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Amici Curiae Volunteer Information
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Amici Curiae Legal Forms Workshops Volunteer Information
We love voluunteers! We have two groups: legal professionals and duty counsel.
Thank you for your interest in Amici Curiae Legal Forms Workshop. Our pro bono service is powered by paralegals and supported by members of the profession. We assist the public in completing legal forms. We do not provide summary legal advice nor take conduct of the client's files.
Here is our CV for your reference.
1. Your Role
- As a volunteer paralegal, law school student, foreign trained JD or articling student, you help in drafting legal forms to assigned clients.
- As a volunteer firm accountant, you help draft F4 and F8 Financial Statement affidavits for clients.
- As a volunteer law librarian, you help in legal research.
All assignments must be attended to in person.
As the scope of practice areas is quite broad, volunteers are strongly encouraged to attend free CPD.
2. Scheduling and cancellation
Periodically, we provide you a schedule of workshops using Doodle. You select dates that work for you. Book as much or as little as you are comfortable with. We will inform you of your assignment.
Approximately 3 business days prior to the assigned date, we will provide you with a client roster, for you to do a conflicts check.
For volunteers, to be assigned, they are expected to respond within 1 business day if they have any conflicts.
3. Qualification
To be assigned clients, volunteers need to have a minimum of 2 years working in a British Columbia law firm setting. There are other ways to volunteer as Amici Curiae has a robust mentoring programme.
4. Getting started
To get started, let us arrange for you to observe a workshop. See if you like it. Download a Volunteer Information Package (click here). Email it to amicicuriae.volunteer@gmail.com.
Our volunteer coordinator will arrange for you to observe workshops that interest you. Once done we can connect again.
We will arrange for you to observe one of our workshops to see if you like it. Our workshops at Atira & BWSS are open to volunteers who are women and who self-identify as women. Attached is our CV for your reference.
Duty Counsel
Thank you for your interest in Amici Curiae Legal Forms Workshop.Our pro bono service is powered by paralegals and supported by members of the profession, like you. We assist the public in completing legal forms. We do not provide summary legal advice nor take conduct of the file.
Attached is our CV for your reference.
1. Your Role
As a volunteer duty counsel, you may volunteer for one of these 3 roles:
1ACDC supervises paralegals on a designated session;
2ACDC provides Aboriginal law expertise during a session; or
3ACDC provides practice area expertise to assess the needs of a first time client.
All assignments must be attended to in person.
The most common involvement is 1ACDC: supervising paralegals who have three key tasks:
As the scope of practice areas is quite broad, ACDC are invited to attend free CPD which count towards their LSBC requirements.
- there are generally 4 paralegals you supervise (we like to leverage your time);
- along with a volunteer triage manager, ensure the timely movement of each appointment; and
- you must approve the drafted form before the clients can it away.
2. Scheduling and cancellation
Periodically, we provide you a schedule of workshops using Doodle. You select dates that work for you. Book as much or as little as you are comfortable with. We will inform you of your assignment.
Approximately 3 business days prior to the assigned date, we will provide you with a client roster, if you wish to do a conflicts check.
LSBC rules permit lawyers in the same not-for-profit organization to provide limited legal services to clients that may have opposing interests, as long as information about each client is kept confidential. For details, see Code rules 3.4-11.1 to 3.4-11.4 regarding conflicts.
If you have to cancel, we ask that you let us know no later than when conflict checks are being done.
3. Qualification
A licensed member of the Law Society of BC. We presently do not work with non-insured members (ie crown counsel, retired and non-practicing).
More: https://www.lawsociety.bc.ca/Website/media/Shared/docs/insurance/LIF-probono.pdf
4. Getting started
How would you like to observe a session? Once done we can connect again. Please write me.
Support from BC's legal community
Here is a message from former Chief Justice of BC Finch 3/21/11:I welcome the creation of the Paralegal Pro Bono Program and Access Pro Bono’s partnership with the Law Courts Center in its evening Pro Bono Paralegal Program at the Vancouver Justice Access Centre. The Program is unique in Canada in engaging paralegals as primary pro bono legal service providers who work under the supervision of a lawyer to provide assistance to those who would otherwise find themselves with no help at all.
AG Anton Greetings for 2015 Paralegal and Support Staff Conference.pdf is a message from Attorney General of BC Anton 10/2/15:
I also want to commend your commitment to the Amici Curiae Pro Bono Paralegal Program – and the decision to expand your work to include service to Temporary Foreign Workers needing help in preparing uncontested divorce applications. With the upcoming opening of the Battered Women’s Support Services Clinic and the Court of Appeal Clinic, the important work of the Pro Bono team will continue with even greater results.
Click here for The Role of Paralegals in #a2j.pdf
updated 180813