About Chinese and Southeast Asian Legal Clinic (CSALC)

The Chinese and Southeast Asian Legal Clinic (CSALC) is a community legal clinic in Toronto funded by Legal Aid Ontario. It has provided free legal services since 1987 to low income clients from the city's Chinese, Vietnamese, Cambodian and Laotian communities who can't communicate fluently in English. Staff, including lawyers, community legal workers, a paralegal and a law student, advise and represent eligible clients on immigration, tenant's rights and human rights matters, and give advice on Employment Insurance, Canada Pension Plan, Old Age Security, and Ontario Works and ODSP claims.

CSALC also runs public legal education and a long running law reform practice, and it holds ECOSOC Consultative Status with the United Nations. Gary Yee was the clinic's first Clinic Director when it opened in 1987. Avvy Yao-Yao Go became the second Clinic Director in 1992 and spent 29 years in the role, including as co-counsel in the Chinese Head Tax and Exclusion Act Redress Class Action, before a 2021 appointment to the Federal Court of Canada. A volunteer board of directors drawn from the communities CSALC serves oversees the clinic, which remains independent of government.

Practice areas

Landlord & Tenant Employment & Labour Law Immigration Law Administrative & Regulatory Law

Milestones & recognition

  • CSALC started in 1987 as the Chinese and Southeast Asian Legal Clinic, with Gary Yee serving as its first Clinic Director.
  • Avvy Yao-Yao Go joined the clinic in 1992 as its second Clinic Director and spent 29 years in that role before an appointment as a Federal Court of Canada judge in July 2021.
  • As Clinic Director, Avvy Yao-Yao Go served as co-counsel in the Chinese Head Tax and Exclusion Act Redress Class Action, which led to a federal government apology and reparations for surviving head tax payers, and helped the clinic secure ECOSOC Consultative Status with the United Nations.
  • On May 25, 2016, a community legal worker who had been with the clinic for over 28 years received the Law Society of Upper Canada's J. Shirley Denison Award.
  • In March 2026, the Law Society of Ontario conferred an honorary Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, on the Honourable Avvy Yao-Yao Go at a Call to the Bar ceremony.
  • In June 2024, the Management and Strategy Institute presented CSALC with its Organizational Continuous Improvement Award.

In the community

  • In 2016, CSALC organized a ceremony at Toronto City Hall marking the tenth anniversary of the Chinese head tax and Exclusion Act redress, where the mayor proclaimed June 22 as Chinese Head Tax and Exclusion Act Redress Day.
  • On National Aboriginal Day in 2017, CSALC reaffirmed its commitment to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's 94 Calls to Action and works with the Colour of Poverty, Colour of Change Network to bring Indigenous history and context into its advocacy.
  • CSALC publishes public legal education brochures in English, Chinese and Vietnamese on topics including employment, immigration, tenant rights and consumer rights.
  • In 2025, CSALC began offering a free Power of Attorney drafting service for property and personal care documents.

Good to know

A person using a wheelchairWheelchair accessible

Fees & payment

Scales of justice and a gavel above a Legal Aid bannerLegal aid

Lawyers

No individual lawyers listed on the firm site.

The neighbourhood

CSALC's office is at 425 University Avenue, on the west side of the street just south of Dundas Street West, next to the St. Patrick subway station on the Yonge University line. That stretch of University Avenue is Toronto's civic and institutional corridor, running from Queen's Park and the Ontario Legislature down toward Union Station, with Hospital Row, home to the Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto General and Mount Sinai, a short distance to the north.

The office also sits within walking distance of Toronto's Chinatown, centred a few blocks west along Dundas Street West at Spadina Avenue, and of Nathan Phillips Square at City Hall, where CSALC held its own event marking the tenth anniversary of the Chinese head tax redress in 2016. For a clinic serving Chinese, Vietnamese, Cambodian and Laotian clients from across Metro Toronto, a subway stop at the door and easy access to the city's Chinatown make the office simple to reach.

Frequently asked questions

I'm facing an eviction or a dispute with my landlord. Can CSALC help?
CSALC gives free legal advice and can represent eligible clients in landlord and tenant disputes, and it publishes guidance on Ontario tenant law, including how Bill 60 affects tenants.
Does CSALC handle immigration and refugee cases?
Yes. CSALC advises on immigration matters and can represent eligible clients in immigration and refugee matters.
I was denied Ontario Works or ODSP benefits. Can CSALC help me appeal?
CSALC advises on and represents eligible clients in Ontario Works and ODSP appeals, and also advises on Employment Insurance, Canada Pension Plan and Old Age Security claims.
Can CSALC prepare a Power of Attorney for me or a family member?
Yes. CSALC offers a free Power of Attorney drafting service covering both property and personal care documents.
Who is eligible for CSALC's services?
CSALC serves low income clients from Metro Toronto's Chinese, Vietnamese, Cambodian and Laotian communities who can't communicate fluently in English, within the clinic's financial, geographic and practice area guidelines.
What languages can I get help in at CSALC?
CSALC serves clients who speak Chinese, Vietnamese, Khmer or Laotian, and the clinic publishes its public legal education materials in English, Chinese and Vietnamese.

Where to find them

425 University Ave, Suite 300, Toronto, Ontario M5G 1T6 · 416-971-9674

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Listing compiled from the firm’s public website in August 2026. Verify licence status in the Law Society of Ontario directory ↗