Category Innovative Partnerships and Collaborations

Access to Justice Week (October 17 – 21, 2o16)

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Access to Justice Week (October 17 to 21) will “explore collaborative initiatives and engage new participants in the access to justice conversation”.

The week’s events will include:
MONDAY, OCTOBER  17
Redesigning Justice: How would you do it?
Barristers’ Lounge
Law Society of Upper Canada
Toronto, ON

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 18
Technology, Inclusion and Access to Justice: Broadening the Conversation
Barristers’ Lounge
Law Society of Upper Canada

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 20
Connect, Create, Communicate: Public Legal Education and the Access to Justice Movement (Two-day conference)
Chestnut Conference Centre
89 Chestnut Street
Toronto, ON

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21
Connect, Create, Communicate: Public Legal Education and the Access to Justice Movement
Chestnut Conference Centre
89 Chestnut Street
Toronto, ON

Re-imagining Child Welfare Systems in Canada: A Symposium
1014 Osgoode Hall Law School
4700 Keele St
North York, ON

Stories From the Justice System with Raconteurs Storytelling
Hart House
7 Hart House Cir, Toronto

To register for any of these events or for more information, visit The Action Group on Access to Justice (TAG) Access to Justice Week event page here.

 

University Researchers and Justice System Stakeholders Unite for Access to Law and Access to Justice (ADAJ) Initiative in Quebec

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The University of Montreal has announced the launch of a major access to justice research initiative that will bring together more than 40 researchers (from 9 universities) and 44 justice stakeholders, including the Superior Court of Québec, the Court of Québec, the Ministry of Justice of Québec, local legal services organizations, the Québec Bar Association, the Chamber of Notaries, SOQUIJ and Éducaloi. (The full list of partners is available here.)

“The objective of this initiative is to engage a series of pilot projects aimed at redirecting the focus of the judicial system on the individual citizen and thereby transforming justice into a community project,” states Pierre Noreau, scientific director of the project, researcher at the Public Law Research Centre (CRDP) and professor with the Faculty of Law at Université de Montréal.  The full press release is available in English here.

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L’Université de Montréal a annoncé  le lancement d’un important consortium de recherche consacré au thème de l’accès au droit et à la justice. ADAJ regroupe 42 chercheurs et collaborateurs de 9 universités et 44 partenaires de la justice. Il regroupe notamment la Cour supérieure, la Cour du Québec de même que le ministère de la Justice du Québec, de nombreuses cliniques juridiques de quartier, le Barreau du Québec, la Chambre des notaires, SOQUIJ et Éducaloi.

« Le but que nous poursuivons est de réaliser toute une série de projets-pilotes susceptibles de remettre le citoyen au coeur du système juridique pour faire enfin de la justice un projet collectif », affirme Pierre Noreau, directeur scientifique du projet, chercheur au Centre de recherche en droit public (CRDP) et professeur à la Faculté de droit de l’Université de Montréal.

Le communiqué de presse est disponible ici.

Self-Rep Navigators

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A Toronto-based lawyers group has launched the “Self-Rep Navigators” to direct legal services towards self-represented litigants. Described as “a hub for connecting self-represented litigants to supportive lawyers and high quality resources both online and offline”, Self-Rep Navigators have established a website at www.limitedscoperetainers.ca and list lawyers who will take clients on a limited scope retainer/ at fixed fees for civil and criminal matters, and those offering the same types of services to family clients.

Heather (hh@litigation-help.com) and Michael (mhassell@trialcounsel.ca) would like to hear from any other lawyers interested in being a part of this group.

You can find the full write up about Self-Rep Navigators here.

Action Committee Meeting of Provincial and Territorial Access to Justice Groups

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On March 13, 2015 the Action Committee on Access to Justice in Civil and Family Matters (the Action Committee) convened a meeting for existing provincial and territorial access to justice groups (P/T A2J groups), many of which were formed in response to recommendation 5.1 of the Action Committee’s Roadmap Report.

The purpose of the meeting was to reflect on the progress made by these groups over the past year, discuss the access to justice initiatives underway in different jurisdictions, highlight promising developments, learn from common challenges, and consider collaborations and cooperation among justice stakeholders that could be further supported by the Action Committee.
The report can be accessed in English here and in French here.

Innovation and Access to Justice Conference

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Please see below, a reminder from Sherry MacLennan, Director, Public Legal Information & Applications, Legal Services Society

This is a reminder that the Innovation and Access to Justice Conference is just a few weeks away – October 1 and 2. A few spots remain available and we are hoping to sell out. It is attracting a broad swath of interest from innovators across the legal community, ranging from government, law societies, legal aid, the private bar, PLEI providers and academics from across Canada.

This conference is in Montreal for the low registration fee of $175 to ensure the conference’s accessibility. However, this will increase to $200 on September 28. The final date to register is September 29. It will not be possible to register in person at the conference.

You may view the agenda and register at: http://iaj2015.openum.ca/registration/

 

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RFJS2

 

Since its inception in 2013, the Family Justice System Reform initiative has brought together over 200 organizations and individuals committed to improving Alberta’s family justice environment.

The overall aim of the initiative is to create a system that is “open, responsive, cost-effective and will put the needs of children and families first while assisting families with the early and final resolution of disputes.”

To find out more, or to become a part of the initiative, you can visit their site here. 

“Legal Health Check Up” Tool Boosts Intake for Community Legal Service Clinic

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Halton Community Legal Services in partnership with a group of regional intermediaries recently implemented a web-based Legal Health Check Up (LHC) tool. The online survey has boosted clinic intake numbers by 1/3 since its release by helping users identify legal problems and directing them to the clinic. This report, produced by Ab Currie in partnership with the Canadian Forum for Civil Justice (CFCJ) further explains the project.

CLEO Paper Links Health Literacy and Legal Capability

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A recent paper has been published by CLEO’s Centre for Research and Innovation on legal capability, social determinants and access to justice for vulnerable Ontarians and Canadians titled: Don’t Smoke, Don’t be Poor, Read Before Signing: Linking Health Literacy and Legal Capability.

The paper provides an overview of health literacy information practices in Ontario to give PLE organizations and related stakeholders information about effective health information practices that can be adapted to improve the accessibility, usefulness, and reach of public legal education and information.

Visit CLEO’s blog, or click here to view the paper.