Your Community Legal Clinic.

Student Legal Services is a pro-bono legal clinic run by law students at the University of Alberta. Our Dayleaders and volunteers have been providing free legal assistance to low-income individuals for over 50 years.

It all started when…

A group of 14 law students at the University of Alberta were inspired by the student assistance clinics emerging in Canada and the United States, and decided to start their own. Student Legal Services officially opened on May 1, 1969 and so began the Summer of ’69. In the first four months, SLS handled over 100 cases ranging from criminal matters to welfare and tenancy disputes.  

Since the Summer of ’69, SLS has grown, developed, and made history in both the City of Edmonton and Canada. Since purchasing a school bus for its permanent office and painting it in psychedelic colours, our organization now calls East Campus House home.

SLS TODAY

SLS now has four projects and two office locations: on campus (East Campus House) and downtown (Corona Office). It is governed by a Board of Directors, which is made up of practicing lawyers and students-at-law. Day-to-day activities are supervised by a student Management Committee, elected annually by SLS volunteers.

Each year, over 250 students from the University of Alberta's Faculty of Law volunteer with SLS to provide legal information and assist with legal matters in Provincial Court. During the summer, SLS employs 28 law students who work as student caseworkers on various civil, family, and criminal matters.