Invaluable Experiential Learning at UM’s Legal Aid clinic

With experiential learning courses underway this fall term, law students who worked at the University of Manitoba’s Community Law Centre throughout last summer have returned to their last year of law school with renewed perspectives of their chosen profession. Following in the footsteps of nearly 55 years’ worth of alumni, many of whom have led illustrious careers as members of the Canadian bench and bar, most of their work involved going to court, and representing members of the public who would not otherwise have had access to legal counsel.

The University of Manitoba Community Law Centre (UMCLC) is a partnership between Legal Aid Manitoba (LAM) and the University of Manitoba Faculty of Law (UM Law) and has been in continuous operation since 1972. New initiatives expanding the scope of UMCLC’s traditional criminal law focus have included the addition of certain family, civil and administrative law aspects to the students’ training, and starting in 2025, the Prison Law Clinic, thanks to support from the Manitoba Law Foundation, was incorporated as a major part of the UMCLC.

Expanded services help the unsheltered, incarcerated, and more

Law students work at the UMCLC either by taking a for-credit externship in the third and final year of their Juris Doctor degree, volunteering as an extra-curricular activity, or working as a staff law student during the summer. New this year, students have taken on providing workshops on legal topics in the non-governmental organization sector including those serving unsheltered Winnipeggers regarding legal rights in police interactions, and documenting human and civil rights abuses, and those organizations serving individuals recently released from incarceration.

Recently, law students conducted legal research in support of test case development concerning federally sentenced women and gender diverse Manitobans displaced from Manitoba because there is no federal women’s institution in Manitoba.

Students working in the Prison Law Clinic have had the opportunity to engage in law reform, as in a situation that arose last year where legal action was needed to be taken in support of an individual detained in the provincial court under the Public Health Act. As a result of that case, the Manitoba government introduced Bill 33 – The Public Health Amendment Act, with amendments to prevent the future unnecessary detention of a person needing medical help, rather than incarceral consequences.

Expanding access to justice northwards

The new Lawyer Talk Program is a multi-stakeholder initiative that connects individuals in northern First Nation circuit court locations with counsel ahead of scheduled docket court days. UMCLC students, with the support of court workers from Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak Inc.’s First Nations Justice Strategy, meet virtually with individuals to take legal aid applications, triage connections to legal aid duty counsel and follow-up with individuals as directed by duty counsel.

CJ De Vera and Kristine Ward were two of this year’s UMCLC summer staff. As they began their last year of law school, they shared insights to the profound effect the experience had on their respective career paths:

What did you learn and how have your perceptions of the legal profession changed after this summer?

CJ de Vera: I learned so much over the summer that it is difficult to summarize everything I took away from the experience. Having my own files, speaking with clients, communicating with Crown counsel, attending court, and figuring out how to move matters forward gave me a much better sense of what practicing criminal law looks like. I learned how much judgment, communication, organization, problem-solving, and adaptability go into each file, and a lot of that came from simply having to work through situations with the guidance of the UMCLC supervisors. I also learned the importance of looking beyond the charge and understanding the circumstances that led to my client being before the court. Hearing my clients’ experiences made me appreciate that there is often much more to a person and their circumstances than what appears on their file.

One of my favourite parts of UMCLC was how supportive everyone was. Before this summer, I think I had the impression that being a lawyer meant you were supposed to have all the answers. My experience at UMCLC showed me that there is also a lot of learning that happens through asking questions, seeking guidance, and being willing to learn from the people around you. I came to appreciate how much you can learn from the people you work with and how important that support is, especially when you are still learning.

Kristine Ward: It is difficult to sum up everything I have learned during my time at the UMCLC! I have learned a lot about court processes and procedures, legal research and writing, interviewing clients, recognizing and addressing systemic issues that contributed to bringing an individual before the court, and advocating for clients from all walks of life.

Criminal law requires patience and an understanding that, for some people, more important things are going on in their lives than their criminal charges. It requires you to show up differently for different people, because what one client needs from you may not work for another client. Through my time at the UMCLC, I have learned that this is also what makes our adversarial system so nuanced and criminal law such an interesting and engaging area of law.

What areas of law do you see yourself working in after this summer experience?

De Vera: Before this summer, I had primarily pictured myself pursuing Crown work. My experience at UMCLC gave me a much better understanding of criminal defence and made me realize how much I enjoy the client-facing side of the practice. I found the combination of advocacy, problem-solving, and working directly with clients particularly rewarding. I can now see myself building a career in criminal defence and continuing to develop the skills and perspective that I have gained, and continue to gain, through my experience at UMCLC.

Ward: Working at the UMCLC affirmed my interest in criminal defence and has also broadened my interest into other areas of law adjacent to or somewhat interconnected with criminal law - such as prison law and human rights law.

At the UMCLC, students can work on prison law files with the Prison Law Clinic, where we can begin to learn more about what happens after an individual has been sentenced. This experience has demonstrated to me that conditions of confinement directly affect the rates of recidivism. When an individual lacks access to proper programming, appropriate placement, and contact with loved ones, it directly affects their ability to address aspects of their life that may have contributed to their criminal involvement. Advocating in the Prison Law sphere can affect clients after release and whether they become reinvolved in the criminal system. Similarly, in human rights law, addressing systemic concerns, such as a lack of accessible and affordable housing, affects criminal law. 

How did the UMCLC experience affect you?

De Vera: Getting to work directly with clients, hear their concerns, answer their questions, and help them through a difficult and unfamiliar process has been one of the most meaningful parts of my experience at UMCLC. Our clients come to us for help navigating a system that can be overwhelming, and I am incredibly grateful that I get to be in a position to assist them and provide them with legal representation when they may not otherwise have it. As a law student, I am incredibly grateful to have this kind of responsibility and to know that the work I am doing is helping someone. It has made the work feel much more personal to me and has given me a greater appreciation for the role UMCLC plays in making legal services more accessible to people in our community.

The highlight of my summer was having the opportunity to conduct my own trial. I worked through Charter issues, prepared and filed a Charter motion and brief, and presented those arguments in court. The trial was challenging, but it gave me much more confidence in myself in the courtroom and made me even more excited to start articling in criminal defence. Being able to advocate for my client and put what I had learned in my classes into practice was incredibly rewarding.

Ward: My experience at the UMCLC provided me with the opportunity to begin to develop skills that will serve me well throughout the entirety of my legal career. It has provided me with numerous opportunities to discover my voice as an advocate, both in negotiating with Crown counsel and in the courtroom before a judge.

Along with other skills (a list that could likely go on forever), it has given me the opportunity to learn how to manage a caseload that will serve me well in articling and throughout my career as my caseload continues to grow. The UMCLC experience has given me the foundation I believe puts UMCLC students a step ahead when entering articling, particularly in criminal law.