Does anyone do any legal volunteering?

[beachhouse]

I am interested in picking up volunteering again in a few months and would like to know if any legal volunteering opportunities exist. 

[ZineZ]

8 hours ago, beachhouse said:

I am interested in picking up volunteering again in a few months and would like to know if any legal volunteering opportunities exist. 

Out of curiosity, what do you mean by legal volunteering? Would you like to use your skills in particular, or be somewhere you interact with legal community? 

[canuckfanatic]

I volunteer for a pro bono legal clinic via Access Pro Bono. In BC, the LIF provides free insurance to lawyers for services provided pro bono via Access Pro Bono.

I also sit on a couple of charity/non-profit boards.

[PzabbytheLawyer]

Hi everyone,

I've found myself having a role which fulfills a lot of the necessary parts of myself. In turn, I also find myself having spare time a lot of the time (shock, I know).

In addition to getting my health back on track (eating and exercise), I want to see if I can volunteer on a part time basis.

Does anyone know where I could volunteer as a litigator part time? Say, some weekend days per month, maybe a few evenings per month?

I'd love to give back, and especially help in a person to person capacity, since I'm not in a role like that right now.

For context, I'm in Ontario and bilingual, if it helps.

Thanks!

Pzab

[ZineZ]

Merging two recent posts about this @PzabbytheLawyer

[ZineZ]

On a similar note - the OBA has a post up about places looking for lawyers to volunteer. 

 

https://www.oba.org/ProBono/Current-Opportunities

[beachhouse]

On 1/26/2024 at 6:58 PM, ZineZ said:

Out of curiosity, what do you mean by legal volunteering? Would you like to use your skills in particular, or be somewhere you interact with legal community? 

Opportunities to use legal skills for the general community. 

[ZineZ]

1 hour ago, beachhouse said:

Opportunities to use legal skills for the general community. 

I'd take a look at the OBA link I sent over. One additional note I'll make is that community organizations will often love to have a volunteer on their boards or just generally helping them out. If there's a local cause you like, I'd suggest reaching out and mentioning your interest in volunteering. More sophisticated organizations normally have their ducks in order - but in smaller communities and for smaller organizations, it can make a huge difference 

[Aureliuse]

I take pro bono files and volunteer at legal clinics/women's shelters. Is that what you are talking about?

[canuckfanatic]

On 1/26/2024 at 4:17 PM, canuckfanatic said:

I volunteer for a pro bono legal clinic via Access Pro Bono. In BC, the LIF provides free insurance to lawyers for services provided pro bono via Access Pro Bono.

I also sit on a couple of charity/non-profit boards.

Volunteering for Access Pro Bono now also counts towards your CPD requirements

[Aureliuse]

8 hours ago, canuckfanatic said:

Volunteering for Access Pro Bono now also counts towards your CPD requirements

Sadly, nothing similar in Ontario for CPD credits. We have Pro Bono Ontario, but it doesn't provide services in family law - despite the likely overwhelming demand. 

Your local pro bono organization is a good place to start if anyone is looking for legal volunteering opportunities. A lot of non-profit board of directors are also looking for lawyers with background in employment law, corporate governance, administrative law, condo law, tax law etc.

[Cool_name]

Ya, all the volunteering I do is legal. 
 

Due to the law society and all, I do my best to avoid any illegal volunteering.