Issue link: https://digital.canadianlawyermag.com/i/466000
The lawyers at Lax O'Sullivan Scott Lisus LLP recognize the importance of giving back to the profession and the community, and promoting access to justice. The firm is particularly committed to educating lawyers and law students. Members of the firm regularly contribute to continuing education programs, mentor young lawyers, and teach at law schools. The firm has endowed a bursary at Osgoode Hall Law School, awarded annually to a student based on financial need. Lax O'Sullivan Scott Lisus LLP is also very proud to represent litigants who otherwise could not afford a lawyer. The firm's lawyers have acted pro bono for numerous Toronto organizations and charities, and have taken on pro bono cases at all levels of court, including the Ontario Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada. One recent pro bono case the firm has taken on involves a ground-breaking Charter challenge that could have far-reaching ramifications for Toronto District School Board policies. In Gillies v. Toronto District School Board, firm lawyers are acting for members of Northern Secondary School's student council. The students argue that having to undergo a mandatory breathalyzer test as a precondition of entry to the school prom, regardless of whether school administrators have reasonable grounds to believe any particular student is breaching school rules, violates their section 8 Charter right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure. Thus far, this case has resulted in the school agreeing not to use breathalyzers at the 2014 prom. LAX O'SULLIVAN SCOTT LISUS LLP: COMMITTED TO ACCESS TO JUSTICE, IN SMALL WAYS AND BIG "At Lax O'Sullivan Scott Lisus LLP, we believe that the pursuit of meaningful pro bono causes is a defining feature of professionalism and a core obligation of every litigation lawyer." Jonathan Lisus Lawyers and Staff at Lax O'Sullivan Scott Lisus LLP flip their wig for justice. 12