Our firm has strong ties to the communities where
we do business. In addition to our public interest work in Canada, we work with
organizations in the developing world to address legal issues confronting them.
But the practice of law is not just a business – it
brings with it a responsibility to help promote the public interest and to
assist disadvantaged Canadian individuals and organizations seek legal
resolutions that would otherwise be out of reach. We work with dozens of
charitable, non-profit and public interest organizations and provide
legal assistance free of charge or on a reduced-fee basis. We also represent
low-income individuals facing issues for which there is no legal aid or
government obligation to provide counsel. And because we also believe it is our
responsibility to help ensure fairness in public policy, we work with
organizations and individuals pursuing important test cases or matters
involving significant issues that affect all Canadians.
For information on our pro bono program, contact: Mahmud Jamal.
Examples of just a few of the recent matters where
Osler lawyers have provided pro bono
legal assistance and advice include:
- Representing
unrepresented litigants before the Ontario Superior Court and Court of Appeal
through Pro Bono Ontario’s legal assistance program.
- Advising
an international AIDS advocacy organization regarding AIDS education and
awareness in Africa.
- Assisting
a Canadian drug treatment organization on incorporation and corporate
governance matters.
- Advising
an organization that provides recreational and therapeutic activities for
children with learning disabilities.
- Providing
incorporation and corporate governance advice to an international organization
that targets human trafficking and slavery.
- Representing
children before provincial school boards regarding requests to accommodate
special education needs.
- Assisting
a cancer charity negotiate the lease of its premises.
- Representing
the Canadian Bar Association in appeals before the Supreme Court of Canada to
protect and defend solicitor-client privilege.
- Representing
the Canadian Civil Liberties Association before the Federal Court, Quebec Court
of Appeal, and Supreme Court of Canada in a wide range of civil liberties
matters, including freedom of expression, freedom of the press, freedom of
religion, and defamation.
- Trade-mark
applications for charitable and not-for-profit corporations.
- Incorporation
of not-for-profit corporations.
- Tax advice concerning charitable status under the Income Tax Act.
- Representing United Nations employees who are challenging employment, discipline, and
benefits decisions