In addition to volunteering with the Harvard Prison Legal Assistance Project (PLAP) her 1L year, Lena has worked at least 20 hours per week at the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau during her 2L and 3L years. By transforming the Bureau’s weekly housing eviction community education program, she had a great impact on improving the services to pro se litigants, 95% of whom have no representation in housing court.
Lena was also awarded pro bono hours for her 1L summer at the Public Counsel Law Center; her 2L summer at both the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California and the Western Center on Law and Poverty; and her volunteer work at the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law working on the Ensuring Success in Schools Act. She will use her HLS Public Service Venture Fund Fellowship to work at the Shriver Center after graduation.
The Andrew L. Kaufman Pro Bono Service Award is granted each year in honor of Professor Andrew Kaufman who has been instrumental in creating and supporting the Pro Bono Service Program at HLS. The J.D. student in the graduating class who performs the highest number of pro bono service hours receives the award and an honorarium. The Office of Clinical and Pro Bono Programs annually determines the winner based on records of total completed pro bono hours submitted by students.