Saskatoon lawyer continues to help people access legal advice even after retiring

Janice Gingell may be retired from a career in public and family law, but you'll still find her working Monday through Friday helping people navigate the legal system.

Gingell draws on her 30 years of legal expertise by volunteering every weekday afternoon with Community Legal Assistance Services for Saskatoon Inner City (CLASSIC). She previously worked as a legal aid lawyer and for the human rights commission.

Gingell, who is the latest nominee for CBC's #iamSK project, told CBC Radio's Saskatoon Morning host Julianne Hazlewood on Thursday that people are always interesting and despite many years in criminal law, she's found them "for the most part, pretty good.

"You see some people in really difficult situations who have done horrifying things and hurt lots of people. But it's clear those people are always more than the crime. I learned to look at more than just the actions people did."

Finding her calling

Gingell said when she first entered law school, she was looking at it as a job, not as a vocation, and described herself as an "unmotivated, disillusioned" student. But when she took part in a clinical law program in her third year, helping low income people in Saskatoon, she decided that was the aspect of law she wanted to pursue.

Over her career, she said what stands out for her was her work in family law. When women fight for custody of their children, often their partners have more financial and social resources, she said. But if she could show that the children were doing well in their mother's care, she said, typically judges were sympathetic.

Though it may not have been considered exciting from a legal point of view, she said, that kind of work was very important to her clients.

Pro bono work

Gingell said the legal aid system is currently "underfunded in the extreme," and is taking on only the cases of people who at risk of going to jail or emergency family law cases, making pro bono services like CLASSIC more necessary than ever.

Making the legal system simpler so people can navigate it more easily, changing the range of services lay people can offer and investing more public resources in legal aid for the people who need lawyers are all ways things could be improved, she said.

It's meaningful to her that she was nominated for #iamsk by her daughter, saying it's still difficult even now for women to balance motherhood and litigation careers.

CBC Saskatchewan is embarking on an ambitious storytelling project to mark 2017. #iamSK will share stories of people who are helping lead us today or building our future in Saskatchewan. Are you or someone you know a leader, innovator, newcomer or community builder of our province? Nominate someone or yourself today for #iamSK: Saskatchewan's people, places and faces.