Osler is a leader in supporting the community through its Community Law program. Pro bono legal work is also an important way for young lawyers to get early experience on files, especially for litigation matters in court. In 2024, the firm’s lawyers and students devoted more than 16,000 volunteer hours to helping those in the community who don’t have adequate means for obtaining legal support.
For new lawyers and law students, pro bono work offers real-time experience, training, and the ability to develop skills that typically aren’t learned until later in a lawyer’s career. Recently, Mary Paterson, partner, Disputes, took three articling students to the Ontario Court of Appeal to assist with an amicus shift. Each reflected on their experience.
Angelie Vivekanand
Articling student, Toronto
For me, being able to share our legal training and experience with those who need it most is a core part of what it means to be a lawyer.
On November 5, I had the privilege of attending the Ontario Court of Appeal to support Mary Paterson in her role as amicus curiae on seven motions brought by self‑represented litigants. Along with two fellow articling students, I assisted with the full preparation process — from diving through the records to developing the legal positions we anticipated would best present each litigant’s case. As amicus curiae, our mandate was to assist the Court by advancing the strongest arguments available on the record.
This was an invaluable learning experience. Under Mary’s guidance, we worked to distill the issues into clear submissions and anticipated procedural and substantive hurdles for each motion. Seeing that strategy come to life in the courtroom sharpened my judgment, issue‑spotting, and advocacy skills in a way that only hands‑on appellate work can.
Most importantly, the day reinforced how steep the climb can be for self‑represented litigants navigating an appellate process — where procedure, timelines and evidentiary rules can be formidable barriers to participation. The amicus program plays a meaningful role in narrowing that gap.
I am grateful to have contributed, in a small way, to ensuring that access to justice is not just an aspiration, but a lived reality for the individuals before the Court. For me, being able to share our legal training and experience with those who need it most is a core part of what it means to be a lawyer.
Madison Solow
Articling student, Toronto
It was an incredible experience, and I am looking forward to contributing to future pro bono initiatives that support access to justice.
Attending the Ontario Court of Appeal to assist Mary Paterson in her role as amicus curiae was both rewarding and insightful.
I prepared draft arguments and presented them to Mary. Being questioned and prompted to confront limitations at the outset sharpened my approach and provided a clear framework for formatting arguments going forward.
Together with my fellow articling students, I observed Mary’s conversations with self‑represented litigants in advance of the motions. It was striking to witness their reactions. For many, it seemed to be the first time they felt fully heard, and the first time someone would be speaking on their behalf. The significance of that moment was felt throughout the room.
It was an incredible experience, and I am looking forward to contributing to future pro bono initiatives that support access to justice.
Asiah Sadiq
Articling student, Toronto
This experience has sharpened my understanding of how to design motion materials that are not just technically sound, but genuinely useful to a busy appellate judge managing a motions list.
As an articling student, spending a full motions day at the Court of Appeal for Ontario was one of the most formative experiences of my articling term so far.
The motions were heard with amicus curiae (Mary Paterson) assisting self-represented litigants. In the lead-up to the hearing, I extensively reviewed two motion records, prior endorsements, and underlying appeal materials, and researched the key case law and procedural options for each motion. I prepared issue summaries and mapped out realistic routes the court could take in a single-judge motions setting, focusing particularly on how to structure the issues and highlight the strongest arguments in a way that would be workable for self-represented litigants.
This was the first time I was able to sit in court and watch, in real time, how the work I had done behind the scenes was taken up by the court. This experience was genuinely eye-opening. I followed each motion against my notes and saw how the judge picked up certain arguments I had identified, set others aside, and drilled into the facts that truly mattered. This experience has sharpened my understanding of how to design motion materials that are not just technically sound, but genuinely useful to a busy appellate judge managing a motions list.
I now have a good understanding of how careful preparation and focused, practical advocacy can improve both the experience and outcomes for self-represented parties. The experience that day made me want to keep building the skills needed to do this kind of appellate and access-to-justice work myself one day.
