QLA Caseworker Training

1. QLA Caseworker Training WELCOME! Please be seated in groups.

2. QLA Caseworker Training • Overview of LAO and QLA • Reliability: what do we expect from you? • Professionalism: what do clients, opposing parties, other counsel or agents, courts and tribunals expect from you? • Resources: how do we help you with your work?

3. Legal Aid Ontario • Legal Aid Ontario (LAO) • District Area Office; Legal Aid Certificates – call centre • Duty Counsel: Family and Criminal • Tenant Duty Counsel, Family Law Offices, Criminal Law Offices • Community Legal Clinics/Specialty Clinics • Student Legal Aid Services Societies

4. QLA jurisdiction • Four jurisdictional issues: • Geographical location • Financial qualification • Topical coverage • Conflicts of interest

5. QLA jurisdiction: Topical • Common areas of law we do: • Minor criminal and serious provincial offences • Landlord and tenant disputes • Social assistance appeals (federal and provincial) • Civil claims between $1,000 and $25,000 (Small Claims Court) • Compensation for victims of crime Generally “poverty law” issues dealing with basic needs for security, food and shelter

6. QLA jurisdiction: Topical • Matters not handled by QLA: • Serious criminal or provincial offences charges where there is a likelihood of incarceration • Very minor provincial offences • Family law • Immigration issues • Worker’s Compensation matters • Wills, powers of attorney, real estate matters Generally: issues addressed by Legal Aid Certificates or union assistance

7. QLA jurisdiction: Conflicts of interest • Potential conflicts considered regularly during work on clients’ files: • During screening and intake procedures (Staff responsibility) • When a new party or witness is identified (by caseworker – notify staff!!) • Any other time a new name appears in relation to a file

8. QLA structure: Dean Dean William Flanagan Statutory head of the clinic Responsible to LAO, faculty and university for clinic work Delegates to: Susan Charlesworth and Jana Mills

9. Review Counsel Responsibilities • To the Law Society of Upper Canada: • Ensure provision of professional legal services • Ensure compliance with Rules of Professional Conduct • To Legal Aid Ontario • Ensure delivery of proper scope and standard of legal services for low income residents • Ensure accountability for public funds • Measure and report on service delivery • To the Dean • Ensure design and delivery of positive learning experience and professional legal services

10. Review Counsel Responsibilities • To clients • Ensure the provision of timely, appropriate legal advice and effective legal representation • To the clinic • Exercise professional judgment in opening and managing work on clients’ files • Instruct as to professional conduct through supervising contact with clients, opposing parties, court and tribunal staff • Establish and enforce policies to maximize learning and service

11. – responsible for much of the clinic’s administrative work as well as supervision of students – responsible for keeping Review Counsel in line (they try their best) – important source of information and guidance – Suz Wilson, on leave – Sandra Tallen, Clinic Administrator – Susan Reynolds, Admin. Assistant - Jenn Powell, Receptionist QLA Structure: Staff Outstanding Staff (aka Clinic Goddesses) 11

12. QLA Structure: Articling Students • Earl Murtha • Courtney Cottle

13. QLA Structure: Summer Caseworkers • Summer caseworker/QLA student leaders: • Two Steering Committee members • Operations Coordinator: Sophia Liao • Public Relations and Resource Coordinator: Mally McGregor • Eight group leaders • Matt Doak, Maral Dolatabadi, Bo Hou, Aleks Jovanovich, Nick Loeb, Jeremy Rubenstein, Nicole Rumble, Brandon Wiebe • Any member of QLA is eligible for summer employment

14. Summer Caseworkers’ Responsibilities Operations Coordinator, Sophia Liao; Public Relations and Resources Coordinator, Mally McGregor • Administrative duties • File work

15. Summer Caseworkers’ Responsibilities • Group Leaders: • Group meetings and training • Training modules on interviewing, adjournments, professional responsibility and professional communications • Supervision of processes • Tickler compliance • Supervision of file work • Three file audits: Nov 2, Jan 18, March 14 • File work • Suggestions, discussions, …

16. QLA Structure: Steering Committee • Composition: • Review counsel, Office Administrator, Administrative Assistant, Operations Coordinator, Public Relations and Resource Coordinator, two group leaders (Bo Hou and Nick Loeb) • Function: • Strategic planning • Policy development • Liaison between staff and students

17. QLA Structure • Clinical Litigation Practice students: • Perform clinic work and attend classes for academic credit • 4 – 6 client files at a time • Leadership role • Graded by review counsel • Volunteers: • In every year of law studies • QLA committed to providing access to clinic work • 1 – 3 client files at a time • Quality of experience depends on student initiative

18. Caseworker Responsibilities All contact with clients and opposing parties, all interviews, adjournments, research, advice and representation provided by: • YOU! Under direct supervision of review counsel

19. Caseworker responsibilities • Be reliable • Be professional • Use resources: • Caseworker Handbook • Group meetings (learning and discussing) • QLA library, precedent files, templates • QLA car, fax machine, etc. etc.

20. Reliability • Be aware of importance to client: • Learning experience for you • Important to client’s life • Understand the retainer: • Responsibilities of clinic and client specified • Initial and subsequent retainers • Be responsive to inquiries • From clients • From group leaders • From review counsel • From staff

21. Reliability • Attend clinic daily: • Check for incoming/outgoing correspondence and messages • Shelves, Mailboxes, message board, White board • Listserv (QLA-L@lists.queensu.ca) • Attend and participate in group meetings weekly: • Specific training modules • Obtain and discuss files • Attend mandatory training session • Attend session on working with difficult clients, Oct 24 • Volunteer for and attend adjmts and intake sessions

22. Reliability • Take on work and follow through with it: • Ask questions as needed • Keep current on file work • File audits • Learn, understand and follow clinic procedures: • Designed to ensure client service • Designed to ease transition from student to student • Designed to assist in reporting to LAO and LSUC • Tickler especially vital to keeping track of clinic work

23. Reliability • Become familiar with forms, precedents, resources: • Tickler Form, Retainer • All forms designed to ensure client service • Precedent files, sample letter book • Master List of QLA Resources • www.cro.on.ca: Clinic Resource Office • Maintain personal diary/BF system: • Meet deadlines established by clients’ files • Meet deadlines suggested by review counsel and group leaders

24. Reliability • Use QLA resources only for clinic work: • Accountability to funders • Acknowledge performance management procedures of clinic: • Group leaders required to maintain performance record • Volunteers must complete File Audits • CLP students must attend weekly RC meetings

25. Professionalism Professionalism vis-à-vis clients, opposing parties, other counsel or agents, courts and tribunals Vital to clinic reputation with clients and the community; treat everyone with respect and dignity

26. Professionalism • Client confidentiality: • Discretion in speech and other communications • File movement and storage concerns • QLA workroom for QLA purposes only • Documentation: • Docket everything • Confirming letters, memos to file • Orderly files

27. Professionalism • Privacy: • Confidentiality issues related to identification of clinic by telephone and mail • Confidentiality issues related to use of email and clients’ names • Safety: • Meetings at clinic or satellites unless specific permission • Calls from clinic telephones or from blocked numbers • Generally maintain appropriate boundaries

28. Professionalism • Formality and etiquette: • Responsiveness • Undertakings and best efforts • Candor • Boundaries • Timely and effective legal services: • Complete, candid, comprehensible

29. Professionalism • Timely and effective documents: • Memoranda of fact and law for review counsel • Opinion letters for clients • Comprehensive and comprehensible for different audience • Good communications: • Effective and appropriate • Letters and copies of other correspondence • Calls answered – things promised are delivered • Clearly explained procedures and timelines

30. Resources • Hard Copy and Online: • Caseworker Handbook • Precedent files, sample letter book, templates in room 404 • Master List of QLA Resources • www.cro.on.ca: Clinic Resource Office • QLA library books in room 404 or review counsel offices • Identified helpful websites in workroom • Law library

31. Resources • Group Meetings: • Training modules: delivery of professional services, interviewing and client management, adjournments, written correspondence • File work discussions • Questions, Questions, Questions: • Group leaders and steering committee • CLP students • Review Counsel (occasional and regular meetings, file audits) • Staff

32. Discipline • Caseworker Performance Record • “three strikes” • Major infractions • See the Caseworker Handbook • No discretion in Group Leader • Explanations can be made and will be recorded

33. Joint training event • Seminar: Working with “difficult” clients • Presented by Canadian Mental Health Association • Monday, October 24, 1 – 2:30 p.m. Room 001

34. Group meetings within the week To schedule intakes and adjournments, volunteer for files, and set future group meetings Jana and I look forward to seeing you all soon