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Call for Volunteers

ALAS welcomes interested lawyers with experience in arts and entertainment law to volunteer for our Legal Clinic, legal education events, and legal resource development.  

Our organization’s mission is to empower Ontario’s creative community by providing access to summary legal advice, information and education.  As a volunteer-run organization, the fulfillment of this mission is made possible through the generosity and efforts of our volunteer lawyers, law students and fellow creators.  

 

Volunteer Workshop/Seminar Speaker 

Overview: ALAS is looking to expand its roster of speakers willing to provide pro bono seminars and webinars on a variety of legal topics that may address issues faced by artists across all disciplines.

Min Requirements:

-Called to the bar in Ontario
– Be energetic and comfortable providing legal information seminars to artists and creators 

If you are interested in joining our roster of volunteer speakers, or would like additional information about our educational events, please write to coordinator@alasontario.ca using the subject line “Volunteer Speaker with ALAS.”

 

Legal Resource Content Contributor 

Overview: ALAS is looking to expand the free legal education resources we are able to provide to artists across all disciplines.  If you’re a lawyer interested in contributing content to our growing database of resources (e.g., a blog-style article on a common arts/entertainment law issue, a practical tip sheet or guide, or other digital content) we’d love to hear from you.   

Please write to coordinator@alasontario.ca to learn more about how you can assist artists by contributing to our legal resource database. 

 

Volunteer Clinic Lawyer

Overview: ALAS offers creators 30-minute free legal consults (via Zoom) almost every Tuesday (5-7pm), Thursday (5-7 pm) and Friday (12 – 1pm).  Our volunteer lawyers (“duty counsel”) can choose how often they volunteer. We ask that volunteers sign up for a minimum of 5 shifts a year. Duty Counsel  provides summary legal information to clients.  The issues usually relate to contract or copyright law; however, it can be related to any part of a creator’s practice.

The summary legal advice provided through ALAS is not intended as part of on-going legal services, and is offered without any requirement or expectation of preparation, research or follow-up. ALAS provides onboarding for all new duty counsel and will help ensure you are comfortable running your own sessions before setting you off on your own.

ALAS Duty Counsel also get to provide mentorship and education to law students who take care of all the administration for setting up the clinic. If permitted by the creator, the law students will join the session and get to hear the advice provided. After the clinic session is over, the Duty Counsel holds a follow up meeting with the students to answer any questions they may have.

The ALAS Legal Clinic is a LAWPRO approved Pro Bono Ontario Project, and LAWPRO therefore provides liability insurance to volunteer lawyers who do not otherwise have their own LAWPRO coverage.

Min requirements:

Duty counsel for the ALAS program must:

  1. Be a member in good standing of the Law Society of Ontario, licensed to practice law in the Province of Ontario;
  2. Have at least two (2) years of experience in practice (in private practice or as in-house counsel) in arts and entertainment law, or have some equivalent form of experience with the arts and the law;
  3. Coordinate with the volunteer student administrators of ALAS and the chair or vice-chair of ALAS on operational matters (including scheduling), adhere to the policies of the ALAC board, and (if required) report to the ALAS board or the chair and vice-chair of ALAS (for greater certainty, not on individual meetings with artists or arts entities);
  4. Ensure that they are not in a conflict situation with respect to any persons seeking advice via the ALAS clinic (including with respect to any parties that the artist may be dealing with or inquiring about);
  5. Maintain confidentiality with respect to any services provided;
  6. Engage with and mentor student volunteers at appointments;
  7. Understand that summary legal advice services are provided on a pro bono basis; and
  8. Not advertise or offer their services to artists visiting the ALAS legal clinic, or subsequently advise artists met via the ALAS legal clinic in a professional capacity as part of their private practice regarding the same matter discussed via the ALAS clinic.

If you wish to join the ALAS duty counsel roster, please send your resume and a covering letter to coordinator@alasontario.ca using the subject line “Volunteer Lawyer for Duty Counsel with ALAS.

Last updated: August 2023