Fanshawe welcomes Western’s Community Legal Services clinic to Downtown Campus

Community Legal Services (CLS), the legal clinic operated by the Faculty of Law at Western University, is moving downtown to a space within Fanshawe College’s Dundas Street campus. The new location will bolster the clinic’s role in providing free legal help to low-income and marginalized people across London, Ont. and Middlesex County. 

Western President Alan Shepard and Fanshawe President Peter Devlin signed the lease on Aug. 24 at the clinic’s future home – the fifth floor of Fanshawe’s Howard W. Rundle Building at 137 Dundas St. in London, Ont. The location near the courthouse will reduce barriers to justice by placing legal assistance within easier reach of more potential clients. 

“This move marks a major milestone in strengthening community-based legal services to ensure people in London and region can access critical support that may otherwise be out of reach,” Shepard said. “It also brings together two strong institutions in the downtown core, helping to realize our shared vision of a vibrant city. We’re deeply grateful for our partnership with Fanshawe College and for this new shared space.” 

While renovations are completed, CLS will continue to operate from the Josephine Spencer Niblett Law Building on Western’s campus, with no interruption to services for existing clients. The clinic’s new location is expected to open by the end of December, in the downtown building named after Fanshawe’s long-serving president, Howard Rundle.  

It opened in 2014 to support Fanshawe’s media and digital arts programs. Today, 264 students study at this downtown London building. 

“We’re pleased to have Western’s Community Legal Services clinic join us, strengthening the goals we’ve always had for our downtown campus – creating exceptional learning opportunities for students while contributing to the continued growth and vibrancy of the city’s core,” Devlin said. 

London Mayor Josh Morgan welcomed CLS to its new space, thanking Fanshawe and Western for their commitment to London’s downtown. 

“This partnership between Western University and Fanshawe College is a powerful example of making better use of existing spaces while bringing students, faculty, learning, services and new energy into the core,” Morgan said. 

“Our downtown is at its best when it is a place where people come to live, learn, work, create and connect. Initiatives like Western’s Community Legal Services help make that vision a reality by offering essential, barrier-free access to justice for vulnerable residents who might otherwise go without support. This partnership is a significant win for our downtown, and for the entire city of London.”