If you ...

• have a Federal Court case with legal merit
• cannot afford a lawyer

... then we may be able to find a volunteer lawyer

to assist or represent you on a pro bono (FREE) basis.

Click Here to download our application form

Information About the Project:

The Federal Court Assistance Project (FCAP) is administered by Pro Bono Law Ontario (PBLO) in partnership with The Advocates' Society. The FCAP's mandate is to help find pro bono (free) lawyers for low-income, unrepresented litigants with matters in the Federal Court. The FCAP currently operates as pilot project limited to matters in the Federal Court in Toronto.

PBLO's role is limited to brokering the lawyer/client relationship by conducting intake, screening applications, referring cases, and tracking files until they close. PBLO is not mandated to obtain or retain the details of the substantive matters of any case or the advice given by a pro bono lawyer.

PBLO administers the FCAP through the Law Help Ontario centre located at 393 University Avenue in Toronto. Once PBLO receives a completed application for assistance, it will evaluate the applicant's financial eligibility. If the financial eligibility guidelines are met, PBLO's Litigation Projects Coordinator will contact the applicant for further information about the matter, if necessary. At this stage, PBLO will determine whether a roster lawyer is available to assist. If an applicant meets PBLO's eligibility requirements and if PBLO locates a roster lawyer who is available to assist, PBLO will contact the lawyer to give the lawyer an opportunity to review and possibly accept the case on a pro bono basis.

The lawyers on the pro bono roster for the FCAP participate on a voluntary basis. As such, they have a right to refuse the case for any reason, including but not limited to the existence of a conflict of interest, insufficient resources to carry the file, or a view that there is insufficient merit to the case. Furthermore, if an applicant's file is closed before PBLO identifies a lawyer who will accept the case, PBLO and the roster lawyer may or may not give reasons as to why the case was not accepted by the FCAP.

PBLO does not guarantee pro bono representation or assistance for any applicant. Moreover, it may take up to 3 weeks before we know if a pro bono lawyer has accepted a case.

Please Note: Like all courts, the Federal Court imposes time restrictions respecting when the steps in a matter must be completed. If these time restrictions are not met your rights might be forever lost. Therefore, if you intend to pursue your case, it is imperative that you not delay in moving the case forward on your own, even if a decision in respect of your application to the FCAP is pending.

Lawyers who accept a case will not charge fees for their services. However, all disbursements (including court filing fees and fees for transcripts) are your responsibility unless otherwise agreed with the pro bono lawyer, and all cost awards against you are your responsibility without exception.

Please understand PBLO will not investigate an applicant's matter in detail and will not express any opinion as to its merits or likelihood of success. PBLO's role is to provide information to potential pro bono lawyers so as to enable them to decide if they wish to take on applicants' cases, and to make efforts to find a lawyer to take on the cases. If a lawyer accepts an applicant's case on a pro bono basis, the applicant will be notified in writing.

If an applicant can afford a lawyer, PBLO recommends that a lawyer be retained. For assistance in finding a lawyer and to obtain a free 30 minute consultation, litigants may contact the Lawyer Referral Service at 1-900-565-4577. This service is offered by the Law Society of Upper Canada.