User:Licama/LSLAP

Introduction

LSLAP is a non-profit society run by law student volunteers at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Vancouver, British Columbia. Volunteers at various clinics throughout the Lower Mainland provide free legal advice and representation to low-income clients, and are assisted by accredited members of the BC Bar. The primary goals of the society are assistance and education. While the student volunteers and supervising lawyers provide legal advice, the emphasis always remains on assisting the client to solve his or her own legal problems. By providing the client with information about the legal alternatives and processes available to them, it is hoped that the client can come away from the program having become more aware of and more comfortable in exercising their legal rights.

Services/Areas of Law

LSLAP assists low-income earners with legal issues in a variety of areas:

Criminal;
Small Claims;
Employment Standards;
Residential Tenancy;
WCB (Workers’ Compensation);
Consumer Protection;
Employment Insurance
Social Assistance
Wills and Estates
Incorporation of Non-Profit Societies; and,
Civil Liberties.

Representation can be offered on a case-by-case basis in such hearings as:

Small Claims Court;
Criminal Court;
Welfare Appeals;
Residential Tenancy Branch Arbitrations;
Immigration and Refugee Hearings; and,
Academic Disciplinary Hearings.

LSLAP can also help draft certain types of legal documents, including:

Demand Letters;
Wills;
Powers of Attorney;
Representation Agreements and Living Wills; and,
Notice of Claims and Replies.

After conducting an initial interview, LSLAP’s policy is to provide summary legal advice to all clients. Depending on the circumstances of each client, LSLAP may be able to offer more substantive assistance.

In addition, there are certain issues that LSLAP cannot assist with, including:

Family law;
Business and Commercial Law;
Land transactions (including wills and estates);
Personal injury lawsuits;
Union issues;
Probate or administrative matters over $25,000;
Impaired driving charges or traffic offences;
Complaints against lawyers;
Complaints against doctors;
Indictable criminal offences, or criminal charges where the Crown has chosen to proceed by way of indictment;
Summary conviction charges where a jail sentence is likely;
Criminal offences where the accused has a prior criminal record;
Matters requiring appearance in, or application to, a superior level court (including civil matters over $25,000 and defamation); and
Any file where the Supervising lawyer determines that a law student cannot properly assist the client under the circumstances.

Procedure

Clinic Locations

Clinics are located throughout the lower mainland. For more information on contact information and opening times, refer to the LSLAP website.

Vancouver East

Britannia (Britannia Community Services Society, 1661 Napier Street, Vancouver)
Carnegie (Carnegie Centre, 3rd Floor, 401 Main Street, Vancouver)
Chinatown (SUCCESS, 28 West Pender Street, Vancouver)
Collingwood (Collingwood Neighbourhood House, 5288 Joyce Street, Vancouver)
Mount Pleasant (Mount Pleasant Neighbourhood House, 800 East Broadway, Vancouver)

Vancouver West

Gordon House (Gordon Neighbourhood House, 1019 Broughton Street, Vancouver)
Kitsilano (Kitsilano Community Centre, 2690 Larch Street, Vancouver)
Robson Square (Robson Square Small Claims Court, 100-800 Hornby Street, Vancouver)
UBC (Faculty of Law at Allard Hall at UBC, Vancouver)

Vancouver South and Richmond

Marpole (Marpole Place 1305 W. 70th Ave., Vancouver)
South Vancouver (South Vancouver Neighbourhood House, 6470 Victoria Drive, Vancouver)
Richmond (South Arm Community Centre, 8880 Williams Road, Richmond)

Burnaby/New Westminster

New West (Century House, 620 8th Street, New Westminster)
Burnaby (Community Connections, 2055 Rosser Avenue, Burnaby)

Port Coquitlam

Port Coquitlam (Vancity Community Room, #7100 - 2850 Shaughnessy St, Port Coquitlam)

Surrey

Surrey – PICS (PICS, #205 12725 – 80th Ave, Surrey)

North Shore

North Shore (North Shore Neighbourhood House, 225 E. 2nd Street, North Vancouver)

Refugee/Immigration

Refugee at Surrey – PICS (12725 80th Avenue, Surrey)
Refugee at Gordon House (Gordon Neighbourhood House, 1019 Broughton Street, Vancovuer)

History

External Links

http://www.lslap.bc.ca/main/?home (LSLAP home) http://www.lslap.bc.ca/main/?LegalClinics (Legal Clinics) http://www.lslap.bc.ca/main/?Manual_download (LSLAP Manual) http://www.lslap.bc.ca/UserFiles/File/23_Referrals_11.pdf (Referrals)

Link to UBC Faculty of Law page