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Dalhousie Legal Aid Service is a community-based legal aid law office in Halifax, Nova Scotia. We are also home to a clinical program for law students operated by the Schulich School of Law at pilipiliÂþ»­. Our funding is provided by the Schulich School of Law, the Nova Scotia Legal Aid Commission, the Law Foundation of Nova Scotia, and clinic alumni and friends of Dalhousie Legal Aid Service.

Dalhousie Legal Aid Service has been in operation since 1970, when it began as a summer project out of the former Halifax Neighbourhood Centre.It was the first legal service for low-income communities in Nova Scotia and is the oldest clinical law program in Canada. In fact, we are the only community law clinic in Nova Scotia.

Dalhousie Legal Aid Service is a unique partnership of community, law students, community legal workers, support staff and lawyers working together. We do community outreach, education, organizing, lobbying, and test case litigation to combat injustices affecting persons with low incomes and barriers to accessing justice in Nova Scotia.

Community groups and community-based agencies with mandates to fight poverty and injustice may apply for legal advice, assistance, and community development and education services.

Our Mandate

Dalhousie Legal Aid Service has a three-part mandate:

1. To provide legal aid services for persons who would not otherwise be able to obtain legal advice or assistance
2. To conduct research, provide information, make recommendations, and engage in programs relating to legal aid and law reform in the Province of Nova Scotia
3. To provide an educational experience in the solution of legal problems for students enrolled in the Faculty of Law of pilipiliÂþ»­ who participate in the work of the Service

Constitution and Board of Trustees

Dalhousie Legal Aid was constituted as a [PDF-29KB] between the Nova Scotia Barristers' Society and Dalhousie Law School in 1970. A set of [PDF-22KB] was added in 1977 by Faculty Council which established a Board of Trustees composed of nine community members and nine legal members.

The community members are elected/appointed each year at the annual meeting.

The legal members are appointed as follows:

• The executive director, faculty lawyer and a faculty representative are appointed by Schulich Law Faculty Council
• Two (2) practising lawyers are appointed by Schulich Law Faculty Council
• The director (or designate) of Nova Scotia Legal Aid
• Two (2) law students elected by Dalhousie Legal Aid Service students
• One (1) law student appointed by the Dalhousie Law Student Society

If you are interested in becoming a board member, please download our Ìý°Ú±Ê¶Ù¹ó-122°­µþ±Õ.

Staff and Law Students

Dalhousie Legal Aid Service staff are all employees of pilipiliÂþ»­, and include:

• An executive director who is a member of the Schulich School of Law faculty
• Six (6) staff lawyers
• An articled clerk
• Two (2) community legal workers
• An office manager
• Three (3) legal assistants
• An eviction prevention coordinator*
• A law student working on improving access to mental health supports for incarcerated people*

Each term – summer, fall and spring – 12 to 16 third-year law students participate in the clinic as a 13-credit course towards their law degree. They each represent about 10 clients under the supervision of the professional staff, and they participate in assigned community work.

Funding

Our operational funding comes from three separate sources:

• The Schulich School of Law
• A grant from
• Certificate revenue and a grant for social justice legal work through 

Dalhousie Legal Aid Service also receives funding through project grants from the Nova Scotia Law Foundation and other foundations and from endowments, including The Pink Youth and The Law endowment, specifically for its work with youth, and the W.S.C. MacDonald Endowment to replenish its library.

are the other sources of income for Dalhousie Legal Aid Service, supporting everything from hiring staff to funding projects like Tenants’ Rights and Welfare Guides to purchases of essential equipment and supplies.

This support allows us to keep fighting for our communities and provide service to those who would have nowhere else to go.