This page will contain short articles on critical aspects of community legal clinics and poverty law.

Possible topics include:

• Critical Characteristics of Community Legal Clinics (Lenny Abramowicz) See below;
• "Fire in the Belly ..." see below,
• The ABCs of Poverty Law; 
• The ways in which clinics deliver services (case law, test case litigation, law reform, PLE, CD work); 
• Differences in the approach to poverty law distinguishing general practice clinics from specialty clinics;
• Clinic law in rural and remote communities;
• Challenges facing the clinic system;
• The role of the ACLCO in supporting the Clinic System.

We will be looking for volunteers from within the clinic system to develop these components. 

 A Starting Point for understanding community legal clinics.

The Clinic System Pamphlet: A basic introduction to the work of community legal clinics.

The Foundations of the Legal Aid Services Act: 

A Report of the Ontario Legal Aid Review: a Blueprint for Publicly Funded Legal Services (volume 1) 1997. (The McCamus Report)  Chapter 11:
"'Poverty Law' Legal Aid Services" . (abridged online version). The McCamus Report is generally acknowledged to have served as the foundation to Legal Aid Services Act (1998), and that sets the framework for the current community legal clinic system in Ontario.

Clinic System Fact Sheet:

In conjunction with LAO the clinic system prepared a fact sheet on its activities and impacts for the Sustainability Campaign: Getting Results for Ontario.

Topic # 1: Critical Characteristics of the Community Legal Clinic System

The community legal clinic system in Ontario is looked upon as the leading example of a poverty law service provider from an international perspective.  It has been frequently studied by international scholars and practioners in the field and is often said to be the envy of those practicing within the field, both across Canada and internationally. The following article explores the factors which have contributed to this succes. 

This article has been published in the Journal of Law and Social Policy, vol. 19, fall 2004; pp. 70 ff. It is reproduced here by permission of the author. It is intended to be for individual use to aid in research and education on the community legal clinic system and poverty law in Ontario, and to educate the wider public.  The ACLCO asks that you not reproduce or transmit this document in whole or in part to any third party without the expressed written permission of the author.  The ACLCO wishes to thank the author for making this work available for use on this website. 

  "The Critical Characteristics of Community Legal Aid Clinics in Ontario" by Lenny Abramowicz 

Topic # 2:  Fire in the Belly...

“Fire in the belly” has been described as “the call to action that arises out of one’s ability to stand by in the face of unfairness, inequality, and oppression” Some are more comfortable describing “a fire in the belly” as a “passion of the heart”. It can be whatever motivates or inspires us to take action or be involved. Many people involved with legal clinic work identify with this term as best describing their passion for their work.  The following paper documents the passion and motivation that drives the people who work in the community legal clinic system in Ontario.

This paper is reprinted here with the permission of the authors.  It is intended to be for individual use to aid in research and education on the community legal clinic system and poverty law in Ontario, and to educate the wider public.  The ACLCO asks that you not reproduce or transmit this document in whole or in part to any third party without the expressed written permission of the authors.  The ACLCO wishes to thank the authors for making this work available for use on this website.

“BUILDING THE BEST TEAMS: Naming and Nurturing the “Fire in the Belly” in Legal Clinic Staff” a report prepared by Mary Collins, Richard Ferriss and Michele Leering; September 2004