Pro Bono Program

Members of the legal community have long recognized that access to the services we provide is unattainable for many people and organizations. And because we are uniquely empowered to provide those services, we have a responsibility to fill the gap between need and accessibility.

Through our formal Pro Bono Program, we address legal matters of public interest on behalf of marginalized people and groups that face social or financial barriers to accessing services. Annually, via this program, our lawyers provide an average of $400,000 in free legal services.

To assist with generating meaningful pro bono engagements, we partner with community-focused organizations, including:

• IWK Health Centre
• Canadian Civil Liberties Association
• PEI Pro Bono Legal Advice Clinic
• Immigrant Services Association of Nova Scotia
• PEI Association for Newcomers to Canada
• New Brunswick Multicultural Council

Among those partnerships, our involvement in the IWK Family Legal Health Program (FLHP) is unique. The FLHP is a medical-legal partnership with the IWK Health Centre and the Legal Information Society of Nova Scotia (LISNS) that assists patients of the IWK in addressing adverse legal issues.

In 2018 McInnes Cooper and LISNS received a Community Excellence Award from the IWK Foundation for our collaboration in the Family Legal Health Program.