Support AC Friends of Courts build its capacity to help the underserved, underprivileged and represented British Columbians. ​The ability to independently access the legal system is a challenge for ordinary British Columbians. More and more people are trying to resolve legal matters on their own, however most are unfamiliar with how to properly prepare legal forms or prepare for a hearing. ​

Amici Curiae Friendship Society 法庭之友 (AC) volunteers help British Columbians understand legal procedures and complete paperwork. For free. AC’s services are provided on the principle of equal access to justice. This means going beyond the application of a simple financial eligibility test. Equal access to justice includes an assessment of an individual’s capacity to navigate what has become a complex and inaccessible legal system for many British Columbians. And this principle of equal access to legal services has become even more relevant as we continue to deal with the effects of the pandemic. 

Our website: www.legalformsbc.ca.

Due to the lingering overt and violent anti-Asian racism from COVID-19, the Everyday Law Series 日常法律系列讲座提 Summer 2024 年夏季will support Chinese British Columbians, specially members of Vancouver Chinatown’s community in learning about their legal rights in the event a racist event occurs to them. Our intention is that members of the public can leave a learning series presentation feeling more confident, equipped, and empowered to know their rights, particularly those who identify as IBPOC. 

AC is sensitive to the ways that systemic racism operates to deny racialized communities access to justice, services, and knowledge, and seeks to address this fundamental gap by providing empowering learning opportunities. We know that traditional ways of engaging with racialized communities and knowledge sharing practices can often pose as barriers to accessibility. We know the historical and ongoing legacies of white supremacy culture and colonialism that are entrenched in the legal system and other institutions that drive society. AC’s learning series seeks to support language accessibility by providing programming in multiple languages. AC volunteers are trained to provide culturally safe and trauma-sensitive services to clients, particularly as many clients are racialized or come from lower income communities. As an organization, and through its programming, AC centres accessibility as a key value. By offering legal education lectures in Chinatown, we intend to meet audiences where they are, removing additional barriers to physical access of services. By attending AC’s  Everyday Law Series 日常法律系列讲座提 Summer 2024 年夏, we hope that participants will feel more confident, equipped, and empowered to know their rights and to speak up if they experience harm. 

To learn more about the existing programming AC does to support IBPOC communities in culturally-sensitive ways, please watch: Anti-racism and AC video.