The OPIA Blog

When Dan Gordon entered Harvard Law School in 1996, he knew that he wanted to pursue education civil rights work. As a law student, Gordon was able to participate in a variety of activities to help him explore other possible career choices including the Criminal Justice Institute, Harvard Law Review, and Ames Moot Court.

A profile of alum Janson Wu (HLS, 2003) in The Progressive.

Thomas Garza had a variety of interests he was looking to pursue in law school including education law and LGBT related issues. He decided to work at Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD), a Boston based impact litigation organization because he thought it was doing the most interesting work for LGBT rights.

Wasserstein Fellows do great and courageous things. Mary Bonauto, Civil Rights Project Director at Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) is (and has been) no exception. As a Wasserstein Fellow during the 2004-2005 year, she mentored law students thinking about pursuing careers in civil rights and civil liberties.

Gideon's Army, a documentary film that follows three young public defenders in the south, was recently shown at Harvard Law School and features a former Wasserstein Fellow, Jonathan Rapping, the Founder and Executive Director for Gideon’s Promise (formerly the Southern Public Defender Training Center) based out of Atlanta, Georgia. Gideon's Promise works to help train and support public defenders in the south.

Timap for Justice, a legal services organization based in Sierra Leone, provides legal services through their 19 offices in both rural and urban areas. Lynnette worked for 10 weeks in the summer of 2011 in a small office in Yele, a village in the central part of Sierra Leone. There were 7 total interns with Timap, but each was assigned to a different office. They did, however, communicate with each other and meet up to go on weekend outings.

In Mika Brezinzski's "Women of Value" Series, she profiles Danielle Gray, who is currently the Cabinet Secretary and Assistant to the President. Gray graduated from HLS in 2003 and has worked with President Obama for a number of years

Last summer, Catherine Cooper worked with the Immigration Unit of Greater Boston Legal Services (GBLS). The main focus of GBLS is providing direct services to local clients in a variety of areas, such as housing, employment and welfare. The immigration unit primarily represents low-income immigrants in asylum interviews and hearings before the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice. Catherine loved working at GBLS and thought it was a great place to supplement her immigration work at HLS with a more intensive hands-on experience.

Previously a public policy major at Princeton, Jared was looking for opportunities to get involved in state government as a Harvard Law student. In 2008 he spent his summer interning in the Office of the Governor of Massachusetts Deval Patrick, working on education policy. He returned there for his 1L summer, this time as a Legal Fellow in the Office of Legal Counsel. One of only three Fellows, Jared enjoyed the close contact with all five in-house counsels. While the State House reminded him of a largely formal working environment, it felt rather casual for Jared who became an integral part of the small legal office.

Two recent HLS alumnae, Devon Goodrich (HLS, 2011) and Leocadie (Lee) Welling (HLS, 2011) received rookie of the year honors from the New York City Law Department, as top rookies in their field.

Last year, as a 1L, Emily Freeman looked for organizations in New York where she could pursue her interest in special education law. When she…

Lara Berlin, originally from California, is in her third year of a four-year joint-degree program with Harvard Law School and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts. She spent last summer working with the Center for Civilians in Conflict located in Washington DC. The organization “works to make warring parties more responsible to civilians before, during, and after armed conflict.”

The United States Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division – Special Litigation Section: long name, great summer experience. Jeremy Feigenbaum worked for Special Lit in…

Last summer, Amanda Ravich worked at the New York City Department of Mental Health and Hygiene, General Counsel Office. She described it as an incredibly interesting and rewarding experience.

Lerae Kroon spent last summer working at Catholic Charities Archdiocese of New York in the Immigration Office. This department provides legal consultations and direct representation to immigrants living in New York City. When she started her job search, Lerae knew that she wanted to spend her summer directly representing clients.

Read about two recent HLS alums, Ariane Tschumi and Neha Sheth, and the exciting work they're involved in within the federal government. Tschumi and Sheth are both Heyman Fellows, a program at HLS that seeks to encourage HLS graduates to pursue careers in federal government.

Sam Birnbaum left home far behind when he went to Thailand to spend the summer working for the United Nations Inter-Agency Project on Human Trafficking. Landing in Thailand, Sam got acquainted with the office, which is small and diverse—with only 15-20 people in the UN compound in Thailand and only about 50 across Southeast Asia, every member of the community can quickly feel at home.

Robin Lipp is in his third year as a JD/MPP student here at Harvard, and spent last summer working at the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Robin had worked for the New York City Law Department the previous summer, and wanted to get more of a policy oriented experience in his second summer (next summer, he hopes to combine the two, possibly through a legal position within a policy oriented non-profit or government office).

During the summer of 2012, Stephanie Berger, current 3L, worked for ten weeks at the Disability Rights Section of the DOJ Civil Rights Division. The primary job of the Disability Rights Section is to enforce the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) and use the ADA to expand civil rights.

As a 1L, Alexandra Gliga knew she was interested in the impact of the war on terror on individual rights. In her second semester, she had an incredible time in Professor Feldman’s 1L class on Constitutional Law and the International Order, which discussed Supreme Court cases related to Guantanamo and habeas corpus issues.

Daniel Grooms knew early on during his time at HLS that he wanted to work in public service, and specifically work in the federal government. Through the Heyman Fellowship Program , he was able to get his start. As he says in this great profile in the Washington Post, he "hasn't looked back since."