Indigenous Legal Traditions and Community Legal Clinics: A Pathway to Enhanced Legal Services
Standing
Undergraduate
Type of Proposal
Oral Presentation
Faculty
Faculty of Law
Proposal
This paper examines Indigenous Legal Traditions (ILT) and how the legal principles that derive from them can be utilized in providing better legal services to low-income clients. The focus of this paper is poverty law and, in particular, the practice of law that encapsulates the work that community legal clinics do for low income individuals. Practicing law is not just simply litigating in front of judges or some other formal setting. Practicing law also includes negotiating with landlords or with government officials. Practicing law also includes communication with clients about their legal matter in a manner that will best resolve their issue. But these are not just legal problems; we must keep in mind that these are everyday systemic barriers that individuals face. This paper provides the reader with various Indigenous Legal Principles conveyed through oral narratives and conversations with elders and other community members. These principles are then applied to various legal clinic cases that the author has personally encountered and examines how the application of ILT can improve the quality of legal services provided to low-income clients. Rather than taking a theory based approach, this paper aims to provide practical insight into the everyday work that is done at legal clinics. It explores the challenges that lawyers and law students may encounter while working with clients. The paper also examines concerns that can arise when the best interests of an individual client may in fact be contrary to the (perceived) interests of the broader Indigenous community. Possible solutions to these concerns are analyzed by focusing on Indigenous legal orders. Ultimately, it is important to be aware of the complexity of these issues and examine the root causes, see the big picture, in order to truly help the individual rather than just provide a band-aid solution.
Location
Law
Grand Challenges
Sustainable Industry
Indigenous Legal Traditions and Community Legal Clinics: A Pathway to Enhanced Legal Services
Law
This paper examines Indigenous Legal Traditions (ILT) and how the legal principles that derive from them can be utilized in providing better legal services to low-income clients. The focus of this paper is poverty law and, in particular, the practice of law that encapsulates the work that community legal clinics do for low income individuals. Practicing law is not just simply litigating in front of judges or some other formal setting. Practicing law also includes negotiating with landlords or with government officials. Practicing law also includes communication with clients about their legal matter in a manner that will best resolve their issue. But these are not just legal problems; we must keep in mind that these are everyday systemic barriers that individuals face. This paper provides the reader with various Indigenous Legal Principles conveyed through oral narratives and conversations with elders and other community members. These principles are then applied to various legal clinic cases that the author has personally encountered and examines how the application of ILT can improve the quality of legal services provided to low-income clients. Rather than taking a theory based approach, this paper aims to provide practical insight into the everyday work that is done at legal clinics. It explores the challenges that lawyers and law students may encounter while working with clients. The paper also examines concerns that can arise when the best interests of an individual client may in fact be contrary to the (perceived) interests of the broader Indigenous community. Possible solutions to these concerns are analyzed by focusing on Indigenous legal orders. Ultimately, it is important to be aware of the complexity of these issues and examine the root causes, see the big picture, in order to truly help the individual rather than just provide a band-aid solution.