Law360 Canada (October 26, 2026, 12:28 PM EDT) -- An East Coast law school now has a “first-of-its-kind” clinic that assists people embroiled in federal tax disputes — and at the same time gives students a unique “experiential learning opportunity.”
According to an Oct. 13 news release, Dalhousie University’s Schulich School of Law in Nova Scotia launched its pro bono tax dispute clinic last month. The student-based program provides free assistance to Canadians in legal matters involving the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).
The clinic is staffed by students currently in their third year of law school. They will receive “weekly seminars and supervised client work” and “learn how to navigate tax disputes from beginning to end” by covering issues “frequently encountered in disputes with the CRA.”
It is “Canada’s first independent tax dispute clinic,” states the release.
Issues that could be covered by the clinic include disputes over the disability tax credit or the child benefit, or spousal separation matters impacting people’s benefits and credits.
“For many, challenging a tax assessment can be expensive and intimidating as few legal clinics offer specialized support in tax law,” states the release. “This new course aims to improve access to justice in an often-overlooked area of law, while giving students the chance to deepen their knowledge of tax law and gain experience representing clients so they can assist people in Nova Scotia and across Canada with federal tax disputes.”
James Rhodes, Dalhousie University, Schulich School of Law
The clinic’s director, tax lawyer and professor James Rhodes, told Law360 Canada the clinic will have a stable of six students who have completed — or are in the midst of completing — Schulich’s “
Taxation III” course.
Each student will take on a maximum of five files, all of which will be managed and reviewed by Rhodes, who will ultimately represent the client.
“It gives the students actual, real experience in dealing with everything,” said Rhodes. “I have them drafting notices of objections, drafting notices of appeal; they will speak with clients, take instructions. For all intents and purposes, they’re akin to an articling student — they are actually practising, as opposed to learning about what would be done in the classroom setting.”
Intake works like this: Rhodes is the first point of contact for people seeking help from the clinic. He reviews the matter, then discusses with a student what needs to be done. This could lead to a meeting between Rhodes, the student and the client.
“Everything [the student does] gets reviewed by me before anything is done. Like, I’ll have them draft the notice of objection, but I take it and will ask questions about what I think is missing, and then I’ll redraft it. So, it’s more like they’re doing the work for me, as opposed to doing the work for the client; I’m actually doing the work for the client. So, everything they do is really more ... like … art museum work. Like, ‘Give me the research on this.’ For instance, the disability tax credit example: ‘I want you to look for all cases that might talk [about] that disability.’ And then I have them find it and say, ‘Okay, what were the tests? What documents are we looking for?’ And then I have them talk to the client about [whether] they have any of these documents.”
For residents of Nova Scotia, Rhodes will be the one to represent them in tax court — if need be. But Rhodes noted he cannot go to court for people in other jurisdictions.
However, the clinic can still assist Canadians, generally, with things such as preparing notices of appeal, researching issues and lining up evidence that should be presented in court.
A good example is the clinic can help people with issues that legal aid bodies generally do not handle, he said.
“While legal aid will assist people in dealing with CRA, they do not go to Tax Court. This is where I think the clinic will be able to fill a gap in assistance to those in need. I think also, as tax matters are so specialized, we will be able to assist legal aid in matters they previously handled dealing with CRA. For instance, we have taken on some files helping people claim the disability tax credit, as the test that has to be met is based on tax case law as opposed to other areas of law that might consider someone disabled. We’ve also taken [on] filing objections to the CRA’s disallowance of disability tax credits for other individuals.”
Rhodes joined the Schulich School of Law earlier this year.
If you have any information, story ideas or news tips for Law 360 Canada, please contact Terry Davidson at t.davidson@lexisnexis.ca or 905-415-5899.