(This story is the fourth in a five-part series celebrating the fifth anniversary of the Queen’s Law Clinics in downtown Kingston.)
“My Queen’s Prison Law Clinic experience exposed me to the wide variety of daily struggles of people living in custody,” says Michelle Soucy, Law’19. “After working ‘on the ground’ for incarcerated clients, I was motivated to pursue larger-scale advocacy and policy reform. It also affirmed for me the importance of public interest law and supporting the work that needs to be done to build a more humane and effective criminal justice system.”
Now articling with the John Howard Society of Canada, Soucy is off to a good start to meet her career goals. It all began in law school, where she worked in a clinical program that is a first in Canada. At the Queen’s Prison Law Clinic (QPLC), students work under the supervision of lawyers to provide legal advice, assistance and representation in matters relating to prison and parole in Kingston-area penitentiaries and Warkworth Institution.
With the QPLC, Soucy has been one of 18 student caseworkers earning academic credit, one of four paid summer caseworkers, and in 2018-19, one of the first cohort of four students receiving degree credits under Advanced Prison Law, managing complex files and being involved in the clinic’s test-case litigation practice.
Soucy, along with all other QPLC students over the past five years, has also enjoyed all the benefits of working alongside students and lawyers in the other four Queen’s Law Clinics. Prior to the co-location of all five Queen’s Law Clinics to the top floor of the LaSalle Mews building in downtown Kingston in January 2015, the QPLC operated in its own small satellite space.
At the time, current QPLC Director Kathy Ferreira, Law’01, was one of two staff lawyers working with then-Director Elizabeth Thomas. Recalling the new office as “fresh, modern and inviting,” Ferreira appreciated how their QPLC offices remained close together but gave them the opportunity to engage with the other Queen’s Law Clinics.
“The proximity encouraged dialogue with colleagues, between students across clinics, and it also fostered legal assistance for QPLC clients in other need areas like wills thanks to the Elder Law Clinic, support advice thanks to the Family Law Clinic and small claims court matters thanks to Queen’s Legal Aid,” says Ferreira. “The QPLC is a not-for-profit corporation, so the Business Law Clinic has been incredibly helpful in assisting us with Board of Directors matters.”
What other major changes has the QPLC seen over the past five years?
“We have been actively engaged in litigation since 2016 to safeguard the rights of our clients, with one of our three lawyers, Paul Quick (Law’09), dedicated to this important work,” says Ferreira. “This piece is an essential complement to our tribunal advocacy.”
Two much-needed staff positions have been added: an articling student, starting in 2016 with Nancy Brar, Law’16, who is now a staff lawyer; and part-time Indigenous Justice Co-ordinator Rick Sauve, hired in 2019 to work with the clinic’s over-represented Indigenous clients and many others.
“The QPLC is busier than ever,” says Ferreira, “but our staff members work really well together, and we manage to successfully handle the demand.”
Megan Dawson, Law’21, is one of this year’s caseworkers. “In just a few months, I’ve learned how to effectively interview clients, conduct legal research, draft submissions, craft persuasive arguments, and facilitate trials in Disciplinary Court,” she says. “In addition, by hearing the perspectives of guest speakers, our staff lawyers and our clients, I’ve learned about the many challenges inmates face within the prison system, as well as ways we can work to resolve these issues.”
The highlight of Dawson’s QPLC experience so far has been assisting a client at his parole hearing. “I was able to witness firsthand our client’s progression throughout our preparation and finally see his hard work pay off when he was granted parole,” she says. “Not only was I able to gain experience advocating before the Parole Board of Canada, I also came to understand just how vital organizations such as the QPLC are in assisting inmates successfully regain their liberty and re-enter society.”
Everything QPLC students learn – from managing the solicitor/client relationship to representing clients at hearings while juggling competing commitments – will help graduates become successful lawyers, Dawson says. It can instill a strong sense of professional responsibility, as well. “My experience working with a vulnerable population has shaped how I will practise law in the future; no matter what area of law I work in, I will always strive to promote access to justice.”
Former caseworker Anastasia Toma, Law’17, now an associate with Nathens, Siegel LLP in Mississauga, Ontario, considers the QPLC her most enriching Queen’s Law experience. “The QPLC prepared me for my legal career by exposing me to real clients with pressing legal issues,” she says. “I learned how to interview clients, spot issues and ask the right questions to get the information needed to assist them. All clients come with complex narratives and learning how to extract that narrative is a key legal skill that I learned.”
Toma’s QPLC highlight was helping clients obtain parole and release, allowing them a fresh start at life. “One of my first clients was the same age as me at the time,” she recalls. “Being able to assist him was very gratifying.”
Soucy felt the same way about serving clients. “As a caseworker, you get invested in doing the best you can possibly do – not for a grade or for a professor’s recognition – but because your work matters to the life of someone who is depending on you to do a good job,” she says. “Working with the QPLC made me reflect on the privileges associated with going to law school and getting the skills that have put me in a position where I can help someone. It’s a rewarding and humbling experience.”
Read the stories on the Family Law Clinic, the Elder Law Clinic and the Business Law Clinic.
Check out the Queen’s Law website next week for a story on Queen’s Legal Aid.
The Queen’s Law Clinics gratefully acknowledge the support of Legal Aid Ontario, the Law Foundation of Ontario, Pro Bono Students Canada, the Class of Law’81, the United Way of KFL&A, and alumni and industry sponsors.
By Lisa Graham