PBSC Family Law Project receives National Pro Bono Program Award

Nikki Gershbain, National Director, Pro Bono Students Canada, and Nav Johal, National Manager, PBSC Community Placement Program, (front, first and second from left) hold the National Pro Bono Program Award presented by Supreme Court of Canada Justice Marie Deschamps (front, far right). Stephen Lewis, keynote speaker, is at the front far left.

Pro Bono Students Canada, a national program founded and housed at the Faculty of Law, was recently presented with a prestigious National Pro Bono Program Award, which is presented every other year to recognize a pro bono program that increases access to legal services for disadvantaged individuals in Canada.  

PBSC was recognized for its Family Law Project, which places law student volunteers from five provinces and ten law schools in courts and family law information centres across Canada.  Through this program, law student volunteers across Canada help thousands of unrepresented litigants fill out forms, prepare documents for submission to the court, learn about court procedures and family law, and connect with additional legal resources. PBSC was nominated for this award by Justice Harvey Brownstone, who describes the Family Law Project as “a vital component of the court system in cities across the country.”

The award was presented on September 16, 2010 in Calgary, at an awards ceremony keynoted by Mr. Stephen Lewis, Chair of the Board of the Stephen Lewis Foundation in Canada and Co-Director of AIDS-Free World, an international organization based in the United States.  Supreme Court of Canada Justice Marie Deschamps presented the award to PBSC’s National Director, Nikki Gershbain.