ACCESS TO JUSTICE BC – COMMUNICATIONS INTERNSHIP

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The student volunteers at TRU, UBC and UVic will collaborate to plan a virtual event for Access to Justice Week 2022. The students will have the creative freedom to decide the best approach. This is an opportunity for law students to learn and contribute to work that will improve access to justice by supporting a shift to a person-centered approach to the justice system. The work this year will raise awareness on how the family justice system can prioritize family well-being and life outcomes beyond the legal verdict.

Commitment: Access to Justice Week is in February.


* Joint Project with UBC and UVic
AMICI CURAIE (AC) FRIENDSHIP SOCIETY – LEGAL FORMS WORKSHOP
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Student volunteers will help British Columbians complete their legal forms over the phone/video conferencing. Students may also be asked to support AC’s client intake by assisting clients with their technology, including conducting 1 on 1 sessions with clients for remote court and tribunal appearance preparation conducted via Teams.

Commitment: 4 hours per week. Volunteers will need to be available Thursdays from 5:15-8pm, and on the last Wednesday of every month from 5:15-8pm.  
 
*Joint Project with UBC and UVic
ASK WELLNESS SOCIETY – GENDER MARKER AND NAME CHANGE APPLICATION SUPPORT
Students will be responsible for creating a comprehensive video tutorial detailing the legal process(es) required to have one’s gender marker and name changed on various provincially-issued IDs.  The video will demonstrative how to fill out the appropriate applications, and serve as a comprehensive, plain-language resource to be distributed to ASK Wellness Society’ program participants. 
CFBX 92.5FM "THE X" RADIO STATION – PUBLIC LEGAL EDUCATION BROADCAST
Working in teams of two, student volunteers will research and prepare one 30-minute pre-recorded radio show on a legal topic of their choosing. This can often include interviews of prominent politicians, experts, and legal scholars on the topic.
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**Note: Three separate broadcasts may be created: one will be devoted to a family law issue; one will be devoted to a criminal or quasi-criminal law issue; one will be open to the volunteers to determine the topic of.
​CANADIAN ASSOCIATION OF ELIZABETH FRY SOCIETIES (CAEFS) – FEDERAL INCARCERATION RESEARCH SUPPORT FOR RIGHTS-BASED ADVOCACY IN FEDERAL PRISONS IN CANADA
​Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies (CAEFS) works to address the persistent ways in which women and gender-diverse people impacted by criminalization are denied humanity and excluded from community. Six student volunteers will support CAEFS’ in their legal advocacy work, each being assigned to one of four specific research tasks.  
CANADIAN ON PAPER SOCIETY FOR IMMIGRANT PHYSICIANS EQUALITY (COPSIPE) - HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS OF INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL GRADUATES (RESEARCH SUPPORT)
The student volunteers will support COPSIPE by researching the relevant case law surrounding human rights and the standard of evidence required to prove the discriminatory grounds plead in the ongoing litigation – place of origin/place of education, race, colour, and age. The students will work with COPSIPE to produce a memo outlining their research.
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**Note: this project is for two upper year students.
THE CONSENT PROJECT
The Consent Project is an initiative to increase access to justice in local youth populations by empowering and educating high school students about their rights and obligations related to consent and privacy in a sexual setting.

​In the Fall semester, volunteers will adopt and update two legal workshops (“Sexual Assault and Consent” and “Cybercrimes and Online Behaviour”) run by the Consent Project at UBC’s PBSC Chapter, and arrange for 1-2 in-person presentations of the completed workshop within Kamloops secondary schools in the Winter semester.
FEDERATION OF ASIAN LAWYERS BC – EQUITY AND DIVERSITY IN THE LEGAL PROFESSION
Building upon the legal research on equity, diversity and inclusion in the legal profession completed by PBSC volunteers in 2021-2022, volunteers will create a full written report that serves as a draft of guidelines that FACL BC can provide to legal employers (firms, organizations, etc.) to ensure equity, diversity, and inclusion in hiring, retention, and workplace environments.
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KAMLOOPS & DISTRICT ELIZABETH FRY SOCIETY – FAMILY STEPPING STONES: 'NEXT STEPS' BROCHURE ON PROTECTION ORDERS
 This project will focus on providing practical legal information for women and their children housed in Kamloops & District Elizabeth Fry Society's Family Stepping Stones supportive program around as they contemplate their ‘next steps.’ Volunteers will create a comprehensive brochure for women in the supportive housing program, who are fleeing domestic violence, detailing the law surrounding Protection Orders.
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KAMLOOPS SOCIETY FOR COMMUNITY INCLUSION - PLANNING FOR PARENTS: ENSURING SECURITY FOR ADULT CHILDREN WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES
Volunteers will create and deliver an in-person, hour-long, presentation outlining what parents of adults with developmental disabilities need to know with respect to wills and estates planning, trusts, powers of attorney.
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**Preference for Upper Years who have taken, or are enrolled to take Wills and Estates.
LAW AND MENTAL HEALTH DISORDER ASSOCIATIONS (LAMDA) - LEGAL PRECEDENT DRAFTING SUPPORT FOR INTERVENER STATUS APPLICATIONS
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Volunteers will create precedent Applications for Intervenor Status that may be used by LAMDA, as an advocate association, to demonstrate LAMDA’s clear interest in the outcome of cases concerning mental health law. Having these precedents established and ready for LAMDA to populate on a case-by-case basis will support LAMDA’s ability to apply for intervenor status in the future high level course cases, and ultimately serve those living with mental health challenges, disabilities and chronic illnesses.
LEGAL AID BC - FAMILY LAW LIVEHELP
Volunteers will provide remote online support and legal information to users of LiveHelp, an instant messaging service available through the Family Law in BC website. In addition, students will also provide research support to ensure the information used by LiveHelp is current and up to date.
MS SOCIETY – EMPLOYERS' GUIDE TO MS IN THE WORKPLACE REFRESH
One volunteer will  conduct  legal  research on employee  rights, disclosure obligations, human rights, disability, and the duty to accommodate in the workplace in order to update the MS Society’s existing guide, “MS in the Workplace –an Employer’s Guide” with up-to-date  information. This resource will be used by employers across Canada to inform them of their rights and obligations as an employer of a person with MS. ​
NATIONAL SELF-REPRESENTED LITIGANTS PROJECT WEST - CASELAW MONITORING
One volunteer will work closely with  Professor Andrew Pilliar and their research  assistant to monitor and review case law from BC and Alberta’s jurisdictions that pertains to self-representation and self-represented litigants. The volunteer will then write memos flagging the issues and provide analysis on the matters to report to the organizational contact. 
 
This research work will be used to better understand courts’ dealings with self-represented litigants and may form the basis for research, advocacy, and policy-reform initiatives by NSRLP and NSRLP West.

**Suitable for 1L applicants
RESTORATIVE JUSTICE ASSOCIATION OF BC - RESEARCH SUPPORT
Working in pairs, volunteers will select a topic related to restorative justice to research and create either a research paper, or another approved public legal education deliverable.

The list of potential topics is as follows:
  1. Restorative justice and labour & administrative law / civil liability. Specifically, the use of restorative justice in Human Resources practices (employee discipline, etc);
  2. The application of restorative justice in Indigenous Communities.  Exploring how Indigenous communities engage with members to resolve issues that arise internally and assist Bands and Nations in healing and restoration;
  3. Race and restorative justice;
  4. Anti-oppression and restorative justice;
  5. Decolonizing restorative justice;
  6. Racial harm and restorative justice;
  7. Sexual harm and restorative justice;
  8. Exploring the differences and similarities in applications of transformative justice and restorative justice. 
 
The legal resources created by PBSC student volunteers will be made available to other restorative justice organizations in BC and the communities they serve.
 
*Joint Project with UVic. ​
SOUTH ASIAN LEGAL CLINIC OF BC (SALC BC) - PUBLIC LEGAL EDUCATION PAPER AND PRESENTATION ON THE TORT OF FAMILY LAW VIOLENCE
Two volunteers will assist SALC BC with providing free and accessible legal information  to low-income South  Asian  people  in  the  Lower  Mainland. Volunteers will conduct legal research on the tort  of family violence and create a legal resource paper for SALBC clientele. Students will also create an accompanying presentation which will be delivered live, over  Zoom, during the  Winter  Semester.
KAMLOOPS PRIDE - KNOWING YOUR RIGHTS TOOLKIT
Students will build on last year’s electronic 'Knowing Your Rights Toolkit' (FAQ document) which aims at helping the 2SLGBTQ+ community understand their rights in a number of different legal areas. This year, students will update the FAQ documents on the following areas:

  1. Parenting Rights (for both 2SLGBTQ+ parents and children); and
  2. Employment Standards, rights, and protections for 2SLGBTQ+.


Students will expand this year's 'Knowing Your Rights Toolkit' to include robust legal information resources detailing 2SLGBTQ+ youths’ rights to safety at home and in foster care. This topic will explore what steps may be taken to secure one’s safety in the home; and outline how 2SLGBTQ+ youth can navigate all options pertaining to parental custody held by parents or foster parents where discrimination presents safety concerns.
TRU PBSC - GENDER MARKER AND NAME CHANGE ID CLINIC
Students will work to expand access to rights for transgender, two-spirit and gender diverse folks by assisting to launch a Gender and Name Change ID Clinic in collaboration with Kamloops & District Elizabeth Fry Society, and the TRU Community Legal Clinic. Students will create the necessary intake and training materials to successfully open an in-person ID Clinic in Kamloops by January 2023. Students will then staff the Clinic in the Winter Semester and provide client intake and application assistance under the lawyer supervision to folks attending the Clinic.

*This is a collaborative project in partnership with the Kamloops & District Elizabeth Fry Society, the TRU Community Legal Clinic, Kamloops Pride, and ASK Wellness.

​**Upper Years Only

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