IWK Presents Community Excellence Award to McInnes Cooper and Legal Information Society of Nova Scotia
Published:
June 21, 2018
McInnes Cooper is proud to accept, along with our partners at the Legal Information Society of Nova Scotia (LISNS), the 2018 Award for Community Excellence from the IWK Board of Directors.
Every year, this recognition is bestowed upon an individual or a group of community members “who have made a distinct, significant and lasting contribution to the IWK Health Centre and to the achievement of its vision and mission.”
McInnes Cooper and LISNS were chosen to receive this year’s award for our shared contribution to the IWK Family Legal Health Program (FLHP), through which our lawyers provide pro bono advice to families experiencing legal issues that affect the wellbeing of IWK patients.
The Program, which launched in 2015, is modelled on other Canadian medical-legal partnerships that have been shown to address the social determinants of health and improve the overall wellbeing of patients.
Since its inception, the FLHP has received 65 referrals, 20 of which have received pro bono legal assistance from McInnes Cooper lawyers in various areas of law, including labour & employment, access to community services, tenancy issues, estate planning, guardianship, immigration, and aboriginal law.
Melanie Comstock is a partner in our Halifax office who leads our participation in the Family Legal Health Program. She accepted the award along with LISNS Manager of Legal Information Wendy Turner at the 2018 IWK Awards Celebration on June 20.
