Legal Research & Writing

Partner Organization: Pro Bono Ontario (PBO)
Project Name: AI Knowledge & Service Log Summary Project
Full Project Description.

Brief Description:
The PBO is a registered charity with a mandate to improve access to justice by creating and facilitating opportunities for the legal profession to provide free legal services to low-income Ontarians. 

​​​PBO is seeking volunteers to assist primarily with their AI Knowledge Article Project and AI Service Log Summary Project, which supports the organization’s use of AI tools to improve access to legal assistance and internal service delivery.  ​​  

The AI Knowledge Article Project is developing an AI tool to be used by lawyers on PBO’s Hotline to conversationally search for answers to legal questions from PBO’s existing database of 600+ fully cited, lawyer-written legal FAQs.

The AI Service Log Summary tool summarizes existing case notes about ongoing legal matters, to help lawyers get an overview of a case quickly when a caller calls back to PBO’s Hotline for more advice.

Role of Student Volunteer:
The student’s work on the AI Knowledge Article Project will include: 
• Testing AI‑generated responses for accuracy, clarity, and consistency with applicable areas of law; 
• Reviewing AI outputs against authoritative legal sources and identifying errors, gaps, or areas requiring additional legal context; 
• Providing structured feedback to Pro Bono Ontario staff to support refinement and improvement of AI‑generated content; and 
• Assisting with documenting testing outcomes and suggested improvements. 

The student’s work on the AI Service Log Summary Project will include: 
• Testing AI‑generated service log summaries to assess quality, usefulness, and accuracy; 
• Assisting with organizing and structuring legal reference materials by subtopic or case context (e.g., within a shared OneDrive or internal knowledge repository) to support future AI development; and 
• Supporting preparatory and organizational work that enables ongoing refinement of AI summaries over time. 

During periods when active AI testing is limited, the student will focus on organizing reference materials, supporting documentation, and other foundational tasks that contribute to the long‑term development and evaluation of Pro Bono Ontario’s AI tools. This project will provide the student with exposure to substantive areas of law and an opportunity to apply legal analysis when assessing AI‑generated legal information. 

Mode of Delivery: Virtual
Prerequisites: None; it would be helpful if the student had some prior law, research or clinic experience but it is not a requirement
Eligibility: Open to all years
Number of Placements: 1-2

Area of Law: Civil, Consumer, Housing, Employment, Estates
Communities Served: Other - general; self-represented litigants

Partner Organization: Humane Canada
Project Name: Animal Advocacy Research Project
Full Project Description.

Content Warning: Due to the nature of the content that will be reviewed by students, where there is information that the organization deems necessary, a “Content Warning” will be provided to the students. The student can choose, with absolutely no judgement or repercussions, whether they would like to summarise the case in question or be given a different case to summarise.

Brief Description:

As Canada’s national federation of SPCAs and humane societies, Humane Canada drives positive change to end animal cruelty, improve animal protection and promote the humane treatment of all animals. Humane Canada advocates across multiple areas including companion animals, farmed animals, wild animals, and animals used in science, while also addressing the established link between animal abuse and family violence. 

Role of Student Volunteer:
Students will be researching and summarizing animal cruelty cases charged under the Criminal Code and provincial/territorial animal welfare legislation within prescribed parameters as set out by the organization. The summaries will then be edited for style, by the organization, and uploaded by the organization onto a public case law database (NCPAC Case Law Database) made available for use by prosecutors and allied professionals for research and/or informational purposes. ​​ 

Students will create case summaries from existing animal cruelty cases and can expect to complete between 5 to 7 case summaries per semester. Students will also research to find newly reported Criminal Code or provincial/territorial animal cruelty cases.   

​ 

Additionally, students will also be updating the National Animal Prohibition Order database with publicly available cases as well as those submitted by some of our partners at BC SPCA and Animal Protection Services of Saskatchewan. Students will update the database using a template provided by the organization. These updates are done as needed and is based on the cases they summarise. Where applicable, the organization will note whether or not the student must update the database. 

Mode of Delivery: Virtual
Prerequisites: None; French is considered an asset but not required
Eligibility: Open to all years
Number of Placements: 3 (8 total)

Area of Law: Criminal Law (federal; provincial/territorial), Administrative Law (charter challenges), Animal Welfare Law (Federal)
Communities Served: Other: General 

Partner Organization: Henry N.R. Jackman Faculty of Law
Project Name: Animal Law Program Support Project
Full Project Description.

Brief Description:
The Animal Law Program offers a diverse range of educational and hands-on learning experiences, empowering students to learn more about the area and become future advocates for justice and compassion. The program maintains two flagship public legal education resources: Animal Law Digest Canada and the Animal Law Research Guide. Together, these resources improve access to legal information on animal-related issues in Canada by making developments in this rapidly evolving field more accessible to lawyers, academics, advocates, policymakers, students, and members of the public.  

Students would support the Digest's legal research and knowledge management initiatives. The primary project would involve developing the annual Year-in-Review Compendium, which requires identifying, researching, and summarizing the most significant Canadian animal law developments from Digest issues over the past year.  

Role of Student Volunteers: 
Students will review relevant Digest content to identify important legal developments and emerging trends. Students will assist with drafting summaries for the annual Year-in-Review Compendium, organizing research materials, and contributing to the development of the internal animal law trends database. Students may also support related research projects connected to the Digest and Research Guide, as opportunities arise.  

In addition, the student would assist with developing an internal database tracking issue-specific trends in animal law, including topics such as ag-gag legislation, animals and family law, rights of nature, veganism as a human right, and endangered species protection. The database will support future updates to the Animal Law Research Guide’s Hot Topics section and inform future research, advocacy, and public legal education initiatives.       

Mode of Delivery: Virtual
Prerequisites: None
Eligibility: Open to all years
Number of Placements: 1-2

Area of Law: Administrative Law, Regulatory Law, Environmental & Conservation Law, Criminal Law, Constitutional and Human Rights Law, Municipal Law, Family Law, Property and Tort Law, Agricultural and Food Law, Indigenous and Aboriginal Law
Communities Served: Other - General Project 

Partner Organization: WomenatthecentrE (WATC) 
Project Name: Building a Reproductive Justice Framework – Research & PLE
Full Project Description.

Content Warning: Working on this project requires conversations and includes content about gender-based violence, anti-Black racism, racial capitalism, settler colonialism, reproductive injustice, and other forms of violence. This may be triggering or activating for some folks. We ask that you please consider this carefully when selecting this project and prioritize your needs before, during, and after the work. Please reach out to your local support systems as required.

Brief Description:
WomenatthecentrE is a unique non-profit organization that works to eradicate gender-based violence against women, gender diverse, 2 spirit and trans people. WomenatthecentrE is the first survivor-led organization in Canada dedicated to ensuring the voices and expertise of survivors are central in the implementation and development of policies and programs aimed at eradicating all forms of gender violence.

Reproductive justice advocacy focuses on ensuring that women and those facing gender-based discrimination are able to make their own decisions about their reproductive lives and have access to the resources and supports they need to be able to do so. Student volunteers will assist with the legal dimensions of Reproductive Justice by researching and outlining relevant laws and legal procedures to accessing reproductive justice in Canada for Black and Indigenous communities. 

The project’s objectives include: 

• Examine and document the systemic barriers impacting IB-WG2SGDT peoples' reproductive and sexual health, including access to culturally safe healthcare, the effects of GBV, and policy gaps 

• Engage community members through community-based participatory research (CBPR) that prioritizes lived experiences of survivors and frontline advocates in shaping the research framework and findings 

• Build solidarity within and between Indigenous, Black, and Afro-Indigenous communities by recognizing shared histories of oppression and reclaiming ancestral knowledge 

• Encourage allyship / accompliceship by involving Indigenous, Black, and Afro-Indigenous men and boys in critical discussions on GBV and its intersection with reproductive rights 

• Support sustainable change by sharing research findings through a Reproductive Justice Exchange Hub to inform advocacy, policy recommendations, and service improvements 

Role of Student Volunteers 
Students will research and canvas relevant Canadian laws and resources to accessing reproductive justice in Canada. Students will work closely with each other and the lawyer supervisor to determine a work plan and divide up work. 

This project has two components:  

1. Researching Access to Reproductive Justice: Students will research and canvas relevant Canadian laws and resources to accessing reproductive justice in Canada. 

2. Public Legal Education Development: Students will then either create a workshop or plain-language resource outlining their findings. These resources will be published to be used by relevant populations and will support WATC’s research. Please note that the final deliverable will be communicated to students in October, once they are matched with the organization

Mode of Delivery: Hybrid
Prerequisites: None
Eligibility: Open to all years
Number of Placements: 2

Area of Law: Human Rights Law and Health Law
Communities Served: Domestic violence survivors; Indigenous; racialized communities

Partner Organization: The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA)
Project Name: CIJA Legal Task Force Support
Full Project Description.

Brief Description: 
The CIJA Legal Task Force draws on expertise across a range of areas of law to advance human rights and combat antisemitism, hate, and discrimination in Canada. It provides pro bono summary legal advice and representation, pursues strategic impact litigation, promotes professional accountability, analyzes legislation, and undertakes empowerment and education activities.

Students will engage in legal work supporting the CIJA Legal Task Force’s mandate to combat antisemitism, discrimination, and hate in Canada. Their responsibilities may include: Reviewing legislation, case law, and policies related to human rights and equality; Exploring potential legal strategies to address systemic issues affecting the Jewish community; Drafting research briefs, memoranda, and background materials to inform advocacy, litigation, and policy initiatives; and Observing public hearings and preparing reports or analyses of proceedings. Students will also deliver a final deliverable focused on public legal education (i.e. resource materials, reference guides, and/or legal research memorandums for use by the LTF team and the broader community).  

Role of Student Volunteer: 
Student volunteers research will support incoming complaints or will respond to issues that the organization identifies as worthy of exploration. 

Student volunteers will complete assigned legal research and writing projects, communicate regularly with the Supervising Lawyer regarding their progress, and raise any questions or concerns as they arise. Students are expected to be responsive, meet agreed-upon deadlines, and participate actively in the mentoring relationship through open, two-way communication. 

Mode of Delivery: Virtual
Prerequisites: None; an interest in learning more about discrimination and human rights law, as well as strong legal research skills, is recommended. Coursework in administrative law, constitutional law, human rights law, or labour and employment law would be an asset.
Eligibility: Open to all years
Number of Placements: 3-4

Area of Law: Human Rights Law, Administrative Law, Constitutional Law, Regulatory Law, Labour and Employment Law, Torts, Contract Law
Communities Served: religious minority communities; racialized communities; other – general project

Partner Organization: Pro Bono Ontario (PBO)
Project Name: Free Legal Service Matter Classification Project
Full Project Description.

Brief Description: 
Volunteer lawyers on PBO’s Free Legal Advice Hotline answer calls from low income individuals who need assistance with civil legal problems. Callers may call the Hotline multiple times about different legal issues over the years. To make it easier for subsequent volunteers to understand the state of a caller’s legal issues, PBO has started grouping the call notes by legal problem (e.g. "Caller is in dispute with landlord over rent”, or ”Caller received notice of termination from employer”). As part of this transition to this new system, we are reviewing and grouping or splitting case notes that were not properly grouped. ​

Role of Student Volunteer:
Students, working in their own time in PBO’s case management system, will review case notes written by lawyers, determine the substance of the calls, assess them against the larger context of the caller's file to determine what legal matter the call relates to, re-group calls into separate legal matters as needed, draft or revise the legal matter description, and categorize the legal matters by area of law, topic and subtopic. This requires analysis of legal concepts and terminology and will give students insight into the types of legal and practical advice given by lawyers on the Hotline and the steps involved in advancing legal matters. The students will be exposed to all of the areas of law we cover on the Hotline. 

Students will be reviewing lawyer case notes, identifying the legal issues involved, and determining whether different interactions form part of the same legal matter or shoukd be separated into different matters. To do that well, they need to understand legal terminology, legal process, and how a matter progresses over time. 

Mode of Delivery: Virtual
Prerequisites: None; students who have taken civil procedure may find this assignment easier, but students without that exposure are welcome to participate, and will be expected to familiarize themselves with the steps in the civil procedure process (PBO has materials that can assist with this). 
Number of Placements: 3-4

Area of Law: Civil Procedure, small claims, appeals, housing, employment, consumer protection, corporate law for small business and non-profits, estates
Communities Served: Other; General Project; self-represented litigants 

Partner Organization: Olthuis Kleer Townshend (OKT) LLP
Project Name: Indigenous Research Project
Full Project Description.

Brief Description:
OKT’s central philosophy is that there will be no real justice until Indigenous peoples have control over their own fates and future, including their land and economic and political decision making. OKT supports use Canadian law as a means to achieve this goal and have extensive experience working for Indigenous communities and are deeply committed to justice to achieve success- however you define it.

This research project explores the international and comparative treatment of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), focusing on how various international bodies and foreign courts interpret and apply the rights enshrined in UNDRIP. It will investigate the treatment of these rights by international organizations, particularly the UN Human Rights Council, and examine how courts in different jurisdictions incorporate and interpret UNDRIP rights within their legal frameworks. Additionally, the project will assess whether and how these rights are contemplated and applied across various jurisdictions, providing a comparative analysis of different approaches to Indigenous rights protection.  

The project may involve researching how different countries in South America, Central America and North America have treated UNDRIP and specific UNDRIP rights domestically, which may include a review of domestic legislation, domestic court decisions, scholarship, and other texts from a variety of countries in South America, Central America and North America.

Please see Full Project Description form for a more detailed description of the project.

Role of Student Volunteer:
Student volunteers will search for and review international scholarship, the decisions of international bodies, and legislation and jurisprudence in South America, Central America and North America, to assess how different countries in the Americas are addressing UNDRIP principles and related principles under other human rights instruments.  .

Mode of Delivery: Virtual
Prerequisites: Knowledge of/or interest in international law, international human rights law, and UNDRIP is required
Eligibility: Open to all years
Number of Placements: 2 students between Lincoln Alexander, University of Toronto, and Osgoode (4 total)

Area of Law: International Law, International Human Rights Law, Civil Procedure, Aboriginal Law
Communities Served: Indigenous; people living in poverty; racialized communities

Joint Project: Lincoln Alexander School of Law (Lead); University of Toronto; Thompson Rivers University; University of Victoria; Osgoode Hall

Partner Organization: Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants (OCASI) 
Project Name: Immigration Law Research Project
Full Project Description.

Brief Description: 
OCASI is a registered charity and was formed in 1978 to act as a collective for immigrant serving agencies and to coordinate responses to shared needs and concerns. Its memberships are comprised of more than 220 community-based organizations in Ontario. OCASI’s mission is to achieve equity, access, and full participation for immigrants and refugees in every aspect of life in Canada.

As a council of autonomous community-based agencies which serve immigrant communities of Ontario, OCASI asserts the rights of all persons to participate fully and equitably in the social, cultural, political and economic life of Ontario. Settlement.org is an online resource facilitated by OCASI that provides newcomers with an electronic community to find information, read relevant news, ask questions, share their experiences with others, and access a database of community organizations. The Settlement.org moderated discussion forum works to answer questions with well-researched legal information. Here we provide information and referral to services in response to questions about immigration, health, housing, and other aspects of the settlement process.

Role of Student Volunteer:
Students will help answer questions from the discussion forum by providing detailed legal information in plain language and making competent referrals to lawyers and services. Students will conduct research on various topics related to settlement, including housing (landlord and tenant rights), immigration, citizenship issues, and labour law (i.e. workers’ rights). This research will be used to ensure Settlement.org is accurate and up to date, as well as to create new content. 

Deliverables should be in plain language and/or memo format. All content produced by participating students will be reviewed and approved by the supervising lawyer prior to public distribution. In addition to responding to the discussion forum, students will also perform article writing to fill any content gaps that exist.   

Mode of Delivery: Virtual
Prerequisites: None; Immigration coursework and French is an asset but not required
Eligibility: Open to all years
Number of Placements: 2 (3-4 total)

Area of Law: Immigration & Refugee, Housing (Landlord & Tenant), and Employment & Labour
Communities Served: immigrants, refugees & newcomers; racialized communities; low-income

Partner Organization: ALPHA Education
Project Name: Legal/Historical Research into WWII in Asia
Full Project Description.

Brief Description: 
ALPHA Education is a non-profit, registered charitable organization in Canada that promotes a critical-historical inquiry of World War II in Asia. Our mission is to foster a critical understanding of humanity, in the interest of furthering the values of justice, peace, and reconciliation for victims of the past, survivors, and for those who shape the historical narratives of the present and future.

The research project will focus on the justice and legal issues which arose from WWII in Asia and its post-war years. This research will continue to support the ongoing development of ALPHA Education and its WongAvery Asia Pacific Peace Museum. The output of the project could take various formats, as proposed by the PBSC student volunteer, such as a research memo, infographic, podcast, or video essay. One possible impact outcome is the volunteer’s project may be published on ALPHA Education’s website with the consent of the volunteer. 

PBSC students may choose from the following list of topics (please see Full Project Description) for their research or propose a topic that is not listed, with approval of ALPHA Education staff and PBSC National. 

Role of Student Volunteer:
Student volunteers will conduct research on legal topics that are relevant to WWII in Asia and ALPHA Education’s mission. Equally important, student volunteers are encouraged to explore specific aspects of these topics that are relevant to their own personal, academic, and/or professional interests. Students are encouraged to delve into the legal issues in each of these topics and discuss the legal implications.

Mode of Delivery: Virtual
Prerequisites: None; Interest/background in history, international law, human rights, and knowledge of East Asian languages is an asset
Eligibility: Open to all years
Number of Placements: 1-2 students (2-4 total)

Area of Law: Human rights law, international law, labour law, criminal law, treaty law
Communities Served: Children & Youth; Racialized communities; immigrants, refugees, & newcomers