Torkin Manes establishes access to justice fund for Pro Bono Ontario in honour of founding partner Ron Manes

Torkin Manes is proud to congratulate our founding partner, Ronald D. Manes, on his recent conferral of an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree, which was presented to him on March 10, 2025, by Convocation, the governing body of the Law Society of Ontario. Ron embodies the highest standards of the bar and of society – as an exceptional lawyer,  leader, firm builder, and fierce advocate for access to justice.

“On behalf of our partners, we honour Ron’s outstanding professional and personal achievement through the establishment of The Ron Manes Justice in Action Fund,” said Jeffrey Cohen, the firm’s Managing Partner. “This special gift is bestowed upon Pro Bono Ontario (“PBO”), an access to justice non-profit organization that Ron, with others, was instrumental in creating with the goal of advancing  and promoting access to justice and equity through pro bono efforts.”

Since its inception, PBO has deployed various programs that encourage lawyers to volunteer their services to low-income and disadvantaged Ontarians, helping them resolve legal issues that impede their ability to live secure, healthy and productive lives. A number of Torkin Manes lawyers have dedicated numerous hours, collectively, to PBO by providing legal services through its Free Legal Advice Hotline, one of the many innovative programs that PBO established to support Ontarians who cannot afford a lawyer.

Now, as PBO forges ahead with its duty counsel and amicus services in small claims courts and the Court of Appeal for Ontario, it is seeking to resume in-person services and develop new virtual appearance services for unrepresented litigants, services that were suspended since March 2020. For PBO to successfully resume these invaluable services, it required new resources to support volunteers and ensure that the provision of high-quality legal assistance is accessible to those who need it most.

Torkin Manes is proud to dedicate this special gift in support of PBO’s mission of “returning to court” and implementing new virtual appearance services – a mission that symbolizes Ron’s unwavering commitment to access to justice and the provision of duty counsel and amicus services in court for low-income Ontarians.  

Please visit the PBO website for more information about its full suite of services. To learn more about Ron’s Honorary Doctor of Laws degree, please read our news item of November 6, 2024, as well as the LSO’s press release and article in the Gazette.

To donate to The Ron Manes Justice in Action Fund, please visit the PBO website and select fund #1 – Ron Manes Justice in Action Fund.