Dean Chris Waters, Dave Field, Legal Aid Ontario, ED Marion Overholt, Tanya Lee, Law Foundation of Ontario and President Alan Wildeman Celebrate the Official Opening of the Downtown Legal Aid Clinics
It was a packed house as Community Legal Aid and Legal Assistance of Windsor celebrated their new co-located clinic offices on Tuesday, June 21. University of Windsor President Alan Wildeman commended the move and the hard work of so many to make it happen, noting that the clinics have as many as 700 cases ongoing at any given time. He made a point of also thanking the students who, he said, are the lifeblood of the clinics.
Faculty of Law Dean Christopher Waters applauded the clinics for putting students at the forefront of access to justice. "This is where it hits the road, where experiential learning happens." He says the clinic is a vanguard downtown, "breaking down barriers between our law school, our law students, our community partners, and our clients - to our wider community."
Windsor Law student Sean Reginio is spending his summer working at LAW and says the experience is proving invaluable. "The opportunity to work at LAW means so much to me because it provides me with valuable perspective on how vital legal services can be to low-income populations while providing me with the opportunity to develop a variety of legal skills that I can apply to a future career in law."
Clinic Director Marion Overholt says the new space is providing opportunities to coordinate the clinics’ individual client representation and community development projects, and will support community initiatives such as having an Aboriginal Justice Coordinator on staff to provide a bridge between the aboriginal community and the justice system.
She says that being in one location will streamline services to the community. “It means that an individual will now be able to access a variety of legal and social work services at one accessible downtown location.” Overholt applauds the vision of the University of Windsor and Legal Aid Ontario in recognizing the importance of providing a one stop location for the community’s legal and social work services.
David Field, President & CEO, Legal Aid Ontario, commended the initiative for “creating this holistic, collaborative and coordinated service model for your clients in Windsor. Clinics are the backbone of poverty law services across this province, and your model of inter-disciplinary professionals in a shared office setting will greatly enhance your ability to deliver new and innovative services to your clients.”
