Advocates for Injured Workers (AIW) is a unique student clinic dedicated to providing high quality legal services to injured workers. We represent clients in their claims and appeals with the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board and the Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal. AIW is a satellite clinic of the Industrial Accident Victims Group of Ontario, an expert clinic with a long tradition of advocacy for injured workers which specializes in workers’ compensation matters, including casework, community development, law reform and test case litigation. Clients come from many neighborhoods in and around Toronto and from a wide variety of occupational and ethnic backgrounds. To obtain credit, clinic students attend weekly shifts, attend scheduled lectures, and carry a minimum of 5 active files to the satisfaction of the review counsel and the Faculty Advisors. It is expected that students enrolled in the clinic forc credit will have volunteered at AIW in the previous school year.
Upper year students can allocate three clinical work credits in each year towards their academic program (one or two per term). Clinic work extends over both terms and to receive credit, students must enrol for the entire academic year. Accordingly, no credit will appear on the academic transcript or interim Statement of Grades until the program has been successfully completed. Since course selection is settled in each term prior to actually satisfying the requirements of the clinic program, students who plan to earn academic credits through clinical work must either fulfill the requirements of the program or otherwise meet the credit requirements of the J.D. program.
To register for this course: you must email a one-page statement of interest to Joel Schwartz at schwartj@lao.on.ca prior to the July deadline for course selection. Indicate why you wish to register for this clinic, what relevant background or skills you have for the clinic and how you see the Advocates for Injured Workers clinic within your overall University of Toronto Faculty of Law experience. If necessary, students will be interviewed for the available positions. Students may select a clinic for credit but will be waitlisted until participation has been approved by the clinic and forwarded to the law school’s Assistant Registrar, Celia Genua. Please note that exchange students are not eligible to participate in clinics.
Note: You may select the clinic on the on-line course system but will be waitlisted until the clinic has provided approval of your participation to the Assistant Registrar Records, Celia Genua at celia.genua.utoronto.ca.
