Lawyer Volunteers
reachAbility is dedicated to ensuring that quality legal and social representation is provided to persons living with disabilities.
There are two areas of reachAbility's Legal Programming that lawyers can volunteer :
Legal Referral Service
Helping persons with disabilities through a reachAbility referral is a win/win situation for both you and the client. You win because you are continuing to contribute in your community, and you may also find a new client through the person referred or through their friends or family members. In addition, you have an opportunity to learn more about disability issues. The reachAbility client wins because he or she has an opportunity to discuss their problem with someone with specialized knowledge and an understanding of the role of the advocate.
When a client calls reachAbility for assistance, we collect some basic information about the client's situation - information regarding whether the client already has or has had a lawyer (we will not find a second lawyer for somebody who already has a lawyer), their details, and the basic nature of their legal situation. Once a lawyer agrees to speak with a reachAbility referral, the client's name is released, but not their phone number.
This puts the onus on the client to follow-up with the lawyer, once reachAbility calls back with the lawyer's name and number.
Many reachAbility referrals are resolved through the initial consultation or simply by writing a letter on your letterhead. Often this initial advice is enough to satisfy the client. Of course not all cases are straightforward, and if the client wants you to act for him or her after the initial consultation, then your usual rates would apply unless you are willing to make arrangements with the client, but that is entirely your decision.
By providing the initial consultation to reachAbility clients, you are providing the opportunity for those clients to better understand and resolve their legal issues.
Community Outreach Initiative
You can also help persons with disabilities by speaking at one of reachAbility's Community Outreach Initiative sessions. These sessions connect lawyers and relevant experts with various organizations and communities by organizing free information sessions. Once a topic relevant to both persons living with disabilities and the community has been identified, a session will be arranged, and a lawyer will address the topic from a legal perspective. The sessions are between one and two hours in duration, with a question and answer period at the end of each.
Persons living with disabilities are often unsure of legislation surrounding disability issues, so these sessions are designed to clearly outline the areas of law directly related to the particular group in attendance. The group should feel empowered to effectively manage their legal concerns after the session.
Topics have previously included: CPP; employment; tenancy; wills; discrimination; accommodation; care-giving; and disclosure of disabilities. The Community Outreach Initiative sessions are designed to benefit persons living with disabilities and those who support them.
You will also benefit from these sessions as your reputation as an expert lawyer is enhanced; you may gain new clients through word-of-mouth from agencies or community members present, and your community will recognize your contributions to helping persons with disabilities.
It is never too late for lawyers to hear that they owe today, and will always owe, a duty not only to their clients, their employers, their partners and themselves, but to the profession and to society itself. It is a debt that will never be paid in full, for the call of the law is far less to fortune than to service, and not nearly so much to fame as to excellence. It is not enough that the law touch the people as it does daily in so many ways. It ought to be a part of our purpose to help the people touch the law, to shape it with their consciences, to mould it to their needs, and to sustain it with their faith.
Magner, Phillip H. Jr. Lessons in Civility; a paper given after 43 years of practice.
You Can Volunteer Too!
Join other members of the Legal Community volunteering at reachAbility by completing our Lawyer Volunteer Form.
If you would like further information on reachAbility and its Legal Programming, please contact:
Legal Services -- (902) 429-5878 or legal@reachability.org.
reachAbility
307-6389 Coburg Road
Halifax, Nova Scotia
B3H 2A5
Tel/TTY: (902) 429-5878
Toll Free/TTY: 1 (866) 429-5878
Fax: (902) 429-5858
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