Logo for WUSA Student Legal Protection Program, powered by StudentCare. This innovative Student Legal Protection initiative ensures diligent support and comprehensive protection for students.

About

To help University of Waterloo students access free legal support, WUSA has partnered with Studentcare to provide legal advice on any subject and representation on issues relating to academic rights, co-op and employment, or housing and tenancy. This Plan is designed specifically for students.

Legal Protection Program

  • Lawyers’ fees
  • Legal expenses (disbursements):
    • Court fees
    • Attendance fees
    • Witness expenses
    • and more!
  • Experts’ fees up to a maximum of $1,000 (excluding taxes)

The student is responsible for paying the costs awarded to the adverse party in civil cases if the student has received an order to pay them from the Court.

Requests for legal representation deemed frivolous or patently unreasonable, as judged by the partner law firm, may be subject to denial of service.

Frivolous: A request that has no legal basis.
Patently unreasonable: A request for which the legal action sought by the student is disproportionate to the scale of the problem raised.

Members who require commissioning services can arrange for virtual meetings to commission affidavits. Notarizing services are also offered.

To benefit from the commissioning and notarizing services, call the legal assistance service (1-833-202-4571) to place a service request, and a meeting will be scheduled with a partner law firm.

The services are provided on Wednesdays only, but you can place a request from Monday to Friday during Studentcare’s regular business hours.

A student’s legal expenses in the event of a dispute with an academic institution. This excludes cases related to sexual misconduct or a criminal act.

Legal expenses arising from a dispute with a current or future employment contract, with respect to labour standards for grievances not covered by a union or government agency. This does not include occupational health and safety issues.

Legal expenses arising from a dispute over a housing lease, such as a disputed rent increase, an illegal eviction, or a breach of a condition in the lease.

Please Note

Program lawyers will not provide any legal advice whatsoever that could be contrary to the interests of:

•    Any student association in Ontario
•    Any grouping of student associations in Ontario
•    Studentcare

Connect

Seeking legal counsel can be intimidating, especially if it’s your first time facing a legal issue.

The legal assistance helpline provides quick access to legal advice in any area of law, including criminal.

Fill out the online Support Form and select Legal Program as the reason for your request.

Hours

Mon-Fri: 9am - 5pm
Sat-Sun: Closed

Who is automatically covered?

All full and part-time undergraduate students who are members of WUSA can utilize the Student Legal Protection Program. This includes all international students, co-op students on officially recognized work terms, and students who are attending Waterloo on exchange.

Illustration of a scale, a gavel, and a clipboard with a checklist, symbolizing legal protection and judicial processes.

What is included?

The Student Legal Protection Program covers:

* Prices and amounts are subject to change. For complete details please visit the StudentCare website.

  • Fees of lawyers or bailiffs
  • Legal expenses (disbursements): Court fees, including adverse costs awarded
  • Attendance fees
  • Missed wages
  • Witness expenses
  • Experts’ fees up to a maximum of $1,000
  • and more!

Restrictions

Frivolous cases — The service will refuse frivolous cases, those being defined as any lawsuit that is filed with the intention of harassing, annoying, or disturbing the opposite party, including potentially a lawsuit in which the plaintiff knows there is little to no chance of success in court.

Exception to coverage — This service cannot be used to pursue and/or defend against legal proceedings where the Waterloo Undergraduate Student Association would be a party or for the purpose of any other litigation.

Review and Appeal

In the event the service's partner law firm refuses to represent your case, you can request a review by an independent lawyer, who will examine the decision to confirm or reverse it. See www.studentcare.ca for more details on how to request a review (including necessary documentation).

  • If the original decision is reversed, your case will be supported without further delay.
  • If the original decision is confirmed, you can appeal to the Legal Protection Appeals Committee. Exceptions to this appeal are situations related to the reasonable chance of success of the case or in frivolous cases.

The Legal Protection Appeals Committee will hear, consider, and make determinations on appeals of decisions relating to the context of subject areas of protection. The decision of the appeals committee will be final and cannot be further appealed.

Visit the Studentcare website for complete details. Please note the fees listed may differ from fees assessed due to administrative overheads and HST. For fee assessment details, please visit your WUSA fees page.

You’re able to manage your coverage to make it work for you. Unlike Health and Dental plans, the Legal Protection Service is entirely optional! Because there is no proof-of-coverage requirement, you can opt-out of the program when you pay your fees on Quest. For more information on opt-outs, visit UW Student Financial Services.

If you opt-out of the Legal Protection Service, you lose all access to resources, including the toll-free helpline on any legal questions and access to legal representation on academic rights, employment rights, and housing & tenancy matters.

NOTE: opting-out of the service at the beginning of the policy year means you cannot opt back in at any point during that policy year, with some exceptions. To request an exception please contact your Vice President, Operations & Finance at vpof@wusa.ca.

Eligibility details, coverage, and fees information are available at the Studentcare website.

Information is available online at the Studentcare website or by calling the Studentcare Member Services Centre at 1 866 369-8794, Mon to Fri, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. You can also visit the StudentCare office in the Health Services Building for in-person support.

For other inquiries, please Please drop us a line on our general inquiries form or visit the main office at SLC 1116.