The OPIA Blog

Becoming a human rights attorney takes risk, tenacity, and also some luck. Regina Fitzpatrick (HLS, 2008) had a little bit of everything to help launch her into the human rights field.

Jacquelyn Greene has spent her much of her career focused on youth and child advocacy, but in different public interest practice areas. Students may often wonder (and wrestle) with the decision of doing direct legal work vs. doing policy work. Jacquelyn's career has taken her through both arenas. Read about Jacquelyn's career path and how it's often important to focus on your passion to help you figure out your next steps.

Lee Strock (HLS, 2009) made the transition from the private sector to the public sector in 2012 when he made the jump to become the Director for the Peter Cicchinio Youth Project at the Urban Justice Center. The jump wasn't easy, but with deliberate action at various stages of his career, and maintaining (and building) of his network, Lee was able to make the transition into a position he felt deeply committed to.

Jason Gelbort (HLS, 2013) had an eye towards international work when entering HLS, but didn't quite know how he was going to use a law degree to move that focus forward. After a few years of exploring HLS and the opportunities available to him through clinics, student groups and summer internships, he began to see how he would harness his experiences at HLS and direct it towards the work he wanted to be doing abroad. Jason emphasizes that it's important to keep an open mind when exploring your legal education, and use all the resources available to you to foster that learning.

Lexie Kuznick is just 8 years removed from HLS, and she has already had a varied career path. From an Equal Justice Works Fellowship at the Urban Justice Center's Domestic Violence Project to a position on Capitol Hill, to her current role as a policy director with Colorado's Human Service Directors Association, she's been exposed to different work settings, both legal and non-legal, that have allowed her to pursue her passions and interests, while also providing new challenges at different turns. Kuznick's experience shed's light on how one's legal skills can apply broadly, not just to the legal field. It may all depend on how you pitch it.

Robert McCreanor is now the Executive Director for the Rhode Island Center for Justice, a nonprofit public interest law center that focuses on providing services…

Nisha Agarwal, ’06, is the Commissioner of the New York City Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs (MOIA), an office charged with promoting the well-being of immigrant communities – no small task in a city with an immigrant population larger than the total population of Chicago.

Cori Crider ’06, Strategic Director for the Abuses in Counter-Terrorism Team at Reprieve in the UK talks about her path to becoming a human rights lawyer.

Genzie Bonadies, a class of 2013 alumna, discusses her path to her current position, and how some of the lessons she has learned, early on, have really opened up her way of thinking of what it means to practice public interest law.

Read about Peter Nash Stavros, a 3L, who spent this past fall semester at the University of Geneva and also spent his past two summers working abroad. Peter offers a glimpse into how one can build up international credentials and explore a wide array of work types while doing so.

When Stephanie Gendell '98 arrived at law school, she knew she didn’t want to follow a conventional path. She wanted to help children and she had no desire to do litigation. “At the time,” she said, “both of those things were very unusual.”

Jacqueline Berrien ’86, a leading civil rights lawyer and former chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, died on Nov. 9, 2015. She was 53.

Amal Bass ’06, Staff Attorney with the Women’s Law Project in Philadelphia, knew when she enrolled at HLS that she would emerge a public interest lawyer, though she wasn’t sure in what form.

Our spotlights on current and former students who interned in the public sector will shed light on the numerous opportunities available to HLS students during…

To ensure that a decision to pursue law firm work is based on your own personal needs and interests rather than mythology, we’ve tackled some of the most common misconceptions about public interest law here.

Congratulations to Shannon Erwin (HLS, 2010), and Alana Greer (HLS, 2011), Harvard Law School’s next PSVF seed grant recipients! Greer will use the seed grant…

2L Zack Bluestone spent last summer with the Office of the Chief Prosecutor (OCP) in the Defense Department’s Office of Military Commissions.

Last summer, Katherine Calle worked as an intern at the Center for Children’s Law and Policy, a public interest organization in Washington, D.C. CCLP works with jurisdictions and facilities to improve the juvenile justice system across the country.

Jillian Wagman, a 2L, spent her 1L summer as an intern with the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia. The Chambers is responsible for prosecuting individuals responsible for the genocide in Cambodia.

After 2L year, Greg Baltz (a current 3L) spent his summer with the Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project (FIRRP) in Florence, Arizona.

Brett Stark (HLS, class of 2012) and an organization he recently co-founded, Terra Firma, were highlighted in the Atlantic this month. The article spotlights work being done through medical-legal partnerships and how essential their work can be for different communities.