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without the free assistance of our lawyers and support staff, would not have had access to quality legal services. Our help has ranged from illegal eviction cases to non-profit governance matters to setting up social entrepreneurs looking to positively change the world one great idea at a time.
Over time, our disputes team began to become known for its work in high profile public interest cases, including constitu- tional challenges and human rights litigation.
But for many of us, me included, above even the intellectual satiation of taking on such matters, the most rewarding piece of our unwavering commitment to pro bono has been the individual victories – both big and small – of those who have entrusted us with servicing their legal needs.
I’d like to leave you an example before giving the floor to my far better-spoken partner. Sara, not her real name of course, came to Novalex when access to justice had seemed to become completely out of reach to her. Almost everything seemed out of reach to Sara by the time we crossed paths. You see, Sara was the victim, as a young teenager, of repeated sexual abuse by her stepfather. Once a promising dancer with a bright future, she became riddled with depression, anxiety, and an all-encompassing sense of helplessness.
While Sara had initially aspired to great things, her life was often reduced to surviving the psychological and emotion- al aftermath of a crime she (and her sister) had always kept to themselves.
Sara and her sister found the courage to denounce their step- father’s actions to the authorities, pressing charges, while also instituting civil proceedings. Sara’s criminal and civ- il complaints progressed at a snail’s pace. Legal bills piled up. The finish line seemed always farther and farther away. She considered giving up. Often. On her case; on everything.
Then one day a friend told her about Novalex.
Given that she was making just over minimum wage, Sara was eligible for free, no strings attached legal advice and rep- resentation from our clinic, which I was lucky enough to take on with one of our junior associates, Julia. Our mandate was to assist Sara through the upcoming criminal trial of her stepfather and resolve her claim for damages against him as quickly and efficiently as possible.
The privilege of my professional lifetime was to hold Sara’s hand as she entered the courtroom to face the accused and days later for the delivery of her stepfather’s guilty verdict. Sending her the considerable settlement cheque for her civil suit a few months thereafter was icing on the cake after wit- nessing her overcome her greatest fears. Pro bono helped Sara regain hope; pro bono helped Sara regain her life.
It is my hope that you will depart from this session with a strengthened desire to help foster a system that leaves no per- son or organization’s legal needs unmet, no matter their lack of financial resources.
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JOURNAL
Justice McLachlin once said that “The most advanced justice system in the world is a failure if it does not pro- vide justice to the people it is meant to serve.”