Helping people find good legal information

Transcription

1 Helping people find good legal information A presentation for community workers in Ontario Michelle Cader and Rebecca Stulberg June 14, 2017

2 About our presenters. Michelle Cader is the Community Outreach Manager at CLEO, Community Legal Education Ontario. She has worked as an educator in the non-profit sector for many years and draws on her academic background in both law and education in her current role. Over the past several years she has developed curricula in legal information and has presented to hundreds of community workers province-wide. Rebecca Stulberg is the Project Manager and Legal Content Developer for CLEO s Steps to Justice website. In this role Rebecca oversees the drafting and legal review of Steps to Justice content, maintains relationships with contributing organizations, and helps to manage the direction of the project as a whole. Before joining CLEO, Rebecca spent four years working in employment, labour and human rights law at a Toronto firm. Her practice included representing clients in grievance arbitrations and mediations, wrongful dismissal and discrimination claims, and in professional misconduct and capacity matters.

3 Goals for today 1. Provide brief overview of CLEO 2. Discuss the importance of legal information 3. Explain the difference between legal information and legal advice 4. Discuss Steps to Justice (S2J) a. Learn about the project b. Understand what it offers c. Navigate the site 5. Find legal information on S2J using case scenarios

4 Overview of CLEO expertise in producing legal information written by CLEO lawyers and editors plain language and clear design focus on needs of low-income and marginalized communities over 70 different resources on different legal topics in print and online, in multiple languages free resources and free shipping other projects and research

5 CLEO homepage

6 Legal topics

7 Online ordering (free publications and free shipping)

8 List of all CLEO resources

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17 What is legal information? describes people s rights and responsibilities under the law helps identify when a problem has a legal aspect explains legal processes explains where people can get more help

18 Why is legal information important? allows people to decide in an informed way whether they should take steps to address a legal problem may help prevent legal problems from getting worse

19 Why do community workers have a key role?

20 Legal Information Legal Advice

21 Legal Information general and does not address one person s specific set of circumstances may discuss possible next steps does not state whether it applies to a person s specific situation indicates how to get legal help Legal Advice given to one person by a licensed legal professional and is specific and confidential to the person s situation uses judgment based on facts to give pros and cons of different options and may give specific recommendations confirms whether legal information applies and interprets how legal rules apply to specific situation

22 Do s and Don ts Question: I received an eviction notice from my landlord because I haven t been paying my rent on time. Will I definitely have to leave? Don t Give person specific recommendation and tell them what the legal outcome will be No you won t have to leave. You should fight the eviction by going to the Landlord and Tenant Board and they will give you another chance. Do Provide Legal Information I can show you some information that explains the eviction process. It also explains some options of what people can do when they get an eviction notice. From there you can decide what you would like to do and I can explain where you might be able to get legal help.

23 Context for Steps to Justice

24 Guiding principles Practical and user-focused Brings in existing body of information, forms, and other resources Grounded in collaboration with justice sector organizations

25 Structure of the Content Addresses common legal questions Gives 3-5 Steps Integrates links and referral information Offers weekday live chat Glossary

26 Embedding or syndication Content lives on your site The brand : Flexible options Automatically updated

27 Where we are Close to 400 questions and answers in: abuse & family violence criminal law consumer law employment law family law housing law human rights social assistance Training and workshops

28 Going forward Adding to content User testing Engaging with and training community workers Translation into French

29 How do you fit in? Use with the public Order bookmarks Consider embedding Share Steps to Justice with your lists and social media Suggest training for community workers

30 Site Tour

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45 embed

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47 Legal Topic Embed

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53 Case Scenarios Let s find legal information together Identify the legal topic, sub-topics, and search terms

54 Scenario #1 My boss told me that I need to work on Good Friday. He said that because I don t celebrate Easter and business is bad he doesn t have to pay me any extra for working on this holiday. This doesn t seem fair.

55 Scenario #2: I got hurt at work slipping on water. My boss says that I can take a few weeks off with sick leave. She says I don t need to file a claim for workers compensation because the sick pay will cover my time off.

56 Scenario #3 I can t work because of my disability. I won t be able to pay my rent and feed my kids. I m really stressed. What can I do?

57 Thank you for joining us today!! Contact: Michelle Cader Rebecca Stulberg Community Outreach Legal Content Developer and Manager Project Manager x x 840

58 Credits: Labyrinth image free courtesy of Google Images: maze&tbs=sur:f&gws_rd=cr&ei=5hu5wcpch- SCjwTEw4K4BA#tbs=sur:f&tbm=isch&q=maze+with+arr ow&imgrc=rreuyqzk28tfum