Who We Are

Lakehead University Community Legal Services is a student legal clinic.  We were founded in 2015, in partnership with Legal Aid Ontario and Lakehead University's Bora Laskin Faculty of Law.

We offer free legal services to help provide access to justice for low-income residents of Northwestern Ontario who would otherwise not be able to afford a lawyer, including people living with physical and mental disabilities, as well as Indigenous persons and other visible minority groups.

The Bora Laskin Faculty of Law has three mandates: (1) Aboriginal & Indigenous Law; (2) Natural Resources; and (3) Solo / Small Town Practice. Here at Community Legal Services, we proudly contribute to the first and third faculty mandates. We strive to provide excellent legal services to low-income individuals including many Indigenous persons throughout the Northwest Region who otherwise would not be able to afford a lawyer. Additionally, our program is supervised by experienced lawyers who teach our students the day-to-day skills necessary to practice law in small towns and in small firm settings.

One of our main goals at Community Legal Services is to provide a practical clinical education program for our Law Students. Second and third year Law Students have the opportunity work in the clinic, under the direct supervision of our experienced staff lawyers (Review Counsel), for academic credit. Students have full carriage of files. Their work in the clinic allows them to gain valuable experience interviewing clients, drafting legal documents, negotiating with opposing parties, and conducting motions, hearings and trials.

We are dedicated to achieving social justice through equitable, supportive, and innovative engagement with our clients, the community and the justice sector.  Community Legal Services is generously funded by Legal Aid Ontario, Lakehead University and the Law Foundation of Ontario.

For more information about Community Legal Services, check out this link to our Shaw Cable video,

or follow us on Facebook.