Students may fulfill the public interest requirement in a number of ways, including by participating in existing programs which qualify for the requirement, by finding a placement in consultation with the Osgoode Public Interest Requirement Office or by student-sourced and initiated placements.

Students will be required to complete all requirements of the placement selected (in addition to performing 40 hours of uncompensated, law related, public interest work) in order to count these hours for the Osgoode Public Interest Requirement.

Once accepted into a qualifying program, students will need to register with the Osgoode Public Interest Requirement Office (Form #1) and during the program, keep a Time/Work Sheet. (found under "Forms", Form #2).  Upon completion of the program, students will complete the Exit Survey (Form #3), ensure that a Supervisor's Report (Form #4) is submitted and choose their final evaluation - either participate in a group discussion or prepare a 3-page essay.

OSGOODE PROGRAMS ELIGIBLE FOR THE PUBLIC INTEREST REQUIREMENT

Community and Legal Aid Services Program (C.L.A.S.P.):  A student-staffed legal service organization based at Osgoode Hall Law School, with satellite clinics at several Toronto locations. C.L.A.S.P. provides students with experience in client relations and advocacy in areas of law including criminal, workers', immigration, women's, education/youth and administrative law.

Innocence Project: The Innocence Project involves supervised clinical work on actual cases of suspected wrongful conviction as well as the study of areas of law germane to the problem of wrongful conviction.  Upper year students enrolled in the project re-investigate cases in an effort to determine whether a case for innocence can be made out.  Where proof of innocence is found, the Project seeks a new trial, compensation or other appropriate remedy from the federal Minister of Justice.

Intensive Program in Aboriginal Lands, Resources and Government: This program is a rigorous academic experience with challenging field placements.  National in scope, the program includes a two-week intensive training session followed by a two-month placement.

Intensive Program in Criminal Law: This program introduces students to the criminal justice system through a combination of field studies, seminars, and placements with Crowns, judges or defence counsel and a mock trial component.

Mediation Intensive:  This program bridges mediation theory and practice.  Students participate in a three-hour seminar that focuses on class discussion of the recent dispute resolution literature, including the utility mediation in civil and criminal disputes as well as cultural, power, ethical and professional responsibility issues in alternative dispute resolution and principles of dispute system design. 

International Research and Placements (Collaborative Research Teams):  A full year course open to upper year students, international research provides students with research for credit in which students are members of research teams linked to global partners working on pressing policy issues.  Areas of future research are expected to range from disability policy to refugee policy and human rights in a national/international/comparative context.

Osgoode Business Clinic (OBC): A business clinic staffed by upper year students under the supervision of lawyers, to provide assistance to individuals without financial means in business-related matters and to support the creation of micro-businesses.

Poverty Law at Parkdale Community Legal Services (credit program): Parkdale Community Legal Services (PCLS) was the first community-based legal aid clinic in Ontario.  Students receive training in August and spend a full semester at PCLS in the west end of downtown Toronto.  Student work includes interviewing clients, carrying active files and may include appearing before boards and tribunals in areas of law including family and welfare, immigration, landlord/tenant or worker's rights.  During the term, students attend a weekly seminar and write a 30-page paper that contributes in some manner to the work and goals of PCLS.

Pro Bono Students Canada: Pro Bono Students Canada (PBSC) is a student-run organization with offices at every law school in Canada, dedicated to providing students with a hands-on legal experience and enhancing access to justice for communities in need. Each year, over 2,000 law students across the country (including about 150 Osgoode students) participate in PBSC on-campus events and programs that enable them to volunteer at hundreds of public interest organizations, community groups, legal clinics, government agencies, courts and tribunals, and with lawyers working pro bono. Projects may include: researching pending legislation and current legal issues; drafting policies or manuals; conducting public legal education workshops; assisting unrepresented clients in the courts; helping individuals battling HIV/AIDS with drafting wills and estate planning; and much more. Whatever area of law you are interested in, PBSC will help set up a project for you, match you with a lawyer supervisor and plug you into a national network of students and lawyers dedicated to serving the public interest.

The International Legal Partnership (ILP):  The International Legal Partnership (ILP) is the first non-profit, professional and student co-operative organization in Canada to provide global policy and legal research assistance to developing countries.  The ILP's mission is to enhance the institutional capacity of developing countries to respond to regulatory issues in their countries - negotiating and implementing multilateral treaties and facilitating the exchange of information concerning legal research and policy development.

OSGOODE PUBLIC INTEREST APPROVED PLACEMENTS

Additional approved OPIR opportunities are found under the External Public Interest Placement Opportunities page which follows this page on the website.  In addition, information about other potential public interest placements is available from the Osgoode Public Interest Requirement Office or from the OPIR Director, Professor Richard Haigh  via email at rhaigh@osgoode.yorku.ca.

STUDENT-SOURCED PUBLIC INTEREST PLACEMENTS

Students may wish to source their own placements.  First, check with the Osgoode Public Interest Requirement Office before making contact with a firm or organization. Many organizations and firms may already be approved for public interest work and working in partnership with Osgoode Hall Law School. This will save time, both for students and the organization.  Osgoode law students have successfully found placements at York University, with private law firms, with international agencies and other legal organizations.

For new proposed placements, students will need to provide information on the Registration Form about the organization, agency or individual with which the placement is proposed, the type of work involved and a description of why it meets the criteria of the program: public interest and law related. Before beginning work at a placement, students will need to complete the Registration Form (Form #1) and receive confirmation that the placement will qualify for the Osgoode Public Interest Requirement Program. The Registration Form (Form #1) is found under "Forms".