Community Partners

We use a proven model for developing impactful projects that leverage our organizational strengths and students' passion and energy.

Our projects are all legal in nature (not administrative) and must be clear and specific, with concrete and pre-defined deliverables.

PBSC projects aim to support our communities as they access and engage with legal systems. This often includes public legal education, legal research and writing and supporting people with one-time or discrete legal issues (e.g. will drafting or name change).

Student volunteers commit to 3-5 hours per week, October to March. Students cannot be asked to volunteer during the months of December or April due to university examinations.

During the summer, new partner organizations work together with us to develop and plan the project(s) for the upcoming year. Returning partner organizations are invited to share feedback and discuss any changes they wish to make to their project(s).

Organizations are asked to identify an internal Contact Person who will be responsible for introducing students to the organization, check on progress and alert us to any issues that may arise.

The Contact Person will also attend our check-in in November and March and send us an evaluation at the end of the academic year. This information is critical, as it helps us continually improve our program and ensure that our partners are satisfied with all placements.

All projects must also be overseen by a qualified supervising lawyer, who provides feedback to students and reviews their work. We can help find qualified lawyer supervisors for organizations who do not have a lawyer already working with them.

Organizations should provide appropriate workspace and resources if possible, but many of our students work remotely since their research does not require them to be on-site.

Students are responsible for having access to a computer, phone and internet. We encourage organizations to integrate students into their team via other means (e.g. events, team meetings), when students work remotely.

Due to many practical and capacity-related reasons, all recruitment and matching is performed by our Program Coordinators. Volunteers are matched based on their interest and relevant experience.

Unfortunately, a separate interviewing process by organizations is impossible due to our firm timelines.

If you have any concerns, please contact us. We would be happy to discuss what characteristics you seek in a strong candidate to ensure that you receive a student who is compatible with your organizational needs.

Yes. You may inform our Program Coordinators that you would like a student with a particular academic or professional background, or who speaks certain languages and we will do our best to accommodate your request. 
You may also indicate whether your project is open to first-year students, upper-year students, or both. Additionally, you may request students from the same identity background as the clients you serve (e.g., a women’s shelter may request only female-identified students).

We will make every effort to meet all requests, but cannot guarantee it. Please be sure to let us know whether these requests are merely preferences (i.e. you would be willing to proceed regardless of the requested characteristics) or strict requirements (i.e. the project will not be able to run).

No! It is entirely free to partner with us.

Once your project has been approved, we commit to providing you with (a) qualified law student(s) who will volunteer to provide legal services for approximately 3-5 hours per week.

If you do not have lawyers on staff, we will help you find a qualified supervising lawyer to oversee our volunteer’s work with you. Lastly, we monitor all of our students closely and will address any problems or concerns that may arise in a timely manner.

The first step is to contact us. We will discuss your organizations' needs, answer any questions you may have and guide you through the process of developing a project.

Project development generally occurs during May through August, but we encourage you to reach out at any time of the year.

Feel free to review the following documents which are used to create a PBSC project. Please note that these documents are reference only; when you contact us, we will provide you with the most updated version.

1. Reference Guide for Partner Organizations. Outlines the roles and responsibilities of PBSC, our students, and your organization.
2. Project Description Form. Outlines the structure of a project.
3. Organization Agreement Form. Outlines the commitments made by our partner organizations.
4. Lawyer Supervision Agreement Form. Outlines the commitments made by our lawyer supervisors.