/R E P E A T -- 20th edition of the Annual Legal Helpline - For free legal
counsel, call the young bar!/

March 27th and 28th, from 9 am to 5 pm, at 1866.433.3204 or 514.954.3448

MONTREAL, March 10 /CNW Telbec/ - On March 27th and 28th, the Young Bar Association of Montreal (YBAM) in partnership with the Quebec Bar and Éducaloi will hold for the 20th consecutive year its' Annual Legal Helpline. During that weekend, from 9 am to 5 pm, more than one hundred volunteer lawyers from different regions of Quebec will offer free legal counsel to the public. The Annual Legal Helpline of the YBAM is the perfect occasion for the population to get informed on their rights and obligations. Our volunteer lawyers will answer all legal questions regarding family, work, consumer products, order of succession and much more.

A free legal service for the entire population of the province

For this 20th edition of the YBAM's Annual Legal Helpline, three call centres will be in operation in the cities of Montreal, Quebec and Sherbrooke. Thanks to a toll-free telephone line, the YBAM's Annual Legal Helpline is the only one of its kind to offer, for the duration of a weekend, a free legal consultation service to the entire population of the province of Quebec. In order to insure the success of this unique pro bono event, the members of the YBAM will be able to count on the support of their colleagues from various other young bars of the province, including the young bar associations of Bedford, Laurentides-Lanaudière, Laval, Longueuil, Mauricie, Outaouais, Quebec, Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean and St-François. "Last year, we answered more than 775 calls. This year, thanks to our partnership with the Quebec Bar and Éducaloi, and with the collaboration of numerous Quebec young bars, we are hoping to give more than one thousand free legal consultations" explains Antoine Aylwin, president of the YBAM.

A partnership with the Quebec Bar and Éducaloi

"It is with great pride" declares the president of the Quebec Bar, Mr. Pierre Chagnon, "that the Quebec Bar collaborates to the 20th edition of the YBAM's Annual Legal Helpline". Mr. Pierre Chagnon also insisted "the perseverance and force of this activity offers a noticeable service and represents a gateway to access the legal system for the Quebec population." Éducaloi is also very happy to be associated with the YBAM for this activity. "This is a very natural collaboration because it allows the combination of two important elements of the accessibility to justice. The first is to inform the citizens of their rights and obligations and the second is to support them in exercising these rights", declares Nathalie Roy, Executive Director of Éducaloi.

Accessibility to the legal system

One of the missions of the YBAM is to improve access to justice by offering various free legal services to the population. "It's been 20 years now that we offer this service to the population and we will continue doing so to help the citizens of our province", explains Mr. Aylwin. In answer to the growing demand of Montrealers, the volunteer lawyers of the YBMA also provide many other pro bono legal services. For more information, the population is invited to consult the YBAM's website at www.ajbm.qc.ca, section: Public Services.

The Young Bar Association of Montreal

Founded over 110 years ago, the Young Bar Association of Montreal (YBAM) represents more than 4 200 lawyers with less than 10 years experience in the greater Montreal area. These young lawyers work in all existing fields of law where they leave their mark on the professional scene. They are the future of the profession, both on a national and international scale. Influent as a group, engaged in their community, they are called upon to be society's leaders within the best law firms, private enterprises, institutions and public organizations.

For further information: Liliane Sophie Pin, [phone] ext. 3636