At its core, pro bono refers to lawyers’ broader duty to give back to communities, helping to bridge the gap in access to justice. There is no shortage of opportunity for lawyers to help people in need in this country, and that’s where the pro bono committee at Norton Rose Fulbright, led by Grace Pastine, KC, steps in. Grace is the firm’s Pro Bono Counsel (the role itself is a first of its kind in the country) and she joins us to share how she is developing the firm’s pro bono program and how she sources and evaluates requests for pro bono assistance.

Ted Brook joins Andrew as a guest co-host for this episode. You may remember hearing Ted on the Prompt payment episode in S2. Ted is a senior associate in Toronto whose practice focuses on class actions, environmental litigation and complex commercial disputes. Ted is also involved in a number of pro bono projects, including a Charter challenge over the constitutionality of our first past the post voting system.

Grace Pastine, KC, recently joined the firm to lead our Pro Bono Practice. Grace was the litigation director of the BC Civil Liberties Association where she was responsible for all matters involving prisoners’ rights, police abuse and medical assistance in dying. She also directed interventions in over 100 cases before the Supreme Court of Canada on human rights and civil liberty issues.

CPD credits: This episode is accredited 0.67 professionalism hours in Ontario and 0.67 substantive hours in British Columbia.