Students

Absolutely! PBSC invites all students enrolled in the Faculty of Law to apply for a placement that suits their interests, even if it's the year you’re not taking law courses as part of your combined program.

We offer a wide variety of projects that generally fall into one of five categories:

1. Client intake and assistance projects: You’ll sit down with clients from partner organizations or clinics to gather their personal information and the facts of their case. In some cases, you may provide legal information or help them complete court forms or other documents. These projects are typically most suitable for upper-year students.
2. Legal research and writing projects: You can engage in reviewing and monitoring pending legislation, writing legal memos or analyzing current policy questions, and contributing to media such as newsletters or blogs.
3. Public legal education projects: You’ll have the opportunity to develop and deliver legal education materials, such as FAQs or info sheets, and conduct workshops or seminars for communities facing barriers to justice. Your goal is to provide accessible legal information about a specific area of law.
4. Internships: As an intern, you’ll be placed with a well-regarded non-profit organization, where you’ll perform various legal tasks throughout the program year, supervised by a lawyer. You’ll also observe the organization's operations and be integrated as an “intern.”
5. Advocacy projects: These projects give you the chance to represent clients before tribunals and courts, under the close supervision of a lawyer.

We facilitate projects with dozens of organizations serving a diverse range of communities. We also develop new projects every year with the support of our Program Coordinators and new partners.

You’ll be expected to volunteer for 3-5 hours per week from October to March, excluding December.

You’ll also need to attend two mandatory lunchtime training sessions: a general PBSC training session and a Thomson Reuters WestlawNext Canada training session (the latter may be optional for upper-year students).

The dates for these sessions will be shared in September, if you’re placed with a partner organization.

No. Our placements do not run during December and April. Your commitment should not get in the way of studying for exams and your academic success.

September 

• Applications due
• Offers for positions are made
• Attend one mandatory PBSC training session (one of two two dates)
• Attend Family Law Project (FLP) training if enrolled in the FLP program

Late September to mid-October

• Submit your work plan (if required by your project) and begin project 
• Attend one WestlawNext training session

November

• Participate in a Monitoring call to provide an update on your placement and report any feedback
• Community-building event (TBC)

December

• Break for Exams

January

• Placements resume
• Community-building Event (TBC)

March

• Complete project/final deliverable by the end of the month
• Participate in a Monitoring Call to provide an update on your placement and report any feedback
• Attend Volunteer Appreciation Event/Chief Justice Richard Wagner Awards ceremony

April

• Break for Exams

Applications for PBSC take place annually in September.

See our applications page for updates and follow us on social media for future announcements.

• https://x.com/PBSCToronto 
• https://www.facebook.com/PBSCToronto 
• Instagram @pbscuoft

Yes! PBSC hires paid Program Coordinators (summer & academic year positions) in February, and recruits volunteers for our Executive Committee in the summer.

Our national office also hires and recruits students for its national projects, which support families in crisis or transition, Indigenous peoples, LGBTQ2S+ communities, and newcomers to Canada.

Please note that holding some of these positions may preclude you from holding a student volunteer placement at a community organization.

Non-voluntary  opportunities will be advertised through the Faculty’s Career Development Office (CDO).