Dalhousie Legal Aid Service is a community-based office in the north-central neighbourhood of Halifax, Nova Scotia. It also is a clinical program for law students and is operated by Dalhousie Law School.  Our funding is provided by Dalhousie Law School, the Nova Scotia Legal Aid Commission, the Law Foundation of Nova Scotia and clinic alumni, friends of Dalhousie Legal Aid Service and special events.

Dalhousie Legal Aid has a three-part mandate:

1. to provide legal aid services for persons who would not otherwise be able to obtain legal advice for assistance;
2. to conduct research, provide information, make recommendations, and engage in programs relating to legal aid and law reform in the Province of Nova Scotia;
3. to provide an educational experience in the solution of legal problems for students enrolled in the Faculty of Law of Dalhousie University who participate in the work of the service.  

Constitution and Board of Trustees

Dalhousie Legal Aid was constituted as a Trust between the Nova Scotia Barristers' Society and Dalhousie Law School in 1970. A set of  ByLaws was added in 1977 by Faculty Council which established a Board of Trustees composed of nine community members and nine legal members. The community members are elected/appointed each year at the annual meeting. The legal members are appointed as follows: the executive director, faculty lawyer and one more faculty person — by Faculty Council; two practising lawyers — by Faculty Council; the Director or Designate of Nova Scotia Legal Aid; two law students elected by clinic students; one law student appointed by the Law Student Society.  If you are interested in becoming a Board Member, please see our Application Form.

Dalhousie Legal Aid has a professional staff of an executive director who is a member of Dalhousie Law School faculty;  five staff lawyers and two community legal workers. An office manager and thee legal assistants make up the support staff. All staff are employees of Dalhousie University. Each term — summer, fall and spring — 12-16 third-year law students take "the clinic" as a 13-credit course towards their law degree. They each represent about 10 clients under the supervision of the professional staff and they also participate in assigned community work.