Research

Current Opportunities

The deadline for Level's current research opportunities has passed.

Building Financial Resilience: A Munk PCJ Service Learning Project

About the Project

For the second year in a row, Level will oversee a group of students from the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, Peace Conflict and Justice Studies (Munk PCJ) program as their undertake a service learning placement.

As part of their placement, students will work closely with Level to learn more about the inner workings of Canadian charitable organization, while contributing to research and reporting that will assist Level in its pursuit of future funding opportunities. Students will deliver a final report, and present the findings of their research to Level HQ.

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Indigenous Water Rights: A Level - PBSC Queen's Research Project

About the Project

Level will be working closely with three Pro Bono Students Canada (PBSC) Queen's law students to prepare a short primer on the ongoing issue of lack of access to clean drinking water on reserve in Ontario.

This resource is intended to provide a basic introduction to water advisories, a few of the key stakeholders, the current Canadian legal regime, and the resulting impacts on Indigenous water rights in Ontario. This resource will primarily be targeted to those otherwise unfamiliar with the status of water advisories on reserve, and is a response to the lack of public awareness surrounding the Indigenous water crisis on reserve.

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What are we looking for?

Level looks for motivated, diverse law students (enrolled full-time at a Canadian university) from all backgrounds and walks of life. We welcome applications from students who:

Demonstrate an interest in social justice, human rights, and/or social innovation

Possess a respect for diversity and an ability to perform independently and in team setting

Global citizens with a track record of making an impact in their communities

Relevant educational or work background

Strong communication skills, professionalism and maturity

High level of emotional intelligence, including self-awareness and the ability to empathize

Problem solving skills and ability to work with limited resources and oversight

Respectful, highly adaptable and open to change

Past Projects

Indigenous Youth Justice: A Level Research Project

About the Project

Level will be working with Indigenous youth to create a resource regarding the Canadian criminal justice system. The resource will be culturally anchored, featuring the input, illustrations and artwork of the Indigenous youth participants as well as Indigenous teachings and guidance from Elders and Knowledge Keepers. Designed to be both informative and preventative, the resources will focus on youth in grades seven and eight and will increase their capacity to navigate the legal issues that impact their lives.

We are seeking law students to conduct research to help us to identify common justice issues facing youth, and to draft related summaries of law, including highlighting important jurisprudence and legal processes, as well as outlining the rights, obligations, and options for youth required to navigate these issues.

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Disrupting Barriers to Justice: A Level Research Project

About the Project

Unlike education and health care, inequitable access to justice and its devastating impacts are not well understood by the Canadian public. To combat this, Level is thrilled to announce a new research project aimed at identifying and disrupting barriers to justice in Canada. The project will take an interdisciplinary approach and engage 3-5 law, business, and/or arts students to research and identify key barriers to justice in Canada and opportunities to overcome these barriers.

Under the supervision of Level's Executive Director, and using a design thinking approach, students will frame the scope of the project, establish a workplan and work as a team to research and produce the final report, which will be published by Level in June 2018. Students may also have the opportunity to present their findings to a panel of legal disruptors at the Centre for Social Innovation in Toronto, Ontario in May 2018.

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Global Internships

For over 10 years, Level facilitated internships for Canadian law students at international and Indigenous human rights organizations across the globe. We are proud to have helped over 150+ students gain knowledge and experience from some of the brightest minds in the legal profession, and we are grateful to our amazing partners for their dedication to advancing access to justice initiatives and supporting Level's mission to change lives through law.

That said, things are changing. As we continue to grow, and take things to the 'next Level' (pun intended) we are committed to ensuring that every program we offer is linked to tangible, measurable and sustainable impact. With that in mind, after careful thought and reflection, we decided to suspend our domestic and global internship program in 2017 to focus our expertise and resources on local and remote research and mentorship opportunities that advance human rights and foster empathy and innovation in law.

African and Canadian Women’s Human Rights Project

Partners:
Department of Justice Canada
Fasken Martineau DeMoulin LLP
The Stephen Lewis Foundation

The African and Canadian Women’s Human Rights Project (ACWHRP) was happily housed at Level (as then CLA-ACE) for the first phase of its work on its criminalization of marital rape and customary law project. The ACWHRP involved a collaborative partnership of African women’s human rights NGO’s and academics from Ghana, Kenya and Malawi working with Canadian human rights experts. ACWHRP held a very successful customary law and marital rape workshop in Kenya in February 2010 and produced research papers looking at the relationship between customary law and women’s rights and the legal treatment of marital rape. These papers can be found here.

ACWHRP now operates independently as “equality effect”. For more information about the equality effect and its projects, please visit their website.

Ghana University Legal Clinic Project

Partners:
KNUST Faculty of Law, Kumasi, Ghana
University of Ottawa Faculty of Law

Level (as then CLA-ACE) entered into a partnership with the KNUST Faculty of Law in Kumasi, Ghana and the Faculty of Law at the University of Ottawa to establish a pilot University Legal Clinic at the KNUST Faculty of Law.

Through the University Legal Clinic, marginalized groups in Kumasi received legal assistance and information that they would not otherwise be able to access or afford. Moreover, KNUST law students received critical real-life training and be inspired to use these new-found skills to further serve their own community. In the long-term, by promoting the rule of law and protecting human rights, this project continues to help reduce poverty and promote economic development in Ghana.

Legal Services Board of Nunavut with Borden Ladner Gervais LLP

Partners:
Legal Services Board of Nunavut
Borden Ladner Gervais LLP

Lawyers and law students from BLG worked with the LSB to develop radio scripts in the area of poverty law (e.g., family law, wills and estates) that the LSB then used to achieve their goal of increased public legal education for Nunavummiut. Radio is an ideal and preferred means to disseminate information in the large territory, and it is accessible to all audiences regardless of an individual’s literacy level. The LSB has had great success in providing public legal education material with a weekly radio show, supplemented with local community radio appearances by counsel who appear on a regular rotation.

The LSB is the territorial organization that delivers legal aid in Nunavut. It provides criminal, family, child welfare, as well as civil and poverty legal services to Nunavummiut through three regional clinics. The LSB has also participated in Level’s Summer Internship Program with students working at the Iqaluit and Rankin Inlet clinics. Former Iqaluit mayor Madeleine Redfern helped develop this partnership in her role as Chair of the LSB.

Kosovo Supreme Court Reports

Partners:
Kosovo Law Center
Heenan Blaikie LLP (former)

Level (as then CLA-ACE) was very pleased with the success of its pilot pro bono project with the Kosovo Law Center and the former Canadian law firm Heenan Blaikie LLP to produce the Kosovo Supreme Court Reports. This project was designed to increase the transparency of Kosovo’s legal system, improve the written product of the Supreme Court and lower courts, contribute to safeguarding the independence and impartiality of the judiciary, and allow Kosovars to follow and understand important case law. The project received considerable attention and was the subject of an article in the May 2006 edition of The Lawyers Weekly.