Pro Bono Law Ontario is a charity that was founded in 2001 as the legal profession's response to unmet legal needs. PBLO promotes access to justice in Ontario by creating and facilitating opportunities for lawyers to provide pro bono (free) legal services to persons of limited means.

Serving the Community

PBLO helps low-income people with civil (non-family) legal problems not covered by legal aid. Their numbers are growing, especially since Legal Aid Ontario cut its non-family certificate program in 2010. To our clients, PBLO means the difference between shelter and homelessness, economic stability and bankruptcy, food on the table and hunger.

Pro Bono Law Ontario's Mission:

To improve access to justice by providing strategic guidance, training and tailored technical assistance to law firms, law associations, legal departments and other groups that are dedicated to addressing the legal needs of low income and disadvantaged individuals as well as the communities and charitable organizations that serve them.

PBLO's Vision

To strengthen Ontario's legal system for our clients, volunteers and partners by:

• Developing, supporting and sustaining pro bono initiatives;

• Identifying unmet legal needs;

• Collaborating with other organizations to address access to justice issues; and

• Focusing on innovation and effectiveness when creating programs.

What PBLO Does

PBLO connects legal needs to legal resources through four core activities:

1) PBLO runs roster projectst that serve three streams of clients: at-risk children and youth, unrepresented litigants with civil (non-family) matters and charitable organizations. In 2010, these projects served over 12,000 clients.

2) PBLO brokers partnerships between law firms, law associations, and legal departments on the one hand and charitable organizations on the other. These partnerships are tailored to each group's unique interests and capacity. Here we play a facilitative role and create frameworks for effective collaboration.

3)PBLO uses technology to help deliver critical legal information and self-help resources to the public, to connect clients with lawyers and to create environments where lawyers can focus on providing legal assistance instead of on administration.

4)PBLO makes it as easy as possible for as many lawyers as possible to provide free legal services to people who cannot access legal aid. We work with law firms, law associations and legal departments to develop policies that facilitate pro bono participation on an institutional level. We work with LawPRO (the profession's insurer) to promote best practices and extend malpractice coverage to our volunteers. We also work with the Law Society of Upper Canada to address regulatory barriers to participation and promote pro bono as a professional responsibility.