UNIVERSITY OF WINDSOR PRO BONO
Faculty of Law, 401 Sunset Avenue
Windsor, Ontario, N9B 3P4
t: (519) 253-3000 ext.3966 | f: (519) 561-1431
e: pbsc@uwindsor.ca | www.uwindsor.ca/pbsc
Re: Lawyer Supervisors for Pro Bono Projects
We would like to take the opportunity to introduce you to Pro Bono Students Canada (PBSC) at
University of Windsor, Faculty of Law.
Let us first begin by formally introducing ourselves. We (Mannaneh Shahidi and Suzanne
Clarke) are the new 2011/2012 Student Coordinators. We are both upper-year law students and
are looking forward to a great year of participation with volunteer law students and many partner
organizations in the community.
As you may be aware, Pro Bono Students Canada is currently operating at every law school in
Canada. As the new Coordinators for the Windsor Pro Bono Chapter, we are working hard to
build on the success of last year’s Pro Bono program, which allowed a combined number of
more than 100 law students and supervising lawyers to provide pro bono legal assistance and
research for many public interest groups and organizations in the community.
We are very pleased to inform you that this year, we will be working on a number of exciting
legal research projects with more than 21 non-profit organizations in the community. Our
projects cover many different areas of law including real estate, corporate (non-profit),
copyright, finance, property, trusts, consumer protection, employment, information and privacy,
family, mental health, accessibility and criminal law.
Pro Bono placements require a lawyer that is willing to take a small amount of his or her busy
schedule to supervise students’ research work. Lawyer Supervisors would not have to spend
more than 5-10 hours for the whole year, the LSUC has assured us that lawyers can use these
towards their CPD hours! Please find below the description of our projects that require
supervising lawyers.
The greatest challenge our program faces every year is the lack of lawyers available to supervise
PBSC projects, which is a requirement for each project.
Principal Funder The Law Foundation of Ontario
Law Firm Partner McCarthy Tétrault LLP
LAW STUDENTS SERVING THE PUBLIC GOOD | ÉTUDIANTS EN DROIT POUR LE BIEN PUBLIC
UNIVERSITY OF WINDSOR PRO BONO
Faculty of Law, 401 Sunset Avenue
Windsor, Ontario, N9B 3P4
t: (519) 253-3000 ext.3966 | f: (519) 561-1431
e: pbsc@uwindsor.ca | www.uwindsor.ca/pbsc
WHAT IS THE ROLE OF A LAWYER SUPERVISOR?

Supervising lawyers engage in initial consultations, periodic review, troubleshooting and
final review and approval of the project.

A Supervising Lawyer does not need to be on-site or with the student at all times, but the
student needs to have the ability to contact the supervising lawyer.

A supervising lawyer serves as a resource for the law student – the student leader for the
Pro Bono project may contact the lawyer for advice or direction.

Since students cannot give legal advice, the lawyer is there to ensure that the project does
not go beyond the scope of legal information.

This role requires only 5-10 hours PER YEAR! (Roughly, 1 hour guidance at the
beginning, 6 hours through the six month, October to March, doing periodic review and
troubleshooting, and 2 hour of product review, approval, and feedback for students). The
hours will count towards the CPD hours required by the LSUC.
Please also find attached the supervising lawyer application package, which details the
responsibilities of a Lawyer Supervisor. We know that lawyers will enjoy working with our
students and know that our students and community partners will greatly benefit from your legal
experience and expertise.
Yours very truly,
Mannaneh Shahidi & Suzanne Clarke
Pro Bono Students Canada Coordinators
Faculty of Law, University of Windsor
Principal Funder The Law Foundation of Ontario
Law Firm Partner McCarthy Tétrault LLP
LAW STUDENTS SERVING THE PUBLIC GOOD | ÉTUDIANTS EN DROIT POUR LE BIEN PUBLIC