Class of 2023 Clinical and Pro Bono Programs Commencement Newsletter

Allie Cunningham ’23 and Jess Vanzuela Ramirez ’23 presented oral arguments to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.

Brian Dezurick ’23 and his clinical team held a Youth Summit at HLS for local high school students.

The clinic is working toward the adoption of a district map that reflects the growing population of people of color in Jacksonville, FL, ensuring that electoral power in the city is fairly distributed.

“It ended up becoming one of the most defining and rewarding experiences in my law school career and changed the trajectory of my career.” – Kaylee Ding ’23

Juan Castano ’23 and Isabel Espinosa Moguel ’23 helped prepare a defensive asylum claim for an indigenous Guatemalan man who suffered severe persecution in his home country.

“If I could make farmed animal law a required class for every student, I would,” says Arlene Lopez ’23.

Former HLAB President Suzanna Bobadilla ’23 reflects on her time in law school & on becoming an advocate for workers’ rights.

The clinic resumed in-semester international travel for the first time since the outbreak of COVID-19 with students and clinicians heading to Dublin, Ireland and Pristina and Mitrovica, Kosovo.

“I had always been told law school would teach me to ‘think like a lawyer’… I am grateful for my time at TLC for allowing me the opportunity to ‘act like a lawyer.'” – Millen Trujillo ’23

Liz Turner ’23 worked with a non-profit group in East Cleveland, Ohio to change discriminatory municipal codes.

Ali Gentry ’23 attended the AIDSWatch Conference in Washington D.C. – “one of the most formative experiences of law school.”

“Most importantly, I learned about my colleagues’ shared, genuine commitment to the protection of all faiths and witnessed the role faith plays in lives very different from my own.” – David Tye ’23

This March, Pablo Lozano ’23 presented an oral argument before the First Circuit Court of Appeals.

Valerie Gutmann ’23 and Austin Riddick ’23 interview each other about how they became interested in dispute resolution, why they think the field is vital to our culture and the legal system today, their passion for helping those in conflict find agency and ownership in problem-solving.

Anthony Pericolo ’23 describes his work to reinstate a Vietnam veteran’s benefits and the lessons learned.

“It’s incredibly special to find a group of devoutly religious people who are eager to learn from each other’s faiths and who stand for religious freedom for its own sake,” writes Azhan Hasan ’23.

Annalise Wagner ’23 worked on an amicus brief in solidarity with tenants and survivors of abuse.

Strategic lawyering by a team of Harvard Law students led Veterans Affairs to change its long-standing benefits policy.

Lauren Andrews ’23 and Jackie Weinell ’23 worked on a West Virginia case advocating for transgender rights on the state level.

In the aftermath of COVID-19, David Lee ’23 worked with clients to navigate interactions with the IRS.

Madeline Finnegan ’23 explores what happens when perpetrators of domestic violence use civil court system to re-victimize survivors.

Students spent their winter term in Washington D.C., working on appellate briefs at the MacArthur Justice Center.

“The clinic is an opportunity to address the passions that started at a young age related to the justice system, and the passion for special education law that I’ve had for as long as I can remember because of my brother.” – Austin Riddick ’23

“My time in the Judicial Process Clinic taught me that there is good to be found—you just have to know where to look, and create it where there is none.” – Lisa Wang ’23

Abel Rodriguez ’23 worked with Justice at Work, a Boston-based legal nonprofit that supports organizations of workers in low-paying jobs, through direct legal assistance and by counseling workers on how to be their own best advocates.

“The opportunity to work on both ECA reform and confronting the independent state legislature theory as part of my clinical experiences has allowed me to understand the real, on-the-ground impact of the doctrine I’ve learned in my classes.” – Zachary Goldstein ’23

Fjora Arapi ’23 moderated a panel of fellow clinical students describing their experiences in Philadelphia and Austin.

Sports Law Clinic alum Rehan Staton ’23 traces path from sanitation worker to Law School grad, gives thanks for sacrifices by dad, brother and help from pals, profs — and Tyler Perry

“Both the work and the people were filled with legal, as well as life, lessons that I will forever carry with me.” – Aaron Fogelson ’23

Eric Xu ’23 and Samantha Neal ’23 worked on a petition for certiorari for their pro bono client.

At the Iowa State Attorney General’s Office, Harley Moyer ’23 published an article that gained national attention, urging state attorneys general to pay mind to the implications of data being released by federal agencies.

“More than the subject matter of the Clinic’s jurisdiction, however, I think it was the personal aspects that most discernibly impacted me,” writes Billy Goulston ’23.

SPOs are cherished by HLS students, as an opportunity to explore their own passions from human rights to the arts. Here’s what students had to say about some of their SPO experiences this year.

Apoorva Krishnan ’23 and Molly Crane ’23 on finding their place and learning from clients in Defenders.

Mary Cao ’23 on her most memorable client and the lessons learned in Harvard Defenders.

The Tenant Advocacy Project led an initiative to bring a powerful legal tool to as many Boston area tenants as possible.