Issue link: https://digital.canadianlawyermag.com/i/466000
Committed to Our Communities: Dentons Canada LLP (Dentons) is committed to making a positive social impact on the communities in which we live and practise, and our pro bono work is one of the ways we do that. Our pro bono work spans many practice areas and we seek opportunities to leverage the strengths and experience of our professionals to help disadvantaged groups in our communities. In 2012, Dentons earned the Canadian National Pro Bono Law Firm Award, which recognizes a Canadian national law firm that has made an outstanding contribution to the provision of pro bono legal services. We value the opportunity to handle pro bono matters for individuals and organizations with limited means, and collaborate with our clients, non-profits and pro bono umbrella organizations to help break through access to justice barriers. Dentons' Access to Justice Initiative: Dentons' leadership and innovation has allowed us to develop and contribute to high-impact pro bono initiatives that leverage our areas of expertise. One such project is the Tax Advocacy Project (TAP), which Dentons developed in partnership with Pro Bono Students Canada (PBSC). First launched four years ago, this project supports the pro bono representation of unrepresented litigants before the Tax Court of Canada by law students who are supervised and trained by Dentons' tax litigation lawyers. The first of its kind in Canada, this project won the 2011 Lexpert Zenith Award for Law Firm Contribution to Legal Education. Following its initial success at U of T, TAP has expanded in partnership with Dentons to four participating law schools in Montreal and Toronto. DENTONS IS COMMITTED TO THE COMMUNITIES IN WHICH WE LIVE AND PRACTISE "There is a huge access to justice problem and with relatively little expenditure of time and resources, the private bar can make a difference in the lives of people in our city, province and country." Barbara Grossman, pro bono partner, Dentons Toronto (L to R) Timothy Fitzsimmons, Barbara Grossman, and Douglas Stewart of Dentons Toronto flip their wigs. 10