Legal advice services

For women throughout Ontario

Who can use the Clinic?

You can use our Legal Clinic if you are a woman who:

• Has experienced violence or any form of abuse in your relationship
• Has a family law legal issue for which you wish to receive summary legal advice (e.g. parenting arrangements, financial arrangements, safety concerns)
• Does not have a lawyer for the legal issue(s) you wish to discuss

Services offered by the Legal Clinic

During your summary legal advice appointment, you can receive:

• Valuable summary legal advice from a lawyer on family law issues, like arrangements for children, child support exclusive possession of the matrimonial home and restraining orders. Summary legal advice means that the lawyer will provide an opinion of steps you should take and/or how the law will apply in your circumstances based on the facts of your situation. The lawyer will suggest steps you can take for your case, such as what you should ask for from the court and what evidence you will need
• General legal information about the law and court procedure, including information on how to serve documents and some of the rules governing family law
• Help with completing legal forms and documents
• Help preparing for court

It is important to understand that the lawyers through our Legal Clinic CANNOT provide legal representation. Legal representation is when the lawyer speaks for you in court and to your ex-partner and/or your ex-partner’s lawyer.

If your legal issue is time-sensitive, we may be able to accommodate a clinic appointment relatively quickly where you have explained the reason for the urgent request when contacting us.

About the lawyers

All of the lawyers at our Legal Clinic are lawyers who practice family law. These lawyers come from across the province and may not be located in the same jurisdiction as you.

Our lawyers are experienced and trained on the issues women deal with when they leave an abusive partner.

How to access our legal advice services

If you live in Durham Region and are already connected to one of our Legal Support Workers, your worker can connect you to our Legal Clinic.

If you have a support worker in your local community, this support worker can facilitate the scheduling of an appointment by contacting admin@lukesplace.ca or 905-728-0978 ext 221.

call us at 905.728.0978 ext. 235 or toll free at 1.866.516.3116 ext. 235, or email us for more information and to schedule an appointment.

Legal Clinic appointments will proceed virtually by web-based video conferencing or telephone for women outside of Durham Region. Women in Durham Region will have the option of attending appointments virtually or in person at our Oshawa office location at 707 Simcoe St. S., Oshawa.

How to prepare for your appointment

A legal support worker will assist you with your clinic appointment. She will:

• support you to prepare for the meeting with the lawyer
• attend the meeting to take notes for you
• help you follow through on the next steps in your case after the meeting

For women outside of Durham Region who do not currently have a support worker, a support worker from our organization can support you in accessing the Legal Clinic and connecting you with services in your local community for ongoing support.

Emergency orders for women in Durham Region

If you live in Durham Region and have received an emergency order from the court, we may be able to help.

A staff lawyer may be able to provide you with limited-scope legal services. This will help you prepare for the return court date of the motion.

The staff lawyer can provide you with:

• legal advice
• support preparing a reply or updating affidavit
• legal representation on your return court date

The lawyer cannot assist you after the return court date motion.

You may be able to access this service if you are a woman who:

• has experienced violence or abuse in your relationship
• has just been granted an emergency/ex parte order from the court
• does not have a lawyer

For more information about this service, please call us at 905.728.0978 ext. 235 or toll-free at 1.866.516.3116 ext. 235, or email intake@lukesplace.ca. Please don't email confidential information.