Emily Berry ’26 and Divya Kumar ’26 are the recipients of the 2026 Kristin P. Muniz Memorial Award, bestowed in memory of a beloved Criminal Justice Institute senior clinical instructor to honor students who exemplify her commitment to justice and superb client-centered representation.
The mission of CJI is to educate Harvard Law students in becoming effective, ethical, and zealous criminal defense lawyer-advocates as they represent indigent individuals involved in the Massachusetts court system. This yearly recognition awarded by CJI pays tribute to the late Kristin P. Muniz, whose untimely passing in 2020 was deeply saddening for her colleagues and her numerous former students. For a decade, Muniz passionately served as a criminal defense lawyer, cherished instructor, and trial team coach at CJI. The award honors graduating students who, like Muniz, have shown outstanding commitment to client-centered representation in criminal courts. It recognizes those who have focused their efforts on racial justice and equality, respect for human dignity, fairness, and compassion.
Emily Berry
“To be recognized in Kristin Muniz’s name inspires me to work every day to live up to the joy, bravery, empathy, and passion she brought to every person she represented,” Berry says. “Though I did not have the honor of meeting Ms. Muniz, I know she spent her life building a more just world and caring deeply about every person she met. She is the kind of person and lawyer I hope to be.”
Berry came to Harvard Law School with a clear sense of purpose — to become a public defender — and her time in CJI deepened that commitment in ways she could not have anticipated. It was her clients, she says, who became her most important teachers.
“The people I have represented in CJI have left an indelible mark on me as a person,” Berry reflects. “Despite the harm that they have faced in their lives, I have seen them choose to practice grace, forgiveness, and trust every single day. Their ability to see the best in others has inspired me deeply, and it has given me hope and belief in the power of community, even when the systems around them offer none.”
“I came to law school to be a public defender, but it was my clients who taught me how to stand up to the systems designed to put marginalized communities behind bars.”
The CJI experience clarified not just why she wanted to do this work, but how. “I came to law school to be a public defender, but it was my clients who taught me how to stand up to the systems designed to put marginalized communities behind bars,” she says. “CJI gave me the skills and practice to fight alongside them with every tool possible, defending their liberty and dignity. I am grateful to have had this year to grow into an advocate they can trust.”
“Emily Berry exemplifies the qualities Attorney Muniz demonstrated as a public defender and CJI clinical instructor,” said clinical professor of law Dehlia Umunna, director of CJI. “Emily managed one of the highest caseloads this year, consistently demonstrating zealous advocacy and a strong work ethic. Her commitment is evident in her representation of clients across Roxbury, Dorchester, West Roxbury, and Quincy District Courts, where she has handled complex matters before judges and magistrate clerks. Throughout every stage of proceedings, she has shown unwavering dedication.”
Beyond her exceptional organizational skills and analytical abilities, Umunna lauds Berry’s professionalism and compassion: “In addition to her advocacy, Emily demonstrates deep intelligence, perseverance, and a strong commitment to marginalized communities. Emily’s ability to connect with clients, especially those facing significant challenges, truly sets her apart. As one client recently asked, ‘Who will fight for me when she graduates?’”
Berry’s commitment to client-centered representation extends across her clinical and pro bono work at Harvard Law. In addition to CJI, she has been a member of Harvard Defenders, the Crimmigration Clinic, and the Harvard Prison Legal Assistance Project (PLAP).
After graduation, Berry will join the New Jersey Office of the Public Defender. She carries with her a vision of advocacy that goes beyond the courtroom. “My time in the clinics and SPOs has taught me that working for our clients means we are always on a team, never letting each other’s lives or experiences go unwitnessed,” she says. “To stand next to someone in court is an honor, but so is sitting with them on a bench outside a courthouse, seeing photos of their children, learning about their life, and teaching them what I have had the privilege of learning in law school. I hope to be working with them, toward something that looks more like freedom, for the rest of my life.”
Divya Kumar
“It is such an honor to receive an award honoring such a prolific defender,” says Kumar. “I’m incredibly grateful to my clinical instructor, Eliza Lockhart-Jenks, who is an incredible mentor and teacher.”
For Kumar, CJI did more than build her skills as an advocate; it confirmed that she had found her purpose. “CJI fully confirmed that public defense is what I was meant to do,” she says. “I knew coming into law school that I was interested in the work, but CJI is unique because it puts you in the driver’s seat.”
Throughout her time in the clinic, Kumar ushered many cases from start to finish, navigating the full range of criminal defense practice. At the center of that experience, she says, was the trust her clients placed in her. “Most importantly, I had the chance to earn and keep the trust of my clients,” Kumar reflects. “I’m incredibly grateful they trusted me as a student to see them through so much, and it was an honor and a privilege to represent them every day.”
“Divya has exemplified the public defender mindset this year in every sense,” said clinical instructor Eliza Lockhart-Jenks. “She is a natural speaker in court — confident, poised, and incredibly prepared.”
“I’m incredibly grateful [my clients] trusted me as a student to see them through so much, and it was an honor and a privilege to represent them every day.”
Lockhart-Jenks praised Kumar’s ability to cultivate strong relationships with clients: “One client is an unhoused client without a phone and in order to meet with her, Divya must go to Nubian Square and hope to find her — something she has done successfully a number of times. She is unfazed when something unexpected happens. For example, she had a moment with her client in court while arguing a motion to dismiss where the client was nodding off while standing in front of the podium. Divya, without calling any attention to it, slipped her arm around her client and continued arguing, while supporting her, ultimately winning the motion. Divya cares about her clients as whole people, and that shows in her work.”
Kumar’s commitment to public defense predates her time in CJI and is evident across her law school career. She spent the summer after her first year in law school at the Federal Defender’s Office for the District of Minnesota and her second-year spring semester at the Center for Death Penalty Litigation in Durham, North Carolina, through a placement in the Capital Punishment Clinic. Last summer, she worked at the Defender Association of Philadelphia.
Each experience, she says, illuminated a different dimension of the work. “All of these experiences, culminating in my time with CJI, each confirmed a different aspect of why I wanted to be a public defender.”
“I’m leaving CJI motivated, prepared, and excited to become a public defender,” she says. This fall, she will return to the Defender Association of Philadelphia to begin her career.
In the words of Lockhart-Jenks: “They are lucky to have her.”
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