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w w w . C A N A D I A N L a w y e r m a g . c o m S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 5 9 person's income and to the field of law. The fee goes up to $70 an hour for small businesses (highest salary paid by the company must not be higher than $40,000), non-profit organizations, and self-employed workers (maximum income $40,000). Compulsory member- ship fees are $20 per year and adminis- tration fees are $65 per file. The criminal defence program requires the users to contribute a minimum $1,000 in cases of summary offences and a minimum $1,600 for criminal offences (including member- ship and administration fees and taxes). Trials will cost the accused $200 (plus taxes) a day, starting on the second day. Maximum income to be eligible for Juripop's services is $38,000 for a single person with no children and $70,000 for a couple with two children ($55,000 for the criminal program). The Juripop legal clinic is present at the Montreal courthouse and at the Montreal Municipal Court through the latter's pro bono program, where its law- yers can give advice to self-represented parties. "Still, we're just a small plaster on a big wound," says David-Pelletier. The organization's annual budget is between $800,000 and $1 million. "We get no recurrent money, which forces us to be very creative" he adds. The social media campaign, which raised about $27,000 and allowed their regular supporters to commit small amounts, was a first and turned out to be a good complement to the usual yearly gala, which raises larger sums per donor but has a lower participation. Sales of legal education services to small business and non-profit organi- zations also help finance the operation. One full-time lawyer, Julie Langlois, also a qualified psychologist, manages the conferences service and the annual advocacy competition held in high schools and CEGEPs. David-Pelletier says they attend the annual Canadian Pro Bono conference and observes that Anglo-Saxon tradi- tion relies more on pro bono work and less on government aid, like in Quebec. In times of public spending cuts, this is a problem for organizations such as Juripop, which sees its financing go arbitrarily up and down from year to year. But Juripop, through its leaders, demonstrates great ability to achieve public recognition. Its board of admin- istrators includes people with diverse backgrounds from private enterprise, public corporations, labour unions, and politics (the new board has recently welcomed two former cabinet ministers, Louise Harel, a former PQ MNA, and Michelle Courchesne, a former Liberal MNA). Juripop's leaders' ability to stay in the public eye while delivering a much- needed public service should help ensure its promising future. — PASCAL ELIE pascalelie636@gmail.com \ AT L A N T I C \ C E N T R A L \ W E S T REGIONAL WRAP-UP MATTER CREDENTIALS TORONTO I BARRIE I HAMILTON I KITCHENER 1-866-685-3311 www.mcleishorlando.com A Noticeable Difference ™ Choosing a personal injury lawyer is one of the most important decisions an injured person will make. Help your client ask the right questions: Is the lawyer? I Untitled-1 1 2015-05-13 4:13 PM

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