Over 60 University of Alberta law students are using their education to help victims of the flood that devastated Calgary this summer.
The flooding in the southern half of the province knocked out power in over 34,000 locations, and affected upwards of 110,000 people says an infographic on the city’s web page.
Ben Leung, president of Student Legal Assistance (SLA) at the University of Calgary, said he and several other students were inspired to help after noticing the outpouring of support from the rest of the community.
“We all sat down over a period of days after the flooding, and wondered how law students could apply our unique knowledge,” he said.
Leung said they quickly realized the extent of the flooding meant victims would need more than just law students.
He said his group contacted several other pro-bono groups in Calgary, and began a concerted effort to help the flood victims.
Along with several established legal organizations, including Legal Aid Alberta, the students attended four information sessions over two days, to give advice on insurance, employment issues, property damage, and landlord-tenant relationships.
The students have also researched material for Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) pamphlets, and are volunteering at Student Legal Assistance, the student-run legal clinic, for those who are unable to find a lawyer.
But Leung said the real work will be done over the next few years.
“The one message we’ve all been saying is that, the immediate response was tremendous . . . but we’re going to be here six months to a year later, and that’s when the work really needs to be done,” Leung said.
“We’re just in the first stages of assisting, and it will require a large amount of dedication from the students throughout the year.”
But University of Calgary computer science student Govind Parmar said he wouldn’t use the students’ offer for free legal counsel.
“I think seeking legal counsel from anyone other than an actual qualified lawyer is a mistake,” he said.
However Leung said that all matters of legal advice, such as the information provided in the sessions and the FAQs, were vetted by a practicing lawyer before being disseminated to the public.
The Dean of Law at the University of Calgary, Ian Holloway, commended the students in a recent release, where he spoke of his pride in “the initiative these students have taken to help people who have been affected by the floods.”
