The Martlet

“Expert advice for all!” read signs around Centennial Square in downtown Victoria on Sept. 2. Lawyers were gathered at tables and under awnings, providing free legal advice to the public.

The “advice-a-thon” was held by the Access Pro Bono Society of B.C. to raise awareness and money for B.C.’s pro bono law programs. The event spanned three days, one day each in Vancouver, Kelowna and Victoria.

Another key component of the “advice-a-thon” was raising money to fund Access Pro Bono. Participating lawyers collected donations from family, friends and co-workers to directly fund the program. Last year’s advice-a-thon raised $25,000 and this year’s target is $30,000.

Access Pro Bono is funded by grants and a portion of the licensing fees lawyers pay every year.

The organization consists of around 700 lawyers and operates 85 free legal advice clinics throughout the province, usually located in a church or social service agency.

Program Coordinator Michelle Quigg said a significant amount of pro bono work also occurs on the initiative of individual lawyers, through programs run by law firms, and through centres run by law students at UVic and UBC.

“It’s hard to get a full statistical picture of how much pro bono goes on,” said Quigg.

“There needs to be more just because we don’t have a properly funded legal aid system in this province, and there are a lot of people who end up self-represented and without the access to justice they deserve.”

Quigg said the main areas where pro bono work happens are family law, civil litigation, immigration, wills and estates and non-profit society law.

“We also have lawyers who do more complete representation,” she said, “so for certain cases we try to match people to lawyers willing to provide further representation pro bono.”

While pro bono programs assist many low-income people, Quigg says many others are turned away due to lack of resources.

When it comes to pro bono work, Quigg says that the “demand really outstrips the supply... sometimes it’s up to three weeks [before an individual can meet with a lawyer].”

Quigg added that many cases are also lengthy or complex, which makes them difficult to do pro bono.

“We’re able to offer some help, but sometimes, like family law disputes, sometimes these are five or six years, really complex. It can be difficult to find a lawyer willing to do that pro bono – it’s hundreds of hours of free work.”

Quigg also stressed that pro bono programs are not a replacement for adequately funded legal aid.

“We wouldn’t have a system, like a medical system, where you just rely on volunteer doctors,” she said.

“The legal aid situation is in crisis in our province; access to justice is not happening for enough people,” said Quigg. “Legal aid used to be way better funded. Between 2002 and 2004 it was cut 40 per cent.”

Quigg says that Access Pro Bono will work with the commission to “try and lobby the government and raise some public awareness and public pressure to have some restoration of funding.”

According to Quigg, while many lawyers donate a percentage of their time to pro bono work, some new lawyers use it to gain experience and boost their skills and resumes.

“Pro bono opportunities also provide really good training,” said Quigg.

“We’ve had lawyers who worked on cases that have made law… It’s a great powerful thing you can use to help people.”

The Public Commission on Legal Aid was established in June by six B.C. law societies and foundations to investigate the state of legal aid in B.C. It will be touring the province this fall holding public consultations.

For more information on Access Pro Bono, visit their website at

accessprobono.ca.