In the last 25 years, about 1,500 class action lawsuits have been launched in Ontario
The University of Windsor’s Faculty of Law has launched a class action clinic, through start-up funding from the Law Foundation of Ontario.
The clinic, which the faculty says is the first of its kind in North America, provide class members summary advice, assistance with filing claims in settlement distribution processes and representation in court proceedings, according to a statement. Located at Windsor Hall in downtown Windsor, the clinic is also dedicated to creating greater awareness about class actions, through public education, outreach, and research, it added.
Due to the nationwide nature of class action cases, the clinic also provides its services online, through telephone and through video conferencing, aside from in-person meetings in the Windsor–Essex community. It is staffed by a team of Windsor Law students and led by clinic director Professor Jasminka Kalajdzic.
The clinic will also maintain a central database of class actions, including information about the outcomes of these cases. In the last 25 years, about 1,500 class action lawsuits have been launched in Ontario alone, the university estimates.
“The ultimate objective of the clinic is to provide substantive access to justice to class members and in doing so, better fulfil the access to justice promise of the class action regime,” said Kalajdzic. “Class counsel do not have a traditional lawyer-client relationship with class members, as a matter of law and practicality. The class action clinic will provide legal support to this unique group of litigants.”
