By Lou Lamari, Articling Student-at-Law, University of Manitoba Faculty of Law
From October 28 to November 1, 2024, National Access to Justice Week brought together legal professionals, students, and community members for virtual sessions on access-to-justice (A2J) issues. Presented in partnership by the Law Society of Manitoba, Manitoba Bar Association and the University of Manitoba’s Faculty of Law, the event held various panels aiming to make the legal profession more accessible.
In Educating and Advocating in Manitoba Prisons, one featured initiative was the Prison Law Clinic, a collaboration between the University of Manitoba’s Faculty of Law and Legal Aid Manitoba. Incarcerated individuals often face significant obstacles in accessing legal resources, with limited library services in Manitoba prisons. While federal prisons in Canada are mandated to provide library services with legal materials, provincial institutions in Manitoba lack similar legislation.
Studies show that access to library services, both in and out of prison, positively impacts reintegration post-incarceration. It is therefore in everyone’s best interest — incarcerated persons, their families, and the general public — to have increased access to library services within prisons in Manitoba.
Robson Hall students are working with a prison librarian to create accessible, plain-language legal guides, which are then added to prison libraries as helpful references for those who are incarcerated.
A recording of the session can be found here.
Another session, Victim Impact and Community Impact Statements demystified this legal process for those belonging to the general public, providing various examples of how these statements may be presented. The court generally allows a wide range of formats for such statements, provided they meet certain content guidelines. This element of court proceedings serves to provide a space for diverse forms of expression that honour victims’ voices.
A recording of the session can be found here.
Family Law Services: Pathways to Healthy Separation addressed family law with a focus on separation and divorce proceedings. One of the co-presenters, Community Legal Education Association (CLEA), highlighted the significant time and financial strain these proceedings can impose, with people often unprepared for and unfamiliar with the path forward. CLEA offers free legal information to help people understand their rights and the general legal process, empowering them to subsequently approach lawyer meetings and legal proceedings with a clearer sense of direction. By providing this support pro bono, CLEA enables clients to use their time with family lawyers more efficiently, spending less time on basic questions during billable hours.
A recording of the session can be found here.
Supporting the Work: How New Lawyers Are Being Trained to Overcome A2J Barriers discussed various current initiatives. University College of the North (UCN) has launched a new pre-law initiative which aims to address barriers to post-secondary education for individuals in Northern communities. Northern Manitoba has many students who could thrive in the JD program but may face additional barriers in doing so compared to those who live in the Southern region of the province.
Another discussion focused on internationally trained lawyers. These professionals, who often bring years of experience from abroad, face significant challenges in finding work in Canada. The bias against those with accents from the global South and high rates of discrimination often impact their job retention and advancement. Many internationally trained lawyers struggle to secure articling positions, which poses a fundamental barrier to practicing law in Canada. Robson Hall’s Internationally Trained Lawyers Program, starting next fall, hopes to address this issue, helping these lawyers launch legal careers in Canada.
The legal profession is also seeing a trend of women leaving private practice in significant numbers. Many women are not being invited into firm partnerships at rates equal to their male counterparts, reflecting a larger issue of gender inequity within the field. While more women and gender diverse people are entering the legal profession than previously, clearly more needs to be done to keep them.
Young lawyers without pre-existing connections in law also face additional hurdles. Those who are first-generation lawyers often lack the same network connections that can accelerate early career opportunities. Without mentorship, these students struggle to find articling positions and may face more difficulty finding associate positions.
Clients need safety in accessing services and having practitioners who can provide access to culturally literate services is important. Thus, having lawyers from diverse backgrounds is an asset to clients and the legal profession as a whole. As the legal field works to remove barriers, doing so also makes space for a richer diversity of voices, skills, and experiences that reflect and better serve the needs of clients.
A recording of the session can be found here.
Access to Justice Week appears to have been a significant success. The Law Society reported 990 registrations across four sessions, representing 555 unique participants. The Q&A periods demonstrated strong public engagement, with many attendees seeking information to address their own legal issues or support others. This underscores a clear demand for free, accessible legal information and a public eagerness to learn from legal professionals. I look forward to seeing more initiatives from Manitoba’s legal community that address inclusivity and accessibility for those without a legal background.