Canadian Lawyer

not good for you. You can get hurt that's for sure. business in California, deWit, wonder- ing about his future, returned to Alberta and went to see a boxing fan he' " After a stint in the concrete at the height of his career. That fan was Milt Harradence, an Alberta Court of Appeal judge. Harradence obviously saw something in the young man and recommended he try a career in the law. With only a high school diploma, deWit went about upgrading and "learned how to learn again." After two years as an undergraduate deWit, sometimes called "the great bright hope" of boxing, did well enough to win a spot at the University of Alberta Law School. He graduated in 1994. These days, deWit's focus is entirely d met Medical-legal partnership makes community RICHER F the law though he still hits the heavy bag regularly for conditioning. He likes to tell people there are some analogies between the ring and the courtroom. "A good cross-examination is not quite as good a feeling as landing a left hook and knocking someone down on their butt," deWit says, "but it's close. stings, and deWit's memories of the pres- sure-filled days in Los Angeles are "not fond, While his long-ago Olympic loss still " as a spectator. "I enjoy being a fan." He's all for the new Olympic sport of wom- en's boxing. "Certainly there are some women I've seen who can box quite well. If you can have men boxing, why not women?" As a libertarian deWit believes, "people should be able to do what they want as long as no one gets hurt." While he acknowledges the Olympics " he remains interested in the Games orming in B.C. is a unique medical-legal partnership that will work with RICHER to seek out client or community solutions for social problems that affect the health of individuals. "Ours is the first to work at a community level to incorporate law into it," says Dr. Christine Loock, wife of Ron Friesen, the chief executive officer of the Continuing Legal Education Society of British Columbia. It is one of four legal organizations currently involved in the project along with the Legal Services Society of B.C., the University of B.C. Faculty of Law and Access Pro Bono Society of B.C. There are a number of medical-legal partnerships in North America, with an established organization in Montreal. RICHER (Responsive, Intersectoral-Interdisciplinary, Child-Community, Health, Education and Research) attempts to go beyond simply providing traditional medical care, which may fix a short-term symptom in a patient, but not the root of the problem. Vancouver's RICHER program, based at the B.C. Children's Hospital, is a community-based primary health-care service specifically designed to meet the unique needs of children, youth, and families in Vancouver's inner city neighbourhoods. Loock, who works at the B.C. Children's Hospital, says it is recognized today that low- income children and families suffer from increased rates of disease or health-related issues and may not be able to access the social network to solve the problem that relates to the disability. In bringing forward a RICHER solution for the individual, rather than simply refer- ring it to another organization within a social network, there can be a legal component. "We started a RICHER program and recognized that there was a real need for a medical and legal partnership to work at the client level and to work at the community level," says Loock. How Vancouver's program will work is still being fine tuned, but Friesen says there is a need for medical and legal disciplines to collaborate rather than work in isolation. He gives the example of a brain-injured individual who, without community or family support, ends up on the street and is involved in thefts to survive. The person enters the justice system and is cycled through the system repeatedly, as there is no one treating the root cause. "This is not really a legal problem, but a legal problem with process problems," says Friesen. Research has shown that problems with the law are reduced when individuals with mental-health issues are provided with homes and a strong support network. "They may be able to work, but need someone to get them up in the morning," he says. The partnership will also be able to look at situations in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside and determine how policies need to change. are much more slick and professional than ever before, he urges fans "to lighten up" when they are watching the Games. He says people should take it easy on Canada's athletes even if they sometimes don't perform as well as expected. "We've become a nation of critics. We need to remember that these are just moments in time. They don't define you. it is Willie deWit. If anybody knows of what he speaks, — GEOFF ELLWAND " writerlaw@gmail.com Access Pro Bono executive director Jamie Maclaren says his organization might supply some free legal advice to clients in need, although "it's still in the planning stages." "You might have a young child with asthma with a single mom who is living in an apart- ment with mould and the landlord is not dealing with it," he says. While doctors are address- ing the symptoms of the disease, his team might be able to help the parent effect changes in the living conditions. Loock, who is also an associate professor with the University of British Columbia's Department of Pediatrics, says the partnership includes the UBC law faculty because experi- ence, such as that at Stanford University, has shown there are positive achievements when law and medical students work together as a team. "They are not referring to one another but are working jointly to look at policy." She gives the example of youth homelessness where youth are often housed in facilities that are available, such as a hotel, yet it may not be the best solution as it places the youth at risk for a range of health and legal issues. "Instead of reacting, we are looking at what can we do to gain appropriate housing. No one wants to come down hard on government but we want to work in partnership with gov- ernment and get the attention of policy-makers," she says. jean_sorensen@telus.net — JEAN SORENSEN www.CANADIAN Lawyermag.com JULY 2012 11

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