Community Placement Program

Through our Placement Program, PBSC recruits and trains volunteer law students to serve a diverse range of community groups, public interest organizations, legal clinics, lawyers doing pro bono work and government agencies. With the guidance of lawyer supervisors, students research pending legislation, legal issues and current policy questions; draft policies for organizations and manuals for their clients; conduct public legal education, seminars and workshops; and help organizations provide legal information and assistance to their clients, among other projects. Students commit to volunteer at least 3 hours/week for the entire school year, excluding the months of September (when students are matched with placements and given basic legal training) and December (when students write law school exams), and the February reading week. Many students greatly exceed this requirement, volunteering for as many as 10 hours/week on top of their school course loads and again over the summer months.

Some organizations who have worked with PBSC through the community placement program include:

• Lake Ontario Waterkeepers
• Vancouver & Lower Mainland Multicultural Family Support Services Society
• Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies
• Le Collectif pour un Québec sans pauvreté
• Canadian Mental Health Association
• Legal Information Society of Nova Scotia
• Alberta Foundations for Diabetes Research
• REACH Canada
• Canadian Civil Liberties Association

If you are an organization interested in working with PBSC, please click here for more information about how you can get involved.

“The material is so essential and valuable to the individuals we presented it to. It is so important, as law students, to share our education with those who can utilize and benefit from it.”
-Kate Bjerring, PBSC student at University of Toronto, Faculty of Law