The Office of Clinical and Pro Bono Programs (OCP) offers HLS students the opportunity to conduct pro bono work during spring break through organized group trips and projects with legal organizations in the Boston area and across the United States. Typically students engage in pro bono legal work for a minimum of five days over the break in addition to other cultural activities. Legal work time is eligible for HLS pro bono credit.
Please contact Lee Mestre with any questions.
2026 Local and Remote Boston-Area Projects
The projects in the Boston area this year involve everything from assisting pro se litigants at
courthouses to legal research and editing of public know your rights handbooks. All work
time counts for HLS pro bono hours. Local public transportation costs will be reimbursed. Most
placements are in person, some are hybrid, and a few are fully remote. Most placements require all five days unless noted. See project descriptions below for student eligibility and requirements.
OCP will try to match as many interested students as possible with the capacity of the host organizations.
Timeline
Student application deadline: Sunday, February 8, 2026, 11:59pm
- Notifications: by February 11, 2026
- Student acceptance deadline: February 16, 2026
- Projects run March 16-20, 2026
2026 Project Descriptions
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Center for Law and Education (Remote)
www.cleweb.org
Volunteers will assist CLE in maintaining and updating its “Tracking Federal Government Action in Education” tool. (https://cleweb.org/federal-education-tracker/).
1L, 2L, 3L Eligible
Volunteers fully remote.
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Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS) (Hyannis, MA)
https://www.publiccounsel.net
Legal research for an appeal
2L, 3L Eligible
In-person required.
Office is easily accessible by car. Free or low-cost parking is available near office, Office is wheelchair accessible.
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Conservation Law Foundation (Boston, MA)
www.clf.org
There are two projects: (1)
Establishing an Integrated Climate Change Strategy for the Commonwealth. A 2016 executive order required every state executive office to publish a climate vulnerability assessment and adaptation solutions for the assets/work/agencies under its purview by 2018. The student will research the extent to which offices have complied with this requirement and the general enforceability of this executive order and produce a legal memorandum on the issues.
(2) Legal Implications of Managed Retreat; The student will research and produce a legal memorandum on the legal implications of involuntary managed retreat and buyouts. Research will focus on takings and other potential property rights violations.
1L, 2L, 3L Eligible
Hybrid Schedule: In-person Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, Remote Monday and Friday.
Office is easily accessible by public transportation, Office is easily accessible by car, Office is wheelchair accessible.
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Court Service Center Lowell (Lowell, MA)
https://www.mass.gov/info-details/court-service-center-unpaid-internships-and-volunteer-opportunities
https://www.mass.gov/locations/lowell-court-service-center
Assisting self-represented litigants and court users to complete court forms in probate, housing and district court.
1L, 2L, 3L, LLM Eligible, Must be eligible to work in U.S. with background check.
In person all days required.
Arabic, Cambodian, Haitian Creole, Korean, Mandarin, Spanish, Vietnamese, Portuguese languages helpful.
Office is easily accessible by public transportation, Office is easily accessible by car, Office is wheelchair accessible.
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Disability Law Center (Remote)
dlc-ma.org
Assist with writing a 2026 edition of MCLE publication “Legal Rights of Individuals with Disabilities.” DLC edited and co-authored the 2021 edition of the same title.
1L, 2L, 3L, LLM Eligible
Fully remote.
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Immigration Unit at Greater Boston Legal Services (Boston, MA)
https://www.gbls.org/what-we-do/immigration
Case work for clients seeking humanitarian-based immigration relief, including but not limited to asylum, SIJs, T Visas, U Visas, VAWA, TPS, motions/materials for immigration court, and research projects.
2L, 3L Eligible
Hybrid schedule to be determined with supervisor, Monday In-person required.
Arabic, Haitian Creole, Spanish, Portuguese, French, other languages helpful but not required.
Office is easily accessible by public transportation, Office is wheelchair accessible.
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Massachusetts Appleseed Center for Law and Justice (Boston, MA)
massappleseed.org
Appleseed’s short-term projects include research and policy work for our Homeless Youth Handbook, support the editing of Handbook chapters, outreach to potential partners on our subject-matter Know Your Rights trainings, and follow-up policy research related to language access in the Massachusetts Trial Courts. Other projects include research on potential partners who may be interested in supporting our work and internal reviews of our systems related to DEIB and communications.
1L, 2L, LLM Eligible
Hybrid or fully remote schedule to be determined with supervisor.
Office is easily accessible by public transportation, Office is easily accessible by car, Office is wheelchair accessible.
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Massachusetts IOLTA Committee (Remote)
https://www.maiolta.org/
Several access-to-justice research projects, including compiling reports regarding efforts in other states to expand the pool of people providing legal help, including community justice workers, legal triage and navigator programs, etc; and researching the history of access-to-justice and other fees in MA and the other jurisdictions.
1L, 2L, 3L, LLM Eligible
Fully remote.
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MetroWest Legal Services (Framingham, MA)
https://mwlegal.org/
Case work for clients seeking humanitarian-based immigration relief that will include researching and drafting a section or two of an asylum legal memorandum, reviewing an extensive FOIA response and preparing a Table of Contents of the provided documents, and/or preparing applications, motions and/or supporting documents for USCIS, Immigration Court or Probate and Family Court.
2L, 3L, LLM Eligible
Tuesday and Thursday required in person, In-person or remote Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, flexible hours.
Office is easily accessible by car, Free or low-cost parking is available near our office, Office is wheelchair accessible.
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Northeast Legal Aid (Lynn, MA)
https://www.northeastlegalaid.org/
The Low-Income Tax Clinic at Northeast Legal Aid helps individual taxpayers resolve controversies with the IRS and the Massachusetts Department of Revenue (DOR). Several of our cases involve the Offer in Compromise process for settling a tax debt for less than the full amount, or other collection alternatives. We have a few cases docketed in Tax Court. Finally, we are working on tax audits and appeals to resolve disputes at the administrative level without the need for litigation. Students may be assigned to complete IRS collection forms, for example, Form 433 series (Collection Information Statement). They may also be assigned to review client documents and prepare written submissions to the IRS and/or the DOR.
1L, 2L, 3L, LLM Eligible, Work Authorization required.
Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday in person required with remote work possible Wednesday and Friday after discussion with supervisor.
Office is easily accessible by public transportation (a 5-minute walk from the Lynn Interim commuter rail station which connects to North Station or MBTA buses 426, 441, 442 or 455);
Office is easily accessible by car, Free or low-cost parking is available, Office is wheelchair accessible.
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PAIR Project (Boston and Plymouth MA)
www.pairproject.org
1-2 law students who speak fluent Spanish or Portuguese to Plymouth Detention Center on March 17. The detention team needs to be at Plymouth from 12:45-4 pm.
1L, 2L, 3L, LLM Eligible
In-person required. Volunteers must have a car, Car is preferable, but carpooling may be a possibility.
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SouthCoast Fair Housing (Remote)
www.southcoastfairhousing.org
Students will receive training on fair housing issues and work may include: legal research, client intake, reviewing matters for fair housing issues, investigative work, drafting documents, drafting informational materials, drafting internal policies, and assisting with other needs as they arise.
1L, 2L, 3L, LLM Eligible
Fully remote M-F 9am-5pm.
Conflict check required.
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Triage Cancer (Remote)
https://TriageCancer.org
Pro bono students will be exposed to a variety of cancer-related and health care-related legal issues, such as health insurance, employment, access to health care, disability insurance, government benefits, estate planning, and consumer law. Responsibilities can include researching statutes, regulations, policies, legislation, and case law at the state and federal level; synthesizing complex legal concepts for lay audiences; writing educational blogs on legal topics; and creating educational materials and resources for the cancer and health care communities.
1L, 2L, 3L, LLM Eligible
Fully remote, flexible schedule
2026 Trips Outside of Boston
Timeline
Information session: Friday, November 14 at 12:30 pm, WCC 3007 POWERPOINT PRESENTATION
- Student application deadline: Tuesday, November 18 at 11:59 pm – DEADLINE HAS PASSED
- Notifications by Wednesday, November 26
- Student acceptance deadline: Tuesday, December 2
- Trips run March 14-21, 2026
Immigration Services Trip to San Diego, CA with Jewish Family Service
Students will assist recent migrants and asylum seekers fill out necessary immigration paperwork and applications. This could include but is not limited to work permit applications, change of address forms, family petitions, special immigration visa applications, and DACA renewal applications. Students will also have the opportunity to conduct know your rights presentations and provide legal information for clients at the migrant shelter. Students will also get to work on legal research for complex immigration cases and advise clients on specific legal issues such as applying for U-Visas and T-Visas. Students may also assist with other aspects of the immigration process such as aiding in citizenship classes and interview preparation
Not required, but preference for speakers of other languages, including but not limited to, students who speak Arabic, Haitian Creole, Dari, Pashton, Portuguese, Spanish, and Russian.
Co-sponsored with HLS Immigration Project.
(Six to eight students)
Students will assist residents impacted by Hurricane Helene. Some possible projects could be vital documents replacement; estate planning document replacement or creating new wills and advanced directives; and heirs property. Work will be done through legal clinics and individual client services. Exact work to be determined based on need at time of trip so students must be flexible. Students will be based in Asheville but may travel to other offices.
(Four students)
ACLU of Mississippi in Jackson, MS
Students will work with the ACLU of Mississippi to plan and host Know Your Rights events across the Jackson area and around the state. Students would be trained by the ACLU of Mississippi prior to the events and assist the organizers field questions from the public about their various legal and legal policy questions that affect rural America with a particular focus on voting rights.
Students will visit the Mississippi State Capitol with the ACLU of Mississippi to meet with legislators about issues such as the ballot initiative issue, Medicaid Expansion and healthcare access, rural hospital closures, healthcare coverage, and more. Participants will learn more about the history of Mississippi and the cultural significance of the Mississippi Delta Region.
Co-sponsored with the HLS Mississippi Delta Project.
(Four students)
Funding
OCP has funded spring break trips since 2005, when students went to New Orleans to assist families displaced by Hurricane Katrina. There is a limited amount of funding available for administrative costs and student travel. Our goal is to fund as many students as possible for valuable learning and service experiences. Housing, rental cars, and some airfare will be funded. Students will likely need to contribute to airfare or other costs depending on final numbers of student participants. Students are responsible for airline baggage fees, getting to and from Logan Airport, food, and entertainment. We only fund group trips through OCP. We do not fund individual student trips or projects.
