About Downtown Legal Services

Downtown Legal Services (DLS) is a community legal clinic and clinical education program operated by the Faculty of Law at the University of Toronto. It traces back to the Students' Legal Aid Society, a student run initiative established by U of T law students in 1969. By the summer of 1971 the society was running 16 community clinics with 23 law students, who together handled 710 cases, and students petitioned the law school to bring the clinic into the curriculum for course credit. The faculty hired its first supervising staff lawyer, Richard "Dick" Gathercole, and the program was named Downtown Legal Services in 1982.

Today the clinic is based in the Fasken building on Spadina Avenue and works across divisions covering family law, housing law, employment law, criminal law, disability, health and income security, refugee and immigration law, prison law, and university academic tribunals, with social work support available to clients. Around 140 law students work at DLS each year, including 28 paid summer caseworkers, and the clinic serves more than two thousand people annually. It's funded by Legal Aid Ontario, the Law Foundation of Ontario, the Faculty of Law, U of T students, and alumni donations, and more than 5,000 Faculty of Law alumni have passed through the clinic since it began.

Practice areas

Immigration Law Family Law Criminal Defence Landlord & Tenant Employment & Labour Law Administrative & Regulatory Law Health Law

Milestones & recognition

  • The clinic grew out of the Students' Legal Aid Society, a student run legal aid initiative established by University of Toronto law students in 1969.
  • By the summer of 1971 the society operated 16 community clinics with 23 law students, who handled a combined 710 cases.
  • Richard "Dick" Gathercole, a U of T law graduate, was hired as the program's first supervising staff lawyer after students petitioned to bring the clinic into the law school's curriculum for credit.
  • The program was named Downtown Legal Services in 1982.
  • More than 5,000 Faculty of Law alumni have worked at the clinic since it began.
  • Robert Prichard, a member of the Students' Legal Aid Society's executive in the early 1970s, later served as the law school's sixth dean and as the University of Toronto's 13th president from 1990 to 2000.

In the community

  • DLS runs a satellite clinic at Evangel Hall Mission, where students provide legal help on site.
  • The clinic holds legal advice sessions at the Native Canadian Centre for Toronto and at the Students Commons on the St. George campus.
  • DLS collaborates with the University of Toronto's Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, hosting Master of Social Work students for practicum placements alongside the clinic's casework.

Fees & payment

A clipboard with a speech bubble and a no-charge dollar coinFree consultationScales of justice and a gavel above a Legal Aid bannerLegal aid

Lawyers 7

Asiya Hirji Supervising Lawyer, Refugee and Immigration Immigration Law Jennifer Fehr Supervising Lawyer, Employment Law Employment & Labour Law Philippa Geddie Supervising Lawyer, Disability, Health, and Income Security Administrative & Regulatory LawHealth Law Prasanna Balasundaram Director Immigration Law Richard Teicher Supervising Lawyer, Family Law Family Law Seema Kawar Supervising Lawyer, Housing Law Landlord & Tenant Sukhpreet Sangha Supervising Lawyer, Criminal Law Criminal Defence

This firm’s lawyers at a glance

Called to the bar
2000–2010 · median 17 years in practice 4 of 7 lawyers
Law schools
Osgoode Hall Law School (2), University of Bristol, University of Windsor 4 of 7 lawyers

Who handles what

The neighbourhood

DLS's main office sits in the Fasken building on Spadina Avenue, three blocks south of Spadina subway station, in the same downtown core as the University of Toronto's St. George campus, whose law students staff the clinic.

Because DLS exists to serve low income Torontonians as well as U of T students, it doesn't work out of a single office. Students hold legal advice clinics off site at Evangel Hall Mission, the Native Canadian Centre for Toronto, and the Students Commons on the St. George campus, and keep dedicated drop-in hours for U of T students in Room 246 of the Student Commons at 230 College Street.

Frequently asked questions

What is Downtown Legal Services?
DLS is a community legal clinic and clinical education program run by the Faculty of Law at the University of Toronto. Law students provide free legal help under the supervision of staff lawyers, serving both low income members of the public and U of T students.
Who can get help from DLS?
DLS serves low income individuals in Toronto as well as University of Toronto students, offering free assistance in areas including housing, family, employment, criminal, refugee and immigration, and disability, health and income security law.
Does DLS charge for its services?
No. DLS is a legal clinic funded by Legal Aid Ontario, the Law Foundation of Ontario, the Faculty of Law, U of T students, and alumni donations, and its services to clients are free.
Can University of Toronto students get help with an academic offence or appeal?
Yes. One of DLS's divisions covers university academic tribunals, including academic offences and appeals, and U of T students can also use the clinic's drop-in hours at the Student Commons at 230 College Street.
Does DLS handle immigration and refugee cases?
Yes, refugee and immigration law is one of DLS's divisions, staffed by law students under the supervision of a staff lawyer.
How is DLS staffed?
The clinic is staffed mainly by law students, about 140 of them each year, including 28 paid summer caseworkers, all working under staff lawyers who supervise each division.

Where to find them

Fasken Martineau Building, 655 Spadina Avenue, Toronto, Ontario M5S 2H9 · 416-934-4535

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