A practical good, continued
 Suma Nair '05 |
While some students find that real-world experience enhances their classroom work, Suma Nair '05 used her project to learn more about the world in which she'll be working next fall.
Last year, after a paid summer at Goulston & Storrs in Boston, Nair tacked on an unpaid week for pro bono projects. Part of the firm's appeal for Nair was its reputed commitment to pro bono, and the week gave her a taste of what it had to offer. It also taught her something about herself. Nair's projects included research and writing for a tenants' advocacy organization and for a nonprofit trying to spin off a 501c4--areas in which she'd like to practice. But she also helped a litigator who had sued the Massachusetts Department of Mental Retardation on behalf of clients who needed assistance taking care of mentally retarded dependents. As she called a long list of client family members, she discovered how much she liked helping just by listening to people who had stories they needed to tell.
Nair is committed to making public service part of her professional life. In fact, what first brought her to law school was an interest in social change through the law.
"Since being here, I lost my way a little and became more practical minded," she said. "I'm glad there is a pro bono requirement. It brought me back to why I came here in the first place."
Lea Weems '05 fulfilled the pro bono requirement by the end of her 1L year. But she still reads the notices from the pro bono office about 40-hour opportunities, the way some people are drawn to travel brochures describing places they don't have time to visit. "They sound so interesting," she said. "Even if it's just a small project for a law firm or a public service organization, it could be a really great add-on to what you're doing in class."
After clerking next year for Chief Justice Margaret Marshall of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, Weems wants to use her legal skills to help poor people obtain and retain affordable housing. Both her summer jobs and two of her clinical assignments at the Hale and Dorr Legal Services Center have prepared her, giving her a range of experience, from eviction cases to policy work.
When asked why she is drawn to the legal services work she came to law school to do, she laughed. "I guess I'm just one of these people who want to make the world a better place."
