Public Interest Work

TRU Law offers a wide variety of curricular and extra-curricular public interest work opportunities for students. Depending on the opportunity, students’ work may be pro-bono, for course credit, or paid by scholarships or other funding.

Designing Legal Expert Systems: Apps for Access to Justice

This program provides students with the opportunity to use technology to automate the application of legal knowledge. Students work in teams with non-profit justice organizations to design and build apps on the Neota platform that are then used by the organizations and/or their clients.

Transnational Lawyering: Social Justice, Communities and Resources

Transnational Lawyering: Social Justice, Communities and Resources is an experiential learning seminar course in which students undertake legal research to support civil society organizations concerned with the social justice aspects of resource development in Canada and abroad. Students develop their legal writing, analysis and advocacy skills by working with real facts and collaborating with partner organizations to help draft complaints, amicus curiae, memoranda, and reports.

Pro Bono Students Canada

Thompson Rivers University’s Pro Bono Students Canada (PBSC) chapter launched in September 2017. PBSC is a national pro bono organization that operates in 22 law schools in Canada. Law students enhance their legal skills by providing free legal research and information to local partner organizations in need. More information is available at the Pro Bono Students Canada website.

Justice and Corporate Accountability Project

The Justice and Corporate Accountability Project (JCAP) is a not-for-profit organization whose mandate is to offer pro bono legal support to mining-affected communities in Canada and abroad, in a framework of community self-determination. JCAP offers students the opportunity to engage in community-based experiential learning, legal work and research in support of organizations and communities affected by resource extraction. JCAP is based jointly at TRU LAW and Osgoode Hall Law School.