese as Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian Territories occupied since 1967, UN Special Rapporteurs act independently of governments and the United Nations and are mandated to examine, monitor, advice and publicly report on human rights violations. The students will be expected to conduct research on international human rights and humanitarian law and its application with respect to the Middle East conflict. The students’ work will assist Francesca Albanese in producing a report for the United Nations Human Rights Council and the United Nations General Assembly.

Organization: United Nations

Type of Project: Research

Area of Law: International law, human rights.

Number of Students: Two students

Prerequisites/ assets: Course in international law is an asset, but not required. Strong research and writing skills are required.

Eligible to apply: 2L, 3L.

Description: Elgin Oxford Legal Clinic works with individuals living on a low income in Elgin and Oxford County. The student volunteers will be assisting EOLC with their virtual client intake. The files that students will primarily be working on will pertain to Ontario Works appeals, Ontario Disability Support Program appeals, and Canadian Pension Plan disability appeals. Students will not be providing legal advice and will always have access to a lawyer during intake if there are questions that exceed their ability to answer.

Organization: Elgin Oxford Legal Clinic

Type of Project: Client Services

Area of Law: Various areas of law, but may include employment law, housing law etc. 

Number of Students: One to three students

Prerequisites/ assets: N/A

Eligible to apply: 1L, 2L, 3L

Description: Students will assist the Huron Perth Legal Clinic in conducting legal research on their active cases for residents of Huron and Peth Counties with low-income. Some of the topics will include human rights, housing law, and consumer protection law. The student  volunteer will  be responsible  for  conducting  reviews  of  legislation  and  cases that relate  to  active  cases. 

Organization: Huron Perth Legal Clinic

Type of Project: Client Services

Area of Law: Human rights, housing law, poverty law, consumer protection law.

Number of Students: One student

Prerequisites/ assets: N/A

Eligible to apply: 1L, 2L, 3L

Description: Students will assist the N’Amerind Friendship centre draft and write Gladue reports for Indigenous clients facing legal issues. A Gladue report is a pre-sentencing and bail hearing report specifically used when considering sentencing an Indigenous person. The student volunteer will assist in the drafting of Gladue reports.

Organization: N’Amerind Friendship Centre

Type of Project: Client Services

Area of Law: Criminal law, Indigenous law, Aboriginal law.

Number of Students: One student.

Prerequisites/ assets: Courses in criminal law and Indigenous law are an asset, but not required.

Eligible to apply: 1L, 2L, 3L

Description: Students will assist lawyers at NLSLM draft memos, conduct client intake over the phone, and assist with legal files and research. The students will be assisting with issues regarding Ontario Works, Ontario Disability Support Programs, Canada Pension Plan, Landlord Tenant law, and employment law. Students will also assist in pre-trial preparation under the direct supervision of the supervising lawyer, as well as potentially accompany lawyers and clients to trial. Note: students are not permitted to offer legal advice.

Organization: Neighbourhood Legal Services London & Middlesex

Type of Project: Client Services and Research

Area of Law: Housing law, poverty law, social assistance, employment law, and labour law.

Number of Students: Two students

Prerequisites/ assets: 3L student is preferred, strong research skills, experience working in front-line and/or clinical setting is an asset.

Eligible to apply: 2L, 3L