The Office of Clinical and Pro Bono Programs is hosting a multi-part series during Academic Year 21-22 featuring cross-clinic conversations with clinical faculty and instructors who will bring a critical eye to how they employ various advocacy tools. Each panel focuses on a specific advocacy topic: appellate advocacy, trial courts work, and more!
Join us to hear about the work done in various clinics as you begin thinking about 2022-23 clinical registration and enrolling in clinics at HLS!
View the Events
Campaigns for Change Panel
March 28, 2022
Panelists will discuss how students have worked on campaigns for change with their clinics by leading a state, national and international movement for trauma-sensitive schools; by working on an international campaign to ban killer robots (aka autonomous weapons systems); and by partnering with people facing incarceration, public defenders, and community activists to work to end mass incarceration. The panelists will share how their thinking has developed over time regarding building effective campaigns and delve into the various strategic and ethical considerations that arise in these varied types of campaigns.
Featuring Michael Gregory, Director of the Education Law Clinic/Trauma Learning Policy Initiative, Bonnie Docherty, Senior Clinical Instructor at the International Human Rights Clinic, and Premal Dharia, Co-Director of the Institute to End Mass Incarceration Clinic, moderated by Meredith Boak, Assistant Dean for Clinical and Pro Bono Programs.
Watch here:
Holistic and Collaborative Lawyering Panel
March 25, 2022
The Legal Services Center (LSC) is comprised of six clinics located in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston. For 43 years, LSC has served the civil legal needs of its community, including the neighboring areas of Roxbury, Dorchester and Mattapan, through its Federal Tax Law, Veterans Law & Disability Benefits, Family Law and Domestic Violence, Consumer Protection, Housing Law and LGBTQ+ Advocacy clinics. The panelists will discuss how they and student attorneys represent individual clients through a multi-disciplinary law firm approach. The panelists will highlight the opportunities that clinic students will have in direct client representation and advocacy and to engage in holistic and collaborative lawyering.
Featuring Marianna Yang from the Family Law and Domestic Violence Clinic, Audrey Patten from the Federal Tax Clinic, and Roger Bertling from the Predatory Lending and Consumer Protection Clinic, moderated by Meredith Boak, Assistant Dean for Clinical and Pro Bono Programs.
Watch here:
Trial Work Panel
March 23, 2022
Panelists discuss opportunities students have to advocate for clients in different types of court settings including family and criminal courts, including what makes an outstanding courtroom advocate. Panelists discuss how while there is overlap in terms of skills that are relevant to all practice areas when representing clients in court – students also need to develop specialized skill sets, develop familiarity with court rules, practice and customs, and learn the relevant substantive areas of the law.
Featuring Dehlia Umunna, Director of the Criminal Justice Institute, Lyonel Jean-Pierre Jr., Clinical Instructor at the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau, and Maureen McDonagh, Managing Attorney and Senior Clinical Instructor at the Housing Law Clinic, moderated by Meredith Boak, Assistant Dean for Clinical and Pro Bono Programs.
Watch here:
Administrative Advocacy Panel
March 22, 2022
Panelists discuss how students have advocated for clients outside of the court system through administrative agencies, including how they work with clients to advance their interests and broader change through administrative advocacy. The panelists discuss what administrative advocacy entails and how students have advocated for clients through different mechanisms including commenting on proposed rules or regulations, calling for enforcement of existing regulations that impact client’s lives, and representing individuals in administrative hearings and proceedings.
Featuring Shaun Goho, Senior Clinical Instructor at the Emmett Environmental Law and Policy Clinic, Julie McCormack, Senior Clinical Instructor at the Veterans Law and Disability Benefits Clinic, and Kathy Meyer, Director of the Animal Law and Policy Clinic, moderated by Meredith Boak, Assistant Dean for Clinical and Pro Bono Programs.
Watch here:
Appellate Advocacy Panel
March 8, 2022
Panelists, all experienced Supreme Court practitioners, discuss how students can learn about appellate advocacy through their different clinics as externs for appellate judges, as externs with a clinic devoted exclusively to Supreme Court appellate practice, or as externs with a firm that work on appeals before federal circuit courts and/or the U.S. Supreme Court specifically related to civil rights and the criminal justice system. The clinicians share their insights into what it means to be an effective appellate advocate and how students can develop that skill set to be able to most successfully advance their client’s goals.
Featuring Devi Rao, Co-Director of the Criminal Justice Appellate Clinic, David Zimmer, Director of the Federal Courts Clinic, and Tejinder Singh, Lecturer on Law in the Supreme Court Litigation Clinic, moderated by Meredith Boak, Assistant Dean for Clinical and Pro Bono Programs.
Watch here:
Strategic Litigation Panel
March 1, 2022
Panelists discuss how they define and understand the meaning of strategic litigation as it relates to their work in their clinics and their fields and share the ways in which students are able to engage in strategic litigation in their clinics in the areas of immigration, criminal justice and democracy.
Featuring Phil Torrey, Director of the Crimmigration Clinic, Amir Ali, Co-Director of the Criminal Justice Appellate Clinic, and Deana El-Mallawany, Lecturer on Law in the Democracy and the Rule of Law Clinic, moderated by Meredith Boak, Assistant Dean for Clinical and Pro Bono Programs.
Watch here:
Social Entrepreneurs Student Panel
October 25, 2021
Watch a conversation with three students who started their own organizations to address pressing needs in their communities. Professor Christopher Bavitz facilitated a conversation with Mustafaen Kamal (LLM ’22) founder of the DIL Internship Project, Dominique Roberts (LLM ’22) co-founder of Code Your Chances, and Amir Ashour (JD ’24) founder of IraQueer. Why did they start these organizations? What have been their successes? What obstacles have they faced? What are their plans for the future?
Watch here:
Legal Advocacy Toolkit: Amicus Briefs
October 27, 2021
The Advocacy Series kicked off with a session on amicus briefs moderated by Alex Chen of the LGBTQ+ Advocacy Clinic and including panelists: Sabi Ardalan from the Harvard Immigration and Refugee Clinic, Peter Brann from the Government Lawyer: Attorney General Clinic, and Alejandra Caraballo from the Cyberlaw Clinic. These clinicians shared their thoughts on strategy, adaptations they have made over time, and advice they have going forward.
Click here for a gallery of amicus brief resources shared by the panelists.
Watch the panel here: