Community & Media

Pro Bono & Community Involvement

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, and comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat”. - Theodore Roosevelt’s Citizenship in a Republic

Daring to live greatly - to commit yourself to your community and a worthy cause - is the founding value of our firm. Lawyers must not only commit themselves to their client’s cause, but they must also commit themselves to the pursuit of justice for their community. As Officers of the Court, we have an ethical and legal obligation to ensure that those with meritorious legal issues are given access to justice. We must strive daily to fulfill this obligation, be it through contingency fee agreements, unbundling of legal services, pro bono work, and policy development. To paraphrase Allan Hutchinson, we must not uphold the law for its own sake; but must commit ourselves to achieve justice through law.

Our lawyers are leaders within the pro bono and legal mentorship community. Not only have they created large-scale pro bono programs to facilitate access to justice, but they also dedicate significant time to helping young lawyers become the best advocates they can be. At Black & Associates, we commit the full resources of the firm to every pro bono matter to ensure that, regardless of a client’s economic means, where there is a right they will always be a remedy.

Pro Bono Employment Law Clinic

For the second summer, Black & Associates is running the Ottawa Pro Bono Employment Law Clinic ("Clinic") in conjunction with the University of Ottawa, Faculty of Law and Avant Law. The Clinic brings together law students and volunteer employment law lawyers to provide free legal services to those facing employment challenges due to COVID-19. Last year, the Clinic provided dozens of families with free legal advice due to the dedication of our volunteer team. For 2021, the Clinic will start operations again from June 1 to September 1, 2021. If you have a COVID-19 related issue and require pro bono legal service, contact the Clinic directly through its website found HERE.

Media

The lawyers at Black & Associates are active members of our community and are featured in the media: