Lawyers have been giving back
to their communities since the
first law school graduates hung
out their shingles. Today, however,
giving back extends far beyond
the local neighbourhood. Pro
bono has gone global.
Two lawyers with Ogilvy
Renault LLP in Montreal, for
example, conjured up important
legal recommendations as part
of work they did for HelpAge
International, a charity focused
on the rights of older people
worldwide. For senior partner
Christine Carron and partner
Azim Hussain, the focus of their
pro bono efforts was on witchcraft in Tanzania, Kenya, South
Africa and Burkina Faso.
Carron and Hussain were
tasked with reviewing legislation,
if any, regarding witchcraft in
these countries and to make recommendations about both the
issue and how accusers, who often
lash out violently at those accused
of witchcraft, should be treated
under the law. “The question was
what should the policy of HelpAge
be,” said Hussain.
It is not an esoteric question.
“In many countries, witchcraft is
akin to religion,” Carron said.
“There was a chance,” she
noted, “the time we would spend
on this file would benefit millions
of people.”
Many of those people are
elderly and female—two groups
particularly vulnerable to accusa-
tions of witchcraft. “Old people
are often the target of accusations
for something as mundane as hav-
ing red eyes,” said Hussain.
In the culture, noted Carron,
individuals are considered to be a
good witch or a bad witch. “Most
of the ‘good’ witches are actually
wizards. They are usually men.”
A review of the laws, or lack of
laws, surrounding witchcraft had
to take into account the bigger
picture and the reality of the local
landscape. “When you begin to
tinker with these laws and deal
with it from a strictly legal per-
spective, you open the door to
larger issues,” noted Carron.
“One recommendation
the legal team made...
was for the use of
restorative justice to
require individuals
who had harmed
‘witches’ to make
amends.
Another of the Ogilvy Renault
team’s recommendations was to
legally treat the practice of witch-
craft much like the provision of
health care. “There should be
regulatory consequences if some-
one is using witchcraft for
malevolent purposes,” said Hus-
sain. “It’s a very novel approach.
The traditional approach is to
criminalize it.”
International pro bono work,
like the legal review for HelpAge,
can be conducted here at home.
In other cases, in requires travel
to distant lands—and different
legal systems. Earlier this year,
two lawyers with McCarthy
Tétrault LLP were part of a one-
week mission in Colombia with
Lawyers Without Borders Can-
ada. The Second International
Caravana of Lawyers visited dif-
ferent regions of the country and
examined the conditions in which
law is practised in the country.
Members of the Caravana met
with press, lawyers, judges,
police, government ministers,
and academics to discuss their
challenges, review eyewitness
and documentary evidence, and
looked at levels of access to jus-
tice and rates of impunity in
human rights violations.
The power of pro bono:
meeting the challenge
The 3rd National Pro Bono
Conference, held in Calgary
from Sept. 15 to 17, adopted the
theme, “The Power of Pro Bono:
Stepping Up.” It celebrated the
achievements of the pro bono
community across Canada, and
encouraged those not involved
to do so.
The sessions at the
conference targeted
lawyers at every phase
in their careers, from
law school to retire-
ment. It was inspiring
to hear the participants
of the conference dis-
cuss how, rather than
if, pro bono services
should be delivered.
To celebrate the
fact that many in the
legal community are “stepping
up,” the 2010 Canadian Pro
Bono Awards were held during
the conference to recognize the
people involved in the pro bono
community and their accom-
plishments, and to provide an
opportunity to share know-
ledge, experiences and best
practices. Four awards were
presented.
The Distinguished Service
Award was presented to the
Honourable Judge John Henderson of the Provincial Court
of Alberta. Judge Henderson
was the driving force in establishing, building and operating
the Edmonton Community
Legal Centre (ECLCL). As
Board Chair of the ECLC, Judge
Henderson not only provided
guidance to the staff and board,
but also spent many hours volunteering at free evening legal
clinics.
The Pro Bono Program
Award went to Pro Bono Stu-
dents Canada Family Law Pro-
ject, through which approxi-
mately 1,500 law student
volunteers provide legal infor-
mation and document prepara-
tion assistance to unrepresented
litigants who are ineligible for
legal aid or reside in provinces
where legal aid is unavailable.
Students are placed in courts,
family law information cen-
tres—and even church base-
ments — to provide critical
assistance to Canadians in need.
The Law Firm Award was
given to Dawson Ste-
vens Duckett & Shaigec
(DSDS), an Edmonton
law firm dedicated
exclusively to the prac-
tice of criminal law.
DSDS is an active sup-
porter of Student
Legal Services and
over the past 20 years
has provided the
organization’s Crim-
inal Law Project with
countless hours of expertise,
training and support.
The National Law Firm
Award was presented to Borden
Ladner Gervais LLP (BLG). In
2004, BLG established a formal
pro bono policy across its six
offices, and the firm’s National
Pro Bono Committee works
with many community organizations across Canada. BLG’s
lawyers provide legal advice and
education to at-risk youth and
their families through the Children’s Legal Education Resource
Centre in Calgary and the Dr.
Julien Foundation in Montréal,
and are helping Toronto’s The
Stop Community Food Centre
with a major redevelopment
project.
Congratulations to everyone
who is “stepping up” for pro
bono.
BRUCE
CHURCHILL-
SMITH
Bruce Churchill-Smith is a
partner at the Calgary office of
Borden Ladner Gervais LLP
(BLG) and sits on BLG’s Pro Bono
Committee. He is the president of
Pro Bono Law Alberta.
We want to hear from you!
E-mail us at: tlw@lexisnexis.ca
Courthouses are full of people with no clue how to defend themselves
Underfunding
Continued From Page 14
report’s executive summary.
The CBA said lawyers need to
be engaged — they have a respon-
sibility to actively support legal
aid programs, speak out against
threats to government-funded
counsel, including underfunding
of legal services and funding cut-
backs, and contribute to a posi-
tive dialogue on how to improve
legal aid service delivery. Currie’s
report states that currently,
courthouses are clogged with
people who have no clue how to
defend themselves.
