Access Pro Bono is pleased to share the release of “Flourishing: A plan to strengthen public legal education and information, the BC PLEI Ecosystem Project”. Authored by Catherine Dauvergne KC, this report published by UBC summarizes a comprehensive study, started in January 2024, on public legal education and information (PLEI) in British Columbia. The study employed diverse methods, including focus groups with PLEI users and frontline providers, a user survey, analysis of legal problems data, and a partnership with the BC First Nations Justice Council (BCFNJC). It also incorporates research from other jurisdictions and workshops with ecosystem leaders.

The report describes the PLEI space as an "ecosystem", characterized by diverse participants and organic growth, but also by a lack of sustained collaboration. This fragmentation hinders innovation and a comprehensive understanding of evolving public needs. A key finding was the strong desire of clients for personal interaction, even brief, to confirm understanding, with frontline providers highly valued.

The report also highlights a notable shortage of PLEI tailored for First Nation, Métis, and Inuit communities. Incorporating Indigenous perspectives and successes into the PLEI ecosystem through integrating the BC First Nations Justice Council is proposed as a means to address this shortfall.

Of the key recommendations made in this report, Access Pro Bono’s Any Door Project was deemed to be transformative and a significant opportunity for growth in the PLEI space. The Any Door Referral Project aims to build a coordinated, client-centred referral network. Led by Access Pro Bono, the project will support participating organizations in making “warm referrals”—direct, informed, and collaborative handoffs—to ensure that no matter where someone enters the system, they’re connected to appropriate legal help through any door. Specifically, the report promotes leveraging technological developments in AI to scale up the Any Door Project, which could translate into expanding the scope of the Lawyer Referral Service to encompass warm referrals to a wide range of legal support resources beyond traditional lawyers.

Access Pro Bono is committed to incorporating the findings and insights of the report to strengthen the Any Door Project, and to expand our reach to clients in need through coordination and collaboration with community partners in the PLEI space.