Description of Services Important Information—Please Read this First Thank you for asking us to assist you. Please read the following information so that you will understand how the Environmental Law Centre’s Clinic operates and the terms under which we can help you.

A. The Service The Environmental Law Centre (ELC) is a non-profit society that operates the ELC Clinic at the University of Victoria, Faculty of Law. Services of the Clinic are provided by law students who are enrolled in the Environmental Law Centre Clinic program. Operating under the supervision of a senior environmental lawyer, ELC Clinic students provide pro bono legal representation and legal assistance to community/conservation groups and First Nations; produce citizen handbooks and other public legal education materials; and advocate on a wide range of environmental law reform issues. The ELC has a Board of Directors comprised of law students, lawyers, law professors, and members of the community. The Board supervises and directs the Society's activities and is led by an elected student executive. The Board must approve all Clinic projects.

B. Eligibility The ELC typically reviews project proposals three times a year: September, January and May. Potential Clinic projects should aim to correspond with the following criteria. • • • • •

Proposed projects should represent a public interest environmental law matter in agreement with the goals of the ELC’s vision and objectives (http://www.elc.uvic.ca/about/index.htm) There should be a significant educational component to the project, which may be in the area of advocacy, legal research and writing. The project should be financially feasible and should not expose the ELC to financial or other risks. Preference is given to projects with the potential to make significant contribution to environmental protection or to the development of environmental law. The project must provide a service to a client who would otherwise be unable to obtain the service (e.g. unable to pay for their own lawyer) and should not be undertaken merely as a support service for a lawyer or professional who is being remunerated at fair market rates for the services they are providing.

C. The Process Project proposals that do not pose a conflict of interest are reviewed by ELC Staff. Projects that meet the ELC project selection criteria are presented to students as potential files at the beginning of each term. If your project is approved and selected, you will be contacted by a Clinic student who will schedule a time with you to conduct an intake interview. The Clinic student will then prepare an Intake Memo for presentation to the ELC Board. At the Board meeting, which is the third Tuesday of each term, the student makes the presentation and the Board decides whether to formally accept the project. Once the project is approved, the Clinic student may contact you for more information in order to prepare the Retainer Letter, a contract that will clarify the project work the Clinic student will conduct on behalf of you or your organization. Please ensure you sign and return these documents as soon as possible. The Clinic student will work on your project throughout the semester, under supervision, and will keep you updated as matters progress. At or near the end of the semester, you will receive the final file materials and a closing letter from the student. If your matter is ongoing, you will be contacted at the beginning of the next semester by a new student (unless it is an Intensive project that will carry over to the next term with the same student). Murray and Anne Fraser Building • University of Victoria PO Box 2400 STN CSC, Victoria, BC V8W 3H7 Phone: 250.721.8188 • Fax: 250.472.4528 • Email: [email protected] • Web: www.elc.uvic.ca

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D. Withdrawal of Services The Environmental Law Clinic may withdraw its services at any time if the ELC and/or the client lose confidence in their relationship. Examples of circumstances in which the essential level of confidence may be lost are: • • • • • • • •

The client misleads the ELC about the factual situation of the complaint; The client fails to make full and frank disclosure of all facts and all documents relevant to the complaint; The client fails to keep the ELC informed of current resident addresses and telephone numbers; The client fails to respond to requests for information from the ELC in a timely fashion; The client instructs the ELC to conduct the case in a manner that, in the opinion of the ELC, is unreasonable; The client fails to cooperate with the ELC with regard to any reasonable request; The client fails to meet any eligibility criteria as determined by the ELC; or The ELC must withdraw its services for professional ethical reasons.

The Environmental Law Clinic will give written notice of withdrawal and will otherwise comply with the provisions regarding withdrawal found in the Professional Conduct Handbook of the Law Society of British Columbia.

E. What We Need to Know About You In order to evaluate your project proposal; we must first receive the information below, which we are required by the Law Society of British Columbia to obtain and record. a) For Businesses • Full name, business address and business telephone number. b) For Individuals: • Home address, home telephone number and occupation or occupations. c) For Organizations: • Incorporation or business identification number (BIN) and place of issue of incorporation or BIN. • Name, position and contact information for those individuals authorized to give instructions with respect to the matter for which the lawyer is retained; and • Organizations other than financial institutions, public authorities or companies that are not private companies must provide the general nature of the type of business or businesses or activity or activities. d) For Third Parties (e.g. EDRF lawyers representing a client): • If the client is acting for or representing a third party beneficiary or a principal, information about the beneficiary or principal as set out in paragraphs (a) to (d)

F. How to Apply To apply to the ELC, please email us responses to the following questions: o What is the legal issue you would like addressed? o What are the facts or story surrounding the legal issue? o Who are the parties involved? Please list all organizations and individuals that have a role in this issue; o What would you like the ELC to produce or do for you? o How long will this project take?

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If you would like us to help you… Please sign the acknowledgment below, and fax/mail/drop off this form and the information listed in section “E” above to the ELC, and forward your project proposal to [email protected] or [email protected]. NOTE: We are unable to consider projects for the ELC Clinic until we have received the signed Acknowledgment form below, along with the information listed in section “E” above.

For more information about the ELC, please see our website at: http://www.elc.uvic.ca

Acknowledgment: Disclosure of Information to the Environmental Law Centre The client acknowledges that it is providing information that will be considered by the Board of the Environmental Law Centre Society, so that the Board can determine whether the Centre can provide legal services to the client. The Environmental Law Centre Society will treat all such information as confidential unless the client consents to it being treated otherwise. This completed form must be received before the Board can discuss the matter. If the client is a lawyer or law firm, they confirm they will not be paid at all for the work that the ELC does for them and they are either EDRF funded or acting pro bono or for a reduced fee.

MATTER:

___________________________________ Name of client organization (please print)

______________________________ Signature

___________________________________ Address

______________________________ Print Name

___________________________________ City, Postal Code ___________________________________ Phone Number ___________________________________ Email Address

Please return this Acknowledgment by email, fax or mail to: Environmental Law Centre Murray and Anne Fraser Building University of Victoria PO Box 2400 STN CSC, Victoria, BC V8W 3H7 Fax: 250.472.4528 Email: [email protected]

______________________________ Date