Experiential Learning Opportunities

Legal Aid Ontario’s Refugee Law Office (RLO) represents refugees and other vulnerable migrants on a range of legal matters related to their liberty interests, and their requests for refugee protection or humanitarian consideration. Working with Legal Aid Ontario’s Refugee Law Office (RLO) will offer students a variety of ways to engage with the practice of refugee law. Students that are part of the team will be introduced to this area of law and will build and develop practical and litigation skills including client interviewing; reporting to/taking direction from supervising counsel; legal research and drafting; and oral advocacy.

The Canadian Centre for Victims of Torture (CCVT) is a community-based organization that helps victims of torture, war, genocide and crimes against humanity. It was founded by a group of Toronto doctors, lawyers and social-service professionals, many of whom were associated with Amnesty International. They had begun to see survivors of torture in their practices as early as 1977. Many of the survivors were in the process of claiming refugee status in Canada, and it was clear to the founders that in addition to asylum, these individuals needed specialized medical treatment, counseling and legal assistance.

The original Fair Change Community Services Clinic (external link)  is a student-run, lawyer-supervised pro bono legal clinic that supports street-involved individuals to address their provincial offences tickets. This Fair Change Clinical Opportunity will allow law students to help establish a new chapter of the Fair Change Clinic at the Lincoln Alexander School of Law. A clinic education course based around the Fair Change is expected to run in the 2025-2026 academic year. 

Since the passing of the Safe Streets Act (SSA) in 1999, law enforcement has increasingly ticketed street-involved individuals in Toronto for various provincial offences, including, for example, panhandling, loitering in public spaces, trespassing and transit fare evasion. When an individual cannot navigate the Provincial offences system to fight these tickets, they go unchallenged. As a result, many people accrue significant debt over time from frequent ticketing. This accrued debt can be a significant obstacle to accessing housing, education, employment, and other necessities.

This clinical opportunity involves a collaboration between Gilbert’s LLP (external link) , through its service, Slingshot, and the Lincoln Alexander School of Law.  Slingshot aims to assist clients, on a pro bono basis, who face barriers in accessing legal services by providing legal advice regarding their companies, not-for-profit organizations, and charities. Slingshot is a service designed to provide early-stage companies with the legal tools their businesses need to succeed within a predictable and competitive legal budget.  

This expanding collaboration will see law students working with and in the community under the supervision of experienced lawyers with founders, start-ups, and other organizations on a variety of corporate commercial legal matters. 

Human Rights Services (HRS) is a unit within the Office of the Vice-President of Equity and Community Inclusion at Toronto Metropolitan University. HRS supports and works with the university community to ensure that study, work, and living environments are free of discrimination and harassment, in accordance with Ontario’s Human Rights Code. As part of its role, HRS provides advice, consultations, and educational programming for community members about human rights issues at the university. HRS also administers a free and confidential complaint resolution process under the university’s Discrimination and Harassment Prevention Policy and Sexual Violence Policy, which can involve alternative resolution or investigation of disputes. 

The School of Child and Youth Care in the Faculty of Community Services has partnered with Indigenous Court Workers across Turtle Island on a service delivery project called the Indigenous Youth-Centered Justice Project (IYJP). The IYJP aims to address gaps in services for Indigenous youth who are dually involved in the child welfare and youth justice systems in British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, and Nunavut. The IYJP is seeking up to 2 students from LASL’s 1L or 2L cohorts to join their team.

Broadly speaking, some of the overarching goals of the project are: 

• Reduce the number of Indigenous youth from the child welfare system who are crossing into the adult criminal justice system;
• Reduce the amount of time they spend in custody and in the youth justice system;
• Offer cross sectoral training (including those in the justice system) regarding youth;
• Improve cross-sector collaboration;
• Encourage more respectful, equitable and trauma-informed service of Indigenous youth; and
• Promote cultural connections and culturally appropriate, anti-oppressive practice.

Students at the Lincoln Alexander School of Law sit on the student editorial board of the Wrongful Conviction Law Review (external link)  (WCLR). The WCLR is an open access peer reviewed international journal focusing on wrongful convictions and miscarriages of justice.

Launched in Spring 2024, the Pro Bone-o Pet Dispute Clinic helps pet parents in the throes of breaking up figure out who gets to keep their beloved pet. This year, the clinic will also be offering Pupnups, legal agreements that help couples determine who would get their pet in the event of a breakup, and mediation services. With the goal of providing access to justice and keeping people out of the costly court system, the Clinic operates like a not-for-profit so experience in marketing and promotion, website design and content, and social media is an asset.