What is
Pro Bono Week?
During national Pro Bono Week, OCP is highlighting the work of some outstanding attorneys engaged in pro bono legal work to ensure access to justice in housing court, to eradicate racial disparities in the criminal justice system, and to advocate for voting rights.
Our theme for 2020, A Call to Action, highlights how lawyers work together with clients, partner organizations, and communities to bring about urgently needed systemic changes that advocate for equal justice for all. Please visit our web page to learn more about HLS’ pro bono opportunities.
Review: Pro Bono Week 2020
Remembering Chief Justice Ralph Gants
We hope this year’s events honoring the legacy and values of the late Chief Justice Ralph Gants will inspire law students and attorneys to use their individual talents to meet today’s challenges and advance access to justice.
In Honor of Chief Justice Gants: A Tribute
Join the Dean’s Office and OCP in a tribute to the life and work of Chief Justice Gants and how he exercised judicial leadership to advocate for access to justice. Guests shared their reflections on Chief Justice Gants in a panel moderated by Professor Martha Minow. Guests included Professor David Wilkins, Former Governor Deval Patrick, Former Chief Justice Margaret Marshall, Associate Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Kimberly Budd, District Attorney Rachael Rollins, and Susan Finegan, the Co-Chair of the Massachusetts Access to Justice Commission. Remarks on behalf of the Gants family were given by Deborah Ramirez, Professor of Law, Northeastern University School of Law.
‘Seeing the law work on a nitty-gritty level is really important to remembering that people interact with the law’
Students speak on remote pro bono legal work as HLS celebrates National Pro Bono Week
In Honor of Chief Justice Gants: Eradicating Racial Disparities in the Criminal Justice System
The late Chief Justice Gants was deeply concerned about the great disparity in the rates of imprisonment among Whites, African-Americans and Latinos in Massachusetts and sought to root out the inequities in the system that led to these disparate rates. Professor Dehlia Umunna engaged in a conversation in his honor about the critical next steps in eradicating racial disparities in the criminal justice system. Panelists included Judge Jay Blitzman (Ret.), Judge Nancy Gertner (Ret.), and Rev. Rashaan Hall from the ACLU of Massachusetts.
Student Voices
Election Day Primer
Election law and voting rights experts Professor Nick Stephanopoulos and Lecturer on Law Ruth Greenwood, Director of the Voting Rights Litigation and Advocacy Clinic, hosted a discussion about the 2020 Election in advance of Election Day, November 3rd.
Past Events
2020 MA SJC Pro Bono Honor Roll
| NICHOLAS ISMAEL AQUINO | DIANA MARIA CHRISTINA HAIGNEY | REBECCA A RAFERTY |
| MICHAEL GEORGE BLISS | JOCELYN HASSEL | EMILY A RAY |
| DAVID H BROWN | JOSHUA M HILLMAN | SAMUEL REBO |
| ELIZABETH WHELEN BUTTERWORTH | HANNAH LEE HUBBARD | ALISON C ROBERTS |
| JOHN VITO CALIA II | MARIS BARTOW HUBBARD | SARAH D RUTHERFORD |
| MARTA V CANNERI | ANNA KAREN JESSURUN | AREEB A SALIM |
| SARA D CARTER | ALEXANDER P JOHNSON | RACHEL J SCHAUB |
| YUNYI CHEN | MADELINE F KANE | JESSE E SCHWAB |
| AYCAN MERVE CIPLAK | AMIRA KATHERINE J KHAZAL | EMMA C SHIREY |
| ZACHARY E COHEN | ELIE W KIRSHNER | SABRI SIRAI |
| MEGAN CORRIGAN | NICHOLLE PATRICIA KNAPP | DELANY DIANORAIMA SISIRUCA |
| ROBERT F DELANEY | MOHAMED T LIGHT | MARISA R SKILLINGS |
| MADELEINE R DEMEULES | ZACHARY M MANLEY | KYLE SKINNER |
| MATTHEW J DISLER | SARAH D MARGULIES | ALEXANDRIA R SMITH |
| BENZION S EDELMAN | ELI D MARKHAM | LAURA GRACE SMITH |
| MATTHEW P FARRELL | FENELLA MCLUSKIE | ABBIE L STARKER |
| ISAIAH S FELDMAN-SCHWARTZ | LENA R MELILLO | JOAN E STEFFEN |
| ELIZABETH S FELDSTEIN | KELSEY A MILLER | ERICA TAICZ-BLANDON |
| LAURA KATHERINE FOLLANSBEE | MARCUS J MILLER | ANNA M TEITLER |
| ANDREA FORSEE | KAITLYNN N MILVERT | MICHAEL J TORCELLO |
| AARON S FOWLER | VINCENT G MONTOYA-ARMANIOS | CAITLIN J WALCZYK |
| LAURA A GARCIA | JULIAN MORIMOTO | MARIAH KALA WATSON |
| MADELEINE AMBROSE GATES | JARROD NELSON | MELISSA L WEN |
| SAMUEL A GILMAN | WILLIAM DAVID OSSOFF | WINDSOR ROSE WHITLOCK |
| MATTHEW JARED GOLDKIND | JUAN M PALACIO MORENO | GORDON R WORRELL |
| ISAAC MAX GREEN | TYLER C PATRICK | SABRINA Y ZHANG |
| STEPHANIE MICHELLE GULLO | JAMES CALEB PAYNE II | GABRIEL L ZIMMERMAN |
Review: Pro Bono Week 2019
Explore last year’s newsletter on Pro Bono Week 2019: Stand Together, Stand for Justice to learn more about pro bono at HLS, student practice organizations, and student reflections and achievements.