Welcome to the LIFE Project - A PLE toolbox

Lawyers and paralegals can play a vital role in helping the public understand and make good choices to resolve legal issues by ensuring Ontarians have access to free and reliable legal information. LIFE – A PLE Toolbox provides a series of brief video modules and complementary resources to assist lawyers and paralegals in delivering Public Legal Education sessions.

Legal Information for Everyone (LIFE) is a series of eight modules that have been developed to provide support and guidance to lawyers and paralegals who are interested in delivering public legal education (PLE) sessions in their communities. Each module includes a video (available with described video and closed captioning) and other materials – printable checklists, handouts and information sheets – that provide tips and practical tools for delivering relevant and engaging legal information sessions to the public.

The Ontario Civil Legal Needs Project identified the leading civil legal needs of low and middle-income Ontarians as well as the regions of the province where people have difficulty getting legal information and representation. The LIFE resources are intended to support the development of public presentation skills and the community outreach commitment of the over 50,000 lawyer and paralegal licensees of the Law Society of Upper Canada. By helping lawyers and paralegals deliver more PLE, it is hoped that legal professionals will address some of the barriers that others face in accessing the legal system and that they will help to build the legal capability of Ontarians. 

The LIFE resources were developed as part of a unique collaboration between the Ontario Justice Education Network (OJEN), the Law Society of Upper Canada (LSUC) and Community Legal Education Ontario (CLEO). To find out more about these partner organizations click below. 

This project is possible with the support of the Ontario Civil Legal Needs Project partners: Legal Aid Ontario, Pro Bono Law Ontario and the Law Society of Upper Canada as well as the financial support of The Law Foundation of Ontario. 

Choose a module from the list below to begin.