The Law Office of Naomi Sayers is pleased to begin offering a $500 scholarship for third-year
law students with a demonstrated commitment to mental health law. This includes litigation before criminal review boards, consent and capacity boards and fitness hearings.
Students can show their commitment through volunteering, academics and/or lived experience. Requirements are in the form below. Deadline to apply is January 15.
As an Indigenous woman lawyer who is doing this work and sees that this area of practice - a legal aid practice - as significantly underfunded, Naomi wants to encourage other practitioners to enter patient-side advocacy in mental health law. Naomi is the only Indigenous woman doing this work in Algoma and likely all of northern Ontario as she presently understands the landscape. As someone who used to be in the system, Naomi sees how underfunding patient-side lawyers can impact a client's liberty - the right to choose their own treatment and to live in the community. This is even more important when a large number of the clients are Indigenous, where many civil and forensic psychiatric hospitals are a significant distance away from communities.
While student applicants are prioritized, junior calls (<3 years) may apply if they are empanelled with legal aid in their jurisdiction and working as a solo (small firm may be considered).
Application form and requirements: https://tiny.meetnaomi.com/MHlaw.