Law Students Serving the Public Good

About Us

Pro Bono Students Canada (PBSC) is a national, multiple award-winning organization with 22 chapters in law schools across Canada. PBSC matches law students with public interest organizations, government agencies, tribunals, legal clinics, and courts to deliver high-quality legal services. The goal of PBSC is to increase access to justice for underrepresented communities across Canada by offering free legal services in the form of public legal education, client intake and assistance, and legal research and writing.

PBSC By The Numbers

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Student Volunteers Nation Wide

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Projects Across
Canada

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Hours Volunteered
Each Year

What is Pro Bono?

Pro Bono Students Canada is contributing to a society in which all legal needs are met, irrespective of income and without barriers resulting from social or economic characteristics.

Students

Why Get Involved?

In today’s competitive employment market, participating in PBSC gives law students an edge. Not only will volunteering for PBSC make your resume stand out, more importantly, you are contributing to the Calgary community by assisting marginalized individuals and non-profit organizations.

Train Future Lawyers

Develop practical legal skills and supervised learning opportunities while working with community organizations and a national law firm.

Access to Justice

Apply what you learn in the classroom to assist low-income individuals and non-profit organizations in our community.

Network

Network with members of the public legal interest sector in Calgary including lawyers, judges, government agencies, and tribunals.

Explore

Explore a variety of career options and increase your knowledge surrounding the access to justice crisis in our community.

Volunteer as a Student

Join 120+ student volunteers to gain legal experience and increase access to justice in our community.

Lawyers

The goal of PBSC is to provide much-needed services to underrepresented communities and organizations across Canada. By exposing law students to the value of pro bono work, PBSC aims to encourage the next generation of lawyers to make pro bono service an everyday part of their practice. By volunteering with PBSC UCalgary as a supervising lawyer, you can demonstrate to our student volunteers what it means to uphold the pro bono ethic.

Organizations

By partnering with PBSC UCalgary, our law student volunteers can help you advance your organization’s mandate, increase your organization’s capacity, and obtain targeted and specialized assistance on legal issues.

Listen to the Hearsay Podcast

The Hearsay Podcast, is a public legal education podcast discussing hot topics like Zombie laws, the arrest process and rights during arrest, free legal services in Calgary, and wrongful dismissal. Each episode law students interview a legal expert on the topic and discuss the current state of the law in that area. This podcast is for educational purposes only and is not to be used as legal advice.

Blog Posts

Access to Legal Resources on the Frontlines

It is no secret that certain groups are overrepresented within our criminal justice system. Overrepresentation suggests that sentencing is a discriminatory process (Jeffries & Bond, 2011). Yes, even in Canada. Today, racial discrimination and bias are at the forefront of our lives thanks to the Black Lives Matter Movement. When entering law school, I had no idea what path I would take, but I knew I was passionate about justice and equity. Prior to law school I had worked with Indigenous Communities in and around Alberta on the current opioid crisis, which has roots in historical and ongoing colonialism. In my first year of Law at the University of Calgary I volunteered with Pro Bono Students Canada (PBSC), and was placed on the Indigenous Legal Education Project. Under the guidance of Thomas Heine and Aron Csaplaros, and in partnership with Sarah Sinclair and Lana Garcelon at Calgary Legal Guidance, I created legal resources. One example of such resources was a pamphlet explaining how an Indigenous person who attended a Federal Indian Day School can participate in a class action lawsuit against the Government of Canada. The second resource I created were wallet cards that outline your basic legal rights when you are approached by an officer.

CSIS “Implants” in Electronic Devices Okay… Under These Conditions

A reference put to the Federal Court has upheld Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) warrants authorizing the use of “implants” on electronic devices to collect and intercept information. In the decision released yesterday, Justice Fothergill

Unconstitutional Refugee Provision Struck Down, Designated Country of Origin Regime Rebuked in Federal Court

In a decision from the Federal Court this week, Justice Boswell declared paragraph 112(2)(b.1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) to be inconsistent with section 15(1) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and

SNC-Lavalin Will Not Get Judicial Review of Decision Rejecting Remediation Agreement

In a decision released by the Federal Court this morning, SNC-Lavalin (SNC) was denied an application for judicial review, meaning that the prosecution against the Quebec company will go ahead as usual. SNC applied to have the Court review the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP)

Bombardier Loses Appeal to Keep Federal Loan Repayment Numbers Under Wraps

Bombardier has lost a recent battle in the Federal Court regarding years-old requests made under the Access to Information Act (ATIA). In a partially redacted decision released this week, Justice Mactavish determined that Bombardier had not produced sufficient evidence to show that the information surrounding its re-payable federal loans should be exempted from disclosure.

Alleged Copyright Infringers’ Personal Information Protected–For Now

The Federal Court ruled in favour of internet service provider TekSavvy in a judgment released yesterday, overturning a decision to grant a Norwich order that would see the names and addresses of copyright infringers handed over to copyright claimants.