Student Life

Over the years, the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau has successfully adapted with changing times, and currently serves a dual function of community service and pedagogy, but there are three primary aspects of the Bureau that has remained unchanged. As current president, Lam Ho, has described, “It is the best program at Harvard Law School in terms of providing legal services to low-income individuals; offering litigation training and experience; and creating a community of talented, dedicated, and compassionate students and attorneys."

Providing Legal Services
The Bureau holds a unique role at the law school. Law students are often limited, frighteningly so, in exposure to the most practical aspects of lawyering. Not so among Bureau members, who handle hundreds of cases from intake to closure each year, and work in coordination with in-house clinical instructors and experts in public interest law to help hundreds of low-income residents of the Greater Boston community. The Bureau has consistently sent a positive message about the law school to the greater Boston community.

The Bureau typically handles between 400-500 cases a year. There are generally between 150-200 active cases that involve family law (divorce, custody, child support, paternity, and visitation—most of which are affected domestic violence), housing law (evictions, access to housing, reasonable accommodations—some of which involve disability and criminal issues), benefits law (unemployment, disability, Social Security, food stamps, and other governmental programs mostly at the appeals level), and wage and hour claims (which are affirmative cases in federal and state courts that attempt to recover unpaid wages from employers). Additionally, we also have some tenant association cases that address larger, community concerns about access to decent, affordable housing.

Litigation Training and Experience
Bureau student attorneys are primary case handlers as opposed to assistants working on cases handled principally by clinical instructors. This dynamic, and a two year commitment, allows Bureau members to engage in intense and realistic practice by taking ownership of multiple cases from start to finish. This is in contrast to 3-4 month clinical programs that give students only a brief snapshot of a few cases. Though the work is often difficult, there is also the indescribable satisfaction of helping your clients avoid such injustices as homelessness or domestic abuse, and the riveting thrill of winning cases that you initially thought unwinnable. Additionally, because of the time commitment and intensity of the Bureau, our student attorneys sometimes handle cases in federal and appellate courts.

Bureau members meet regularly with a licensed supervising attorney who will mentor and guide them through the legal process. Since the student-attorneys practice under their supervisors' bar numbers, the supervisors are required to oversee the legal work and attend court appearances and administrative hearings. Although the supervisor will be present for court appearances, the student does the oral argument and courtroom negotiations. Additionally, students are given substantial autonomy in deciding how cases are litigated. With this autonomy comes a great deal of responsibility: student attorneys are whom clients will call when concerns or questions arise; Bureau members are required to find someone to cover their cases if they must be away from campus for more than 48 hours (this does not include weekends); and members are ultimately responsible for ensuring that all of the relevant documents and evidence relevant to their case are gathered in a timely manner. In addition to the assistance provided by supervising attorneys, all incoming 2L Bureau members will be paired with 3L mentors who will provide additional support and guidance. New Bureau members can also choose to co-counsel their first case with their mentor, ensuring that 2Ls have adequate guidance and support for the first "real case" of their legal career!

Finally, another aspect of Bureau training is the opportunity to run a law firm. Because we are student-run, Bureau members are responsible for the day-to-day management of the law firm. This means handling a range of administrative responsibilities, including office hours (answering calls from potential clients and providing referrals), intake interviews and memos (screening potential clients), and case checks (monitoring case files to ensure that they meet professional standards). Additionally, Bureau members participate actively in shaping the firm’s long-term policies and practices by serving on various committees (the office protocol, student concerns, recruitment and selection, diversity etc.) as well as in a variety of informal capacities. Finally, the major benefit of being student-run is that Bureau members can take the lead to propose new practice areas or initiatives for the organization. For example, over the past few years, a group of students worked to establish our rapidly developing "wage and hour" practice area at the Bureau in partnership with local community organizations.
Because we are student-run, Bureau members have the opportunity to gain great leadership and organizational experience in addition to litigation skills. Students excited to take on both case-handling and leadership responsibilities are ideal candidates for the Bureau.

A Fun Community
The Bureau offers great substantive training and hands-on practice but it also provides a social community. In the words of one member: “to say that the Bureau has ‘completed’ my law school experience would be a vast understatement.” You will find the Bureau to be an amazing place to work, make friends, and find professional colleagues.



Julie Park
1) Negotiated a settlement with the YWCA on behalf of a group of teenage mothers who were part of a transitional shelter program that the T was shutting down.
2) Deposed one of the defendants in a wage & hour case.
Libby Brown
1) Conducted a two-day trial, including cross-examination of an expert.
2) Filed an interlocutory appeal and notice of appeal in the Mass. Court of Appeals.
Ben Sauter
1) Visited clients’ apartments to investigate housing code violations and to interview other residents.
2) Attended strategy sessions organized by Boston tenants associations and legal services organizations.
Vivian Chum
1) Analyzed and re-examined the Bureau's litigation budget resulting in a final report and recommendation to HLS.
2) Made a new Bureau informational brochure in English, Spanish, and Portuguese available at DUA, SSA, housing courts, and other legal aid clinics around Boston.
Goutam Jois
1) Appeared in federal court to argue motion for preliminary injunction.
2) Defended a deposition.
3) Conducted a two-day bench trial.
Anna Ferrari
1) Preparing for a deposition in a housing matter.
2) Helped a disabled man obtain both SSI and SSDI benefits.
Kate Buzicky
1) Prepared for a jury trial that settled once the opposing party found out our extensive preparation.
3) Negotiated a settlement that allowed an elderly lady to keep her home.
Kim Harbin
1) Argued a custody motion.
2) Submitted motions and memoranda on child custody jurisdiction.
3) Attended a negotiation settlement on behalf of a tenant's association.
Lisa Burnett
1) Argued a motion for temporary orders in a divorce case and obtained alimony and child support.
2) Negotiated with opposing counsel and reached settlements on custody and visitation.
Mira Edmonds
1) Argued successfully to keep a restraining order against the client's abusive husband in place.
2) Argued successfully to impose a 60-day sentence on an opposing party who was nearly $10,000 in arrears on his child support obligation.
Lam Ho
1) Attended a DUA hearing and won the client unemployment benefits.
2) Argued several motions in court.
3) Prepared discovery for a divorce case.
Elena Medina
1) Conducted the research, drafted the memorandum of law, and filed an interlocutory appeal to the Appeals Court.
2) Settled a housing case with the Boston Housing Authority so that a mother and her four children could stay in their apartment.
Monee Takla
1) Represented a client in an unemployment hearing and retained benefits.
2) Argued an emergency motion to compel a Landlord to provide heat to property.
Lara Kislinger
1) Negotiated a settlement agreement in City Hall between a landlord and tenants' association.
2) Filed a contempt complaint against a landlord who did not comply with the terms of a settlement agreement.