Legal Aid Manitoba (LAM)

Alumni

The Honourable Madam Justice L.A. Duval
The Honourable Mr. Justice M. Kaufman
The Honourable Mr. Justice J.M. Scurfield
The Honourable Mr. Justice B. Midwinter
The Honourable Judge S.V. Devine
The Honourable Judge J.A. Elliott
The Honourable Judge B.D. Giesbrecht
The Honourable Judge R.J. Meyers
The Honourable Judge H.R. Pullan
The Honourable Judge R. Thompson
The Honourable Judge F. Sandhu
The Honourable Judge T. Preston
The Honourable Judge J. Combs
The Honourable Judge M. Thompson
The Honourable Judge C. Roller
The Honourable Judge P. Umpherville
The Honourable Judge H.L. Allen
The Honourable Judge R. Heinrichs
The Honourable Judge M. McDonald
The Honourable Judge T. McDonald
The Honourable Madam Justice A. Horst
The Honourable Judge S. Raposo
Allan Fineblit, K.C., COO, Thompson Dorfman Sweatman LLP
Neil Cutler, Senior Crown Prosecutor, Manitoba Justice


The atmosphere was electric.

When I was first hired, Legal Aid Manitoba was still a very young organization – just four years old. The atmosphere was electric. The need seemed endless and the staff were on a mission to make the world a better and fairer place. For a young lawyer, there was no better place to be.
—Allan Fineblit, K.C., COO, Thompson Dorfman Sweatman LLP

I returned as Staff Attorney for 10 years.
My involvement with Legal Aid Manitoba began as an articling student and later I returned as Staff Attorney for 10 years. My responsibilities as Duty Counsel for court sittings in isolated communities led to unusual experiences, such as interviewing young people and writing notes outdoors, on the hood of a car, flying in a float plane, helicopter, a small four-seater bush plane, being stranded for over two days during a snowstorm, living at a nursing station, seeing polar bears in Churchill and more.
—The Honourable Madame Justice Léa Duval, Court of King’s Bench

I was able to help a single mother avoid eviction.
Articling at the Public Interest Law Centre, I have had many opportunities that I couldn’t have had anywhere else. Because the office is not about maximizing your billings, you get to take on cases not because they pay the bills but because the client really needs your help. For example, I was able to help a single mother of four on social assistance to avoid eviction from her apartment in the middle of winter.

The work at the Public Interest Law Centre is probably unique in Canada. You get to work on really interesting legal issues involving human rights, aboriginal, environmental and consumer law, to name a few. And the work environment is excellent. Staff members are really friendly and talented.
—Daniel Rempel, former Articling Student

One year of articling may be equivalent to five years of experience.
I strongly recommend that you look into articling with Legal Aid Manitoba. I know the choice has served me well. Before beginning my year, I had heard it said, and I can now support, that one year of articling with legal aid may be equivalent to five years of experience elsewhere. It has been a good year.
—Judy Eagle, former Articling Student

I was carrying a full case load.
I worked at Legal Aid Manitoba’s University Centre in the summer of 2005 and found it an invaluable way to get lots of exposure – I was carrying a full caseload, doing advocacy work and I was in the courtroom and negotiating settlements. Legal Aid Manitoba offers a full, practical experience in articling – dealing directly with clients, working in the courtroom, learning the foundational skills to be a good lawyer
—Peter Tonge, former Articling Student

I was able to junior on a manslaughter trial.
A student will learn more here than any other criminal firm because you get your own clients and can see the case through from the custody call, arrest, and bail to guilty plea or trial. It was a surprise to be thrown right into the work – as a result, I’m really able to think on my feet.

I handled about 25 files in my name but I also helped many more clients through Duty Counsel services in a number of different courtrooms. I was able to do bail court, both youth and adult. I’ve done some prison law, parole and detention hearings, and I was able to junior on a manslaughter trial. I am much more marketable as a result of articling here.
—Sandra Reizebos Bracken, former Articling Student