PROJECT OFFERINGS 2026-2027
2026-2027 Project Guide
The following guide is a comprehensive overview of everything PBSC! It provides a description of all PBSC projects, important dates, and student volunteer FAQs!
Please review the list of available projects. Volunteer applications will open on September 1st and close on September 17th at 12 pm.
Trans ID Clinic
Organization: Trans Wellness Ontario
Area of Law: Identification (ID) law, human rights law, poverty law
Seeking: 6-8 students (open to 1Ls)
Assets: Member of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community or a strong ally, enrolled in or completed administrative law/domestic human rights law/poverty law classes, clinical placement experience.
Project Type: Client services (in-person)
Description: The Trans ID Clinic provides free legal information, form-filling services, and referrals in a trans-positive, anti-oppressive, and inclusive environment. Student volunteers and lawyer supervisors will work together to help the 2SLGBTQIA+ community obtain vital identification documents. Photo identification is essential for accessing resources in modern life, including opening a credit card, securing housing, or using the healthcare system. Student volunteers will help 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals who lack photo identification, enabling them to access community resources and services.
CLA Wills Hybrid PLE/Clinic
Organization: Community Legal Aid Windsor
Area of Law: Wills and estate planning, property law
Seeking: 2 students (not open to 1Ls)
Project Type: PLE/Client services (in-person)
Description: Student volunteers will work alongside CLA Review Counsel to provide supervised legal assistance to low-income individuals seeking Wills and Powers of Attorney. The project is designed to increase access to estate planning services for community members who may otherwise face financial barriers to obtaining these essential legal documents, while providing students with intensive experiential learning in client interviewing, legal drafting, professional responsibility, and file management.
Survivor Family Law Presentations
Organization: Hiatus House
Area of Law: Family law, criminal law
Seeking: 3-4 students (open to 1Ls)
Project Type: PLE (hybrid)
Additional Eligibility Requirements: Family law course
Description: In this project, student volunteers will prepare hour-long, in-person presentations on legal topics which are relevant to survivors of domestic abuse at Hiatus House. A group of students will prepare up to four presentations on assigned topics. During the fall semester, student volunteers will create a schedule for the presentations in the winter semester, conduct legal research, and compile the information into accessible presentations. During the winter semester, students will visit Hiatus House with their group and lawyer to conduct the presentations.
LTEC Community Presentations
Organization: Law and Technology Lab
Area of Law: Employment law, privacy law, human rights law, technology law, consumer protection law, contract law
Seeking: 3-4 students (open to 1Ls)
Project Type: PLE (hybrid)
Description: In this project, student volunteers will conduct legal research and develop PLE materials addressing the legal issues surrounding deepfakes, the non-consensual distribution of intimate images, and other technology-enabled digital harms. Through this project, students will help educate members of the Greater Windsor community about the evolving legal framework governing emerging technologies and image-based abuse. Students will conduct legal research, prepare legal memoranda, develop PLE presentations, and create plain-language pamphlets and other educational resources.
Pro Bono Radio Project
Organization: CJAM 99.1 FM Student Media
Area of Law: All areas of law
Seeking: 6 students (+1 student lead) (open to 1Ls)
Project Type: PLE/Research (hybrid)
Description: In this project, three cohorts of two students will each produce one live 30-minute episode for CJAM Radio exploring access to justice issues, local legal topics, and the work of PBSC at the University of Windsor. An upper-year student team lead will oversee research, coordinate communication between the lawyer supervisor, CJAM, and the PBSC Project Coordinator, and ensure project timelines are met. Each cohort will host a live talk show on a topic approved by the lawyer supervisor (e.g., local legal issues, access to justice gaps, legal debates). Topics must be timely, creative, and provide legal information.
RYOS Presentation Series
Organization: Rapha Youth Outreach Services
Area of Law: Criminal Law, constitutional law, employment law, education law, administrative law
Seeking: 2-4 students (open to 1Ls)
Project Type: PLE (hybrid)
Additional Eligibility Requirements: Must be BLSA members
Description: In this project, student volunteers will present two previously created RYOS presentations (Employment & Education Discrimination and Guide to Policing Interactions) and create a third clear, accessible resource on relevant legal issues for RYOS to provide to their clients and/or members. This project is in collaboration with the Windsor Law Black Law Students Association (BLSA); as a result, the volunteers will be BLSA members. Presentations will occur once per month, beginning in January and will rotate through all three topics, presenting each topic once.
Sexual Assault Crisis Centre (PLE)
Organization: Sexual Assault Crisis Centre
Area of law: Criminal law, family law
Seeking: 4-8 students (open to 1Ls)
Project Type: PLE (virtual)
Description: Student volunteers will collaborate on a comprehensive legal education and research project focused on the rights of survivors of sexual violence under Bill C-16 and related victims’ rights legislation. This project aims to increase legal literacy among survivors of sexual violence, improve community understanding of available legal supports, and provide SACC staff with up-to-date legal resources that can assist them in supporting clients.
PBSC x South Asian Centre: Community Legal Information Series
Organization: South Asian Centre of Windsor
Area of Law: Human rights law, employment law, family law
Seeking: 6-8 students (open to 1Ls)
Assets: Preference for volunteers will be given to those who speak Hindi, Punjabi, Gujarati, and Urdu. Additional/nice to have languages are Tamil and Bangla
Project Type: PLE (hybrid)
Description: This project consists of three cohorts of student volunteers, each responsible for researching and presenting one legal topic relevant to the South Asian community served by the South Asian Centre of Windsor. The project will conclude with a fourth collaborative event consisting of an in-person panel discussion and community question-and-answer session.
Youth Drop-In Legal Clinic
Organization: Windsor Youth Centre
Area of Law: Property law, family law, criminal law
Seeking: 4 students (+1 student lead) (not open to 1Ls)
Project Type: Research/Client services (hybrid)
Description: This clinic will provide clear and specific legal information to youth at the Windsor Youth Centre about legal topics they identify during a monthly drop-in clinic. Students will visit the WYC and meet with youth who are seeking legal information on various legal topics. Students will spend two hours at the clinic collecting the client’s legal questions and/or areas of interest. Then, the students will spend the next week researching relevant legal information, including case law, statutes, and/or regulations. The students will prepare a memorandum outlining the information in plain and accessible language.
Youth ID Clinic
Organization: Windsor Youth Centre
Area of Law: Identification law, poverty law, family law
Seeking: 6-8 students (open to 1Ls)
Project Type: Client services (in-person)
Description: This project aims to address barriers to obtaining identification documents by helping homeless and at-risk youth gain indispensable photo identification so they can access resources. The student volunteers will provide a summary of PBSC’s mission, values, and vision, as well as an overview of how the Youth ID Clinic operates to WYC clients. The lawyer supervisors will confirm the eligibility requirements with clients, and student volunteers will aid clients in completing forms for photo identification or birth certificate applications.
Wills Clinic
Organization: Windsor-Essex Bilingual Legal Clinic
Area of Law: Wills and estate planning, property law
Seeking: 6 students (not open to 1Ls)
Additional Eligibility Requirements: Students must have completed or be enrolled in Wills and Estates classes. Although not required, it would be an asset for students to be bilingual in French and English.
Project Type: Client services (in-person)
Description: Student volunteers will work in teams alongside Lawyer Supervisors and the Bilingual Legal Clinic to draft Wills and/or Powers of Attorney for eligible low-income clients. The project is designed to improve access to justice by providing free estate planning services to individuals who would otherwise face financial barriers to obtaining legal assistance.
The Legal Kid Foundation’s Canadian Legal Literacy Collaborative
Organization: The Legal Kid Foundation
Area of Law: Constitutional Law, human rights law, criminal/youth justice law, education law, immigration law, environmental law, Indigenous legal traditions (where appropriate), bullying prevention.
Seeking: 2-4 students (open to 1Ls)
Project Type: PLE (hybrid)
Description: In collaboration with Queen’s Law PBSC. This project supports The Legal Kid Foundation’s Canadian Legal Literacy Collaborative, a multi-law-school initiative that expands youth legal education across Canada. Student volunteers will partner with TLKF to adapt its U.S.-based Student Ambassador Program curriculum to Canadian legal and civic frameworks while preserving the curriculum’s engaging, experiential learning approach.
Chatham Public Legal Education
Organization: John Howard Society of Windsor-Essex County
Area of Law: Criminal law
Seeking: 2-3 students (+1 team lead) (open to 1Ls)
Project Type: PLE (remote)
Description: Part of the Chatham Satellite Office, Bail Supervision and Verification Program. This project aims to improve access to justice for clients. The project will support provincial outreach by having law-student volunteers produce public legal education materials for justice-involved individuals in Chatham who may face geographic, financial, technological, or other barriers to obtaining legal information and navigating court processes.
Justice System Navigation & Legal Education
Organization: John Howard Society of Windsor-Essex County
Area of Law: Criminal law
Seeking: 2-4 students (not open to 1Ls)
Additional Eligibility Requirements: Past CLA experiences
Description: Part of the Bail Supervision and Verification Program. This project aims to improve access to justice for clients of the John Howard Society of Windsor-Essex County by creating a direct referral pathway to Community Legal Aid and developing accessible public legal education materials for people who have recently been released or are receiving services through JHS. PBSC students will meet with each client, complete a standardized intake, obtain any required consent, and securely forward the intake to a CLA student caseworker.
Pathways to Appeal for Veterans
Organization: Veterans’ Legal Assistance Foundation
Area of Law: Veterans law, administrative law
Seeking: 2-4 students (open to 1Ls)
Project Type: PLE (remote)
Description: In collaboration with Queen’s Law PBSC and the Veterans’ Legal Assistance Foundation, this project will produce plain-language legal resources to help veterans better understand the disability benefits review and appeal process and the legal resources available to them. This will help veterans better navigate the Veterans Affairs Canada disability benefits system.
Justice and Mental Health System Navigation for Staff
Organization: New Beginnings Essex County
Area of law: Youth Criminal Justice Act; Criminal Law; Mental Health Law; Mental Health Act (Ontario); Health Care Consent Act; Personal Health Information Protection Act; Child and Family Law; Administrative Law; Human Rights Law; Privacy Law
Seeking: 2-4 students (+1 team lead) (open to 1Ls)
Project Type: PLE/Research (hybrid)
Description: Students will work under the supervision of a Lawyer Supervisor and in partnership with New Beginnings staff to create practical internal training resources that strengthen staff capacity to navigate the youth justice and youth mental health systems.
Pozitive Pathways Public Legal Education Series
Organization: Pozitive Pathways
Area of law: Health law and public health law, human rights law, privacy and confidentiality law, criminal law, poverty and social assistance law, housing law, immigration and refugee law, administrative law, law reform
Seeking: 1-2 students (open to 1Ls)
Project Type: PLE (hydrid)
Description: This project will develop and deliver public legal education panel discussions for Pozitive Pathways’ harm-reduction service users and clients living with or affected by HIV. The sessions will provide accessible information about legal and policy issues affecting these communities and create opportunities for participants to hear from lawyers, legal workers, advocates, community experts, and people with lived experience.
Harmony in Action: Guardianship
Organization: Harmony in Action
Area of law: Estate litigation, property law, disability law, family law
Seeking: 4 students (not open to 1Ls)
Project Type: PLE/Client services (hybrid)
Description: Many families participating in Harmony in Action’s programs are caring for adult children with developmental disabilities and require assistance preparing for future substitute decision-making. Many parents are aging and have delayed beginning the guardianship process because of the complexity and cost of retaining legal counsel. Community consultations identified that one of the greatest barriers is completing the extensive guardianship planning documentation required before meeting with a lawyer. This project will provide navigation assistance to clients.
Maryvale Legal Research Initiative
Organization: Maryvale Children’s Mental Health Treatment Centre
Area of law: Children’s mental health law, health law, administrative law; consent/capacity law, human rights/accessibility law, and privacy/confidentiality law
Seeking: 2-4 students (not open to 1Ls)
Project Type: PLE/Research (hybrid)
Description: Student volunteers will research recent and upcoming legislative and regulatory developments affecting the delivery of children’s mental health services in Ontario and explain what those mean for children, youth, and their families or caregivers when accessing services. This aims to improve public understanding of the legal framework surrounding children’s mental health services and to help people facing mental health and disability-related barriers locate reliable legal information and referral pathways.
Animal Law Education & Municipal Policy Project
Organization: Windsor Essex Humane Society
Area of law: Animal law, municipal law, administrative law, residential tenancies law, property law
Seeking: 4-6 students (open to 1Ls)
Project Type: PLE/Research (hybrid)
Description: This project is a collaborative initiative between PBSC and the Windsor-Essex Humane Society that combines PLE and legal research to improve public understanding of animal law while supporting the Humane Society’s policy and advocacy initiatives.
YMCA Social Benefits Project
Organization: YMCA of Southwestern Ontario
Area of law: Administrative law, social assistance (poverty) law, immigration & refugee law, human rights law, public interest/access to justice
Seeking: 4-6 students (open to 1Ls)
Project Type: PLE/Research (hybrid)
Description: The Newcomer Social Benefits Navigation & Advocacy Project aims to improve access to justice for newcomers by increasing understanding of Ontario’s social benefits system and reducing barriers to accessing government financial assistance programs. Under the supervision of a Lawyer Supervisor, PBSC student volunteers will conduct legal research, develop plain-language public legal education resources, and prepare policy-oriented research to support YMCA settlement staff and newcomer clients.