Free legal services now available at UNB Legal Clinic
Author: UNB Newsroom
Posted on Nov 22, 2022
Category: UNB Fredericton
The University of New Brunswick (UNB) celebrates the official grand opening of the UNB Legal Clinic today. The clinic provides individuals who cannot afford representation or who do not qualify for legal aid access to free legal services.
The UNB Law Clinic aims to improve access to justice in the province by filling some gaps in New Brunswick’s legal aid system. It offers legal services related to housing and tenant matters, employment law, small claims issues and social benefits including social assistance, Canadian Pension Plan, Old Age Security and Employment Insurance appeals and Canadian Emergency Response Benefit issues.
“The opening of the clinic is a tremendous accomplishment for our law school,” said Michael Marin, Dean of Law. “I want to thank our faculty members who worked hard behind the scenes to get this off the ground. Also, thank you to the University of New Brunswick, the New Brunswick Law Foundation and the family of the late Donald A. MacBeath, KC, for their generous financial support.”
The clinic representatives are third year UNB Law students working under the supervision of Jeannette Savoie, a lawyer with 20 years of legal experience which includes 10 years' operating poverty law clinics in the Northwest Territories. This hands-on learning experience allows students to work on actual client files and provides them with a unique opportunity to support the local community.
“The demand is certainly for our services,” said Savoie. “With the clinic located in Fredericton and mobile clinics offered in Saint John and Moncton, we have surpassed our goal of offering services to 40 clients in the first month of operation.”
Learn more about the clinic’s services and the experiential learning experience it offers.
Media contact: Ed Bowes