Steve MacLellan

Unlike traditional legal aid, people accessing the new service via the website will not have to first show they’re broke. Each client, however, will be capped at a maximum of five hours of service.

“We accept everyone,” said Don, who was called to the bar last year. “People who can afford lawyers already have lawyers. People who really need it will come to us.”

To date, he said, more than 300 lawyers with varying experience and law students, some of whom have lost their summer jobs due to the pandemic, have signed on to a goal of providing more than 40,000 hours of services at no charge. Most are in Ontario but others are located across the country, and their expertise spans many areas of the law.

Those accessing the service via the website need to provide contact information and indicate the legal nature of their problem. The person is then matched with an appropriate legal adviser, who, if needed, can seek help from more experienced mentors.