The Chinese & Southeast Asian Legal Clinic (CSALC) is a non-profit, community based organization whose mandate is to provide free legal services to low income, non-English speaking people from the Chinese, Vietnamese, Cambodian and Laotian communities in Toronto.
CSALC provides free legal advice and referrals primarily in the areas of immigration, tenants’ rights, employment standards law, human rights and income maintenance appeals. In some situations, we may legally represent clients with legal issues in an area of law that we practice if they meet our financial eligibility and geographic criteria.
We are committed to educating those in the communities we serve about their legal rights and also empowering them through public legal education which we organize ourselves or in conjunction with community agencies. We also produce a variety of multilingual brochures on areas of law affecting our clients.
Our Clinic serves the wider community at large by acting as an important resource centre. We also assist agencies serving similar clientele in their delivery of services by providing training seminars for front-line service providers on a wide range of legal issues.
Advocating for law reform is another one of our Clinic’s priorities and as such, we are involved in making submissions before various levels of governments regarding proposed changes to legislation or challenging existing legislation which affects marginalized and disadvantaged groups. We work in coalition with other community based organizations to advocate for legal changes which will benefit the communities we serve.
CSALC is funded by Legal Aid Ontario (LAO), and is a member of ACLCO (the Association of Community Legal Clinics of Ontario). For more information about the Clinic, visit https://csalc.ca/
CSALC is currently seeking new members to join our Board of Directors.
CSALC’s Board of Directors are volunteers elected by our members on an annual basis. The Board of Directors are chosen to reflect the diverse communities we serve. Each board term is 2 years. On average, board members generally make a commitment of 2 to 3 volunteer hours each month. Board members are not remunerated.
The Board is responsible for:
- Attending monthly board meetings (all meetings are currently virtual)
- Attending Annual General Meeting (October) and Annual retreat (TBD)
- Serving on at least one committee (for example: policy & governance, finance, personnel, strategic planning, nomination, training and recruitment)
- Providing direction on policy and budgetary issues
- Contributing to strengthen the operations and governance of the Clinic
- Ensuring that the Clinic’s services remain relevant to the needs of the communities it serves and that the Clinic is accountable to these communities
- Keeping up-to-date on important issues in the community and understanding issues related to access to justice
Requirements / Qualifications:
- Commitment to the Clinic’s mission and values
- Experience on non-profit board an asset
- Knowledge of legal clinic system, social services and social issues faced by the Asian community as asset
Desired Skills & Experience: Finance, Accounting, Community & Social Services, Legal Services, Non-Profit. We welcome individuals with legal and non-legal backgrounds who have an understanding of the communities that we serve.
Interested in joining our Board of Directors?
To apply, please email a current resume and a brief statement outlining your interest in serving on the Board to Christine Dang, Executive Director at christine.dang@csalc.clcj.ca by September 30, 2025.