Student Legal Assistance (SLA) - About Us
Student Legal Assistance (SLA) is a non-profit registered charitable organization/pro bona legal clinic located at the University of Calgary Faculty of Law, through which law students at the University of Calgary provide year-round free legal assistance and representation in court to students and people who are unable to afford the services of a lawyer. SLA holds an important role in providing access to justice for disadvantaged and marginalized groups, who otherwise would be left unrepresented or remain self-represented, and has been routinely recognized by the Courts and the broader legal community for its excellence and importance to the administration of justice in Alberta. Under the guidance of the Executive Director and a team of advising lawyers, student caseworkers are responsible for client intake and file management; all while pursuing their full-time Juris-Doctorate education.
SLA strives to inspire a new generation of lawyers to be conscientious, responsible, and proactive in their legal careers, and in providing legal services to disadvantaged clients who otherwise cannot afford legal services.
Description
The Executive Director holds the key leadership position at Student Legal Assistance and is expected to lead and manage all aspects of SLA, and oversee SLA's operations, finances, fundraising, programs, staff, students, and volunteers. The Executive Director reports directly to the Board of Directors.
Responsibilities and Duties
- Overall Executive Leadership and Not-For-Profit Management
- Develop and implement workplace policies and best practices, and foster a positive and inclusive work environment.
- Budget for, oversee, and manage SLA staff members (including administrative staff, articling students, summer case workers, volunteer case workers, advising lawyers and volunteer lawyers).
- Foster innovation and predict future trends in legal service delivery in the not-for-profit space.
- Evaluate the success of the SLA clinic's program and services and recommend and/or initiates change to systems and processes where appropriate.
- Financial Management
- Budgeting and financial oversight over all operational aspects of SLA's financial health and operations.
- Preparation of and report to SLA funders (including, but not limited to, the Alberta Law Foundation, UCalgary Students' Union, AGLC, and Canada Summer Jobs).
- Initiate, develop, and manage SLA's various fundraising initiatives.
- Relationship Building and Management
- Liaison with the University of Calgary Faculty of Law, the broader legal community, and other strategic/community partners and Access to Justice stakeholders.
- Ensures the overall image of SLA is enhanced and maintained and is effectively communicated to internal and external stakeholders.
- Risk Management
- Implement best practices and processes for law firm/legal clinic management and operations.
- Oversight of SLA's advising lawyers, student caseworkers, and client/practice management processes.
- Ensure strict adherence to the Law Society of Alberta's Code of Conduct, ethics and professionalism, in all aspects of SLA's operations.
- Experiential Learning Opportunities
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Participate in the development and implementation of experiential learning opportunities at the University of Calgary Faculty of Law.
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Liaise with the SLA Clinical Class instructor to develop consistency in training upper year caseworkers.
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Act as the Principal to SLA Articling Student(s); coaches, mentors, and monitors performance of law student caseworkers.
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Oversight of curriculum and resources for training of law student caseworkers (volunteer program and summer student program).
- Governance and Board Relations
- Work collaboratively with the Board of Directors to implement the SLA's strategic plan. The Executive Director is responsible for effective implementation of the Board's strategic priorities.
- In consultation with the SLA executive and management team, set SLA Board of Directors agendas, attend Board meeting and provide written reports to the Board.
Qualifications/Expertise Required
Candidates must:
- have a JD or LLB. An advanced degree in Law or cognate discipline at the time of appointment is preferred, but not required.
- have a minimum 8 years of call to the Bar in Canada.
- be members of, or eligible for membership in the Law Society of Alberta.
- possess current private or public practice experience in civil, criminal, family litigation.
- have experience in law firm practice, client management and law firm administration.
- have experience supervising students in clinical/experiential learning environments (is desirable).
- have experience in training and supervising staff, summer students and law student volunteers (is an asset).
- have employment or volunteer experience in not-for-profit governance.
Core Competencies and Strategic Priorities
- Competency 1 - Excellence in Legal Service Delivery
Fostering an environment where SLA is recognized for excellence in the delivery of probono legal services and promoting access to justice for low income and disadvantaged clients in Calgary and surrounding area.
- Competency 2 - Law Student Experiential Learning
The SLA clinic provides experiential learning opportunities for law students in partnership with UCalgary Faculty of Law which provides an opportunity for law student caseworkers to learn and to develop their legal skills and knowledge in a clinical practice environment. SLA fosters an environment of care for SLA clients, staff, caseworkers, advising lawyers, summer students and volunteer lawyers.
- Competency 3 - Financial Stewardship
SLA will be prudent stewards of the funding that it receives and will proactively seek out sustainable sources of funding to achieve its mandate.
- Competency 4 - Organizational Excellence and Integrity
As an organization, SLA creates a responsive and innovative organization culture that uses best practices in governance and management of the delivery of pro bona legal services by UCalgary law students. All those at SLA support the core values of UCalgary: to be trustworthy, respectful, and honest and to exhibit a high standard of integrity in all interactions. SLA has shared values that include integrity, respect, collaboration, transparency and promoting access to justice.
Qualified Candidates:
Please submit your resume and covering letter in confidence to: sla@ucalgary.ca.
Only suitable candidates will be contacted. We thank you for considering this opportunity.
Anticipated Start Date: June 1, 2024