Part E
In order to receive services from Pro Bono Ontario (PBO), you must review and agree to the terms below. In this section, “PBO” means any Pro Bono Law Ontario employees, directors, officers, designates or volunteers
I swear/affirm that the information on this application form is accurate to the best of my knowledge and belief. I understand and acknowledge that I may need to clarify or expand on any of the information provided in this application in order to receive or continue receiving services from PBO.
I understand and acknowledge that there are certain rigid time restrictions that must be met when commencing and pursuing legal proceedings. Therefore, if I intend to pursue legal proceedings, it is essential that I not delay in moving the case forward with any steps I may need to take, and that I may need to take these steps on my own. I accept that I maintain full responsibility for the pursuit of my legal proceedings unless and until I retain someone who agrees to take that responsibility..
I understand and acknowledge that I cannot receive services from PBO in respect of any matter for which I have already hired someone to provide me with legal services.
I understand and acknowledge that the only people who can give me legal advice are people who are licensed to do so, that I am not forming any lawyer-client relationship whatsoever if I don’t receive legal advice, and that I am not forming any ongoing lawyer-client relationship if I do receive legal advice unless otherwise agreed in a retainer agreement.
Beyond providing the services PBO agrees to provide to me, I understand and acknowledge that PBO has no further duty to look after any of my legal interests in the matter(s) for which I receive assistance or any other matters.
I understand and acknowledge that while PBO will not intentionally disclose any of my confidential information without my authorization, my expectation of confidentiality respecting any information I provide to PBO cannot be as high as it would be if I retained a single legal service provider to assist me and that if I wish to enjoy a greater expectation of confidentiality I should retain someone privately.
I understand and acknowledge that any information I provide to PBO or that is prepared by PBO in connection with the services I receive, can be:
- Stored at PBO and/or at any other PBO office;
- Typed, scanned, transcribed, photocopied and/or be stored electronically;
- Stored on a third party’s cloud server
- Uploaded and backed up via the internet to a third party server and data service, and will be stored up on such a service if I provide the information through the internet;
- Kept in any manner and reviewed by anyone at PBO for reasons that include but are not limited to:
- Administrative record keeping
- Maintaining a database of people served
- Conducting conflict of interest searches
- Assessing the quality of services provided
- Gathering general statistics about PBO clients
- Evaluating services offered
- Managing the services I receive at PBO
I authorize PBO to access my court files.
I authorize PBO to send my name and the names of all parties I have provided or will provide in the future to any law firm for the purpose of verifying whether any person who may assist me has a conflict of interest.
I understand and acknowledge that if a person concludes that he or she has a conflict of interest in respect of the matter(s) for which I seek assistance, he or she cannot assist me.
I understand and acknowledge that any volunteer who does assist me is free to act for other clients against me on other unrelated matters in the future, without notice to me.
I authorize PBO to obtain from anyone who previously assisted me any information that person has about matters for which I am seeking assistance.
I authorize PBO to provide to anyone who may be in a position to provide me with legal advice any document or other information about my case that I have provided to PBO.
I understand and acknowledge that I may be contacted in the future about the services I receive from PBO for the purpose of answering questions about the value of those services. If contacted, I may refuse to participate.
I HEREBY RELEASE PBO, PBO, all lawyers and other volunteers I meet at or through PBO or PBO and all other parties and participating law firms together with all of their respective officers, employees volunteers and designates from any and all claims whatsoever that could have arisen from my use of the PBO premises and the advice, assistance or services I received at or through PBO or PBO.
Part F
In order to receive advice from a Pro Bono Ontario (PBO) help centre (PBO centre) volunteer, whether the volunteer is providing advice in person or remotely, you must review and agree to the terms below. In this section, “PBO” means any Pro Bono Law Ontario employees, directors, officers, designates or volunteers
I understand and acknowledge that PBO centres are open concept environments such that any information I receive or reveal may be overheard or seen by anyone who is present. As such, I understand and acknowledge that any information I provide to PBO in this environment cannot be protected by lawyer-client privilege and that if I wish to have a fully confidential consultation with a lawyer and enjoy the full benefits of that privilege, I should retain a lawyer privately.
I understand and acknowledge that any volunteer I meet with may not be able to assist me for more than 30 minutes at a time.
I understand and acknowledge that volunteers I meet with can:
- Provide me with general information on the Rules of Civil Procedure
- Guide me on how to complete court forms
- Help me identify legal issues
- Help me identify strengths and weaknesses in my case
- Only give me advice that is based on the information I provide
I understand and acknowledge that volunteers I meet with sometimes can:
- Help me draft court forms or other documents
- Represent me in Small Claims Court or in any other way, subject to their full discretion
I understand and acknowledge that volunteers I meet with cannot:
- Replicate the quantity or quality of assistance I receive from a lawyer I retain privately
- Commission or notarize documents for me
- Assist me with legal problems that are unrelated to services PBO provides
- Serve or accept service of court documents for me.
- Predict or guarantee decisions judges or masters will make
- Take responsibility for the information in any court forms or documents I prepare
I understand and acknowledge that I am not forming any ongoing lawyer-client relationship when I receive services from an PBO help centre volunteer
I acknowledge that I have read and understood all of the above terms of service.
Part G
These terms of service apply to anyone in respect of whom Pro Bono Law Ontario (PBO) has agreed to make efforts to find a lawyer to provide assistance other than through a Pro Bono Ontario (PBO) help centre. In order to receive such assistance, you must review and agree to the terms below. In this section, “PBO” means any Pro Bono Law Ontario employees, directors, officers, designates or volunteers
I understand and acknowledge the following:
- That PBO’s role in the process of facilitating these services is limited to brokering the lawyer/client relationship by conducting intake, referring cases, and tracking files until they close.
- There is no guarantee that PBO will be able to find someone that will assist me;
- If PBO does find someone that expresses an interest in assisting me, the details of the retainer including the scope of services to be provided and any terms of payment of legal fees and/or disbursements, are to be determined by me and that person and that person’s law firm;
- It may take several days or weeks to find someone who expresses an interest in assisting me;
- If nobody is found to assist me, I may not be given a reason; and
- PBO has no involvement in the provision of any legal services that may ultimately be provided to me
I authorize PBO to obtain from anyone who agrees to assist me any retainer agreement I enter into with that person.
