The Family Law Coaching Project is a partnership among the University of Windsor Faculty of Law, Pro Bono Students Canada (PBSC) Windsor, and the National Self-Represented Litigants Project. The Family Law Coaching pilot program will match local self-represented litigants with Windsor Law students, who will provide one-on-one legal information, moral support, and community referrals where appropriate.
By focusing on self-represented litigants, the Family Law Coaching Project differs from the traditional legal clinic setting in a number of ways. Rather than provide full legal services under the supervision of a lawyer, law students (still supervised by a lawyer) will provide legal information to SRLs who will continue to represent themselves. This will include: how to fill out family law court forms, what to expect in the court process, and assistance with organizing materials for court. Law students will be working under the supervision of a PBSC volunteer coordinator and an experienced family lawyer from the Windsor community. The project’s goal–and, it is hoped, its strength–is to support the needs of SRLs – will be to support the work of SRLs in family law cases by providing them with personal support and connecting them to existing community resources.
Law students volunteering with the Family Law Coaching Project will have completed a credit course in family law and in addition will receive special training to equip them for their role as SRL coaches.
Mackenzie Falk is the PBSC volunteer coordinator for the Family Law Coaching Project. “I am extremely excited to work with my peers to provide assistance to SRLs dealing with family law matters. If you are a SRL and are interested in joining this project, please send an email to representingyourself@gmail.com, or look for our posters at the Ontario Court of Justice in Windsor.”
