Court clinics
NL Court of Appeal providing free legal assistance clinics for those needing help in appeal their case
The Newfoundland and Labrador Court of Appeal is making it easier for people to appeal their cases by offering free legal assistance clinics. The clinics provide people with private 30-minute sessions with volunteer lawyers, who offer free legal advice and can assist with cases on an individual basis.
So, you’ve lost your court case and want to appeal, but you can’t afford a lawyer. Don’t throw in the towel yet. The Newfoundland and Labrador Court of Appeal is making it easier for people to appeal their cases by offering free legal assistance clinics.
The clinics provide people with private 30-minute sessions with volunteer lawyers, who offer free legal advice and can assist with cases on an individual basis.
Anyone who has received a decision or judgment and wants to appeal can qualify to participate.
The clinics are a pilot project that was developed as a result of the growing number of people coming to the Court of Appeal needing legal support — either they can’t afford the high cost of a private lawyer or don’t qualify for a Newfoundland and Labrador Legal Aid Commission lawyer due to the commission’s financial limits and tight regulations.
“There are still a lot of people who are showing up in court who don’t have lawyers,” said Newfoundland and Labrador Court of Appeal Chief Justice Derek Green, who was instrumental in developing the project.
He said the biggest problem for people representing themselves is that the courts deal with technical and legal points of law, which most people don’t understand.
“People who are not legally trained find it very, very difficult to get their head around the issues that need to be dealt with and how they should be dealt with,” Green said.
The volunteer lawyers at the clinic would help people in understanding what the Court of Appeal is all about, giving advice as to whether their particular appeal has any merit and whether they should proceed with it, organizing their cases, offering instruction on how to present arguments, prepare court material and fill out forms.
Members of the Bar, along with various associations — the Newfoundland and Labrador Law Society, the Newfoundland branch of the Canadian Bar Association, the Public Legal Information Association of Newfoundland and Labrador — have volunteered their time to help with the clinics.
“If a person doesn’t have legal advice, particularly on an appeals matter, it makes it more difficult for them, but it also makes it more difficult for the court because we don’t get the good arguments on both sides of the case,” Green said.
“So, everybody benefits — from people being more informed about what their legal rights are — and how they can process their appeals.”
It’s all about providing people with better access to justice, which Green has been pushing for over the years.
He pointed to a study completed a few years ago. Headed by Justice Thomas Cromwell in the Supreme Court of Canada at the request of Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin, the study addressed the issue of access to justice in the of civil law context.
“Access to justice has been identified in Canada as being a major problem and a lot of it is driven by cost. Many people can’t afford the cost of getting good, quality legal advice and without it, their ability to enforce their rights, be treated equally in society is being affected,” he said.
Green pointed out there are also many people who make too much money to qualify for Legal Aid, but to pay a significant portion of money to process a significant case through the courts would have a major impact on them.
“They end up mortgaging their houses or using their life savings,” Green said. “It’s very serious.”
That’s why he’s so encouraged by the support shown for the appeal clinic, especially from Legal Aid and private lawyers, who are participating in the clinics on their own time.
“Lawyers get a bad rap,” Green said. “There are a lot of people who believe in the system and believe it’s important that people have proper legal advice. I think just as a matter of conscience, they say, ‘Well, we’ve got to give back to the community. We take a lot from the community and do well, but we need to help those who can’t avail of the services.’ It speaks highly of the legal profession.”
Green also noted the behindthe-scenes help of court administrator Maria Sokolova and deputy registrar Cathy Blake, as well as support from Newfoundland and Labrador Legal Aid Commission executive director Nick Summers and the sheriff’s office, which has offered to provide security and access to the building during the clinics.
“Everybody is giving something to help make this work,” Green said.
The clinics will be held at the Court of Appeal, Richardson Building, next door (west) to Newfoundland Supreme Court at 287 Duckworth Street.
To make an appointment for the clinic, email calac@supreme.court.nl.ca and provide contact information, schedule availability, the area of law to which your matter relates (such as criminal law, contract law, family law) and a brief description of your legal issue.
You can also call the Court of Appeal at 729-0066 or visit http://court.nl.ca/supreme/appeal/news.html.
Green said in the near future there will be public information sessions about the Court of Appeal.
The interest in the clinics was so strong, a week after publically announcing they will be held, half the appointment slots for the first session on June 23 were filled, Green said. There have also been inquiries from people who have general legal problems, who don’t fit the appeal criteria, but want advice about other legal issues, he said.
He would like to see the idea of holding such clinics operate for all levels of court.
“It seems to me the same idea should be available for people who are contemplating going to court at all,” he said. “Their rights may have been infringed. They ask, ‘How do I access the system? What do I do to deal with my landlord?’ Any issue like that.
“One of these days, my hope is the clinic will be much broader than it is now.”