Clients of duty counsel lawyers are often going through one of the most difficult times in their lives, says Dawn Trudel, duty counsel for Legal Aid Ontario (LAO) in Sarnia.
Dawn works as a hybrid duty counsel lawyer, meaning she assists people with both criminal and family law matters. When asked what she likes best about her work, she says she feels she is helping people and making a difference when they are struggling. “Our mandate is to serve low-income individuals, and that brings its own type of vulnerability. I tell people that I practice family and criminal law, and if they need my services, they’re likely not having a very good day.”
Broader social issues
Homelessness and poverty play a role when clients end up in the justice system, says Dawn. “Each of our clients has unique challenges, so their legal matter is hard on them.” She observes that some people have come into bail court in the middle of winter without shoes or coats.
To help clients, staff at LAO and the Sarnia courthouse worked together to set up a space in the building for donated clothes and shoes. Both groups frequently bring in supplies for those in need and are generous with donations, she says. They also try to connect people to other local resources and services, such as the John Howard Society. “It’s difficult to watch some of the struggles people are going through, but we try our best to help.”
Communicating with clients can be another challenge, she notes. Some don’t have cell phones, which makes it hard to contact them to get the work done. In those instances, she tries to determine if there is another person through whom the client can be reached, with their consent. “We’ll ask if they have a family member we can call to leave a message. Sometimes the person may be unhoused or disconnected from their biological family, so in that case we ask if they have a ‘found family’ or friend we can connect with.”
Dawn’s family law work relates to matters of child welfare, intimate partner violence, parenting time, parental decision-making responsibility, and child support issues. “Our office is always very busy.”
Many clients are grappling with issues beyond their legal matter, including addiction, mental health, or a lack of housing, she says. Dawn can’t resolve all the client’s difficulties, but she can assist with their legal matter. “I can’t fix everything, but I tell them that I can help with this one piece of what they’re experiencing.”
Impact of representation
Everyone deserves the right to legal representation in criminal court, she says, and her job involves assisting people who can’t afford a lawyer. “As duty counsel, we’re trying to bridge that gap for them. I choose to do this work, and it’s rewarding.”
Representing clients makes Dawn feel like she is making a difference. She recalls one instance when a client was having a mental health episode and his spouse called 911 to ask for an ambulance. The police came and characterized the interaction as domestic violence, despite the spouse’s wish to get him medical help. The client was subsequently charged with mischief to property. He had no criminal record, and at the Crown pre-trial meeting, Dawn was able to get his charges withdrawn. The client and family were grateful, she says. Dawn believes this incident highlights the unfortunate fact that mental health matters sometimes become criminalized.
Both official languages
Dawn’s language skills enable her to serve as a bilingual duty counsel to support clients in both English and French. She grew up in Thunder Bay and she learned both languages. Her elementary and high school education were in French, but she honed her English skills after going to the University of Windsor in 2015. There, she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with a double major in political science and criminology, plus a double minor in French and psychology. She subsequently pursued her law degree at Windsor and joined LAO in Sarnia as an articling student in 2024 before being called to the bar in 2025.
