Noel Roycroft, director of the Transactional Law Clinics, was named an assistant clinical professor at Harvard Law School, effective Jan. 1.
Roycroft joined Harvard Law School in 2018 as a clinical instructor and has been instrumental in developing curriculum, training and supervising students, and representing clients in the Transactional Law Clinics. She brings deep experience in a range of transactional legal areas, including business and nonprofit formations, mergers and acquisitions, contract drafting, review and negotiation, commercial leasing, intellectual property, and arts and entertainment law.
“Noel Roycroft’s command of the legal and operational issues facing small business owners and entrepreneurs, together with her unyielding commitment to supporting economic opportunity in local communities, has significantly strengthened our Transactional Law Clinics. We are grateful that our students will continue to benefit from her teaching and mentorship,” said Dean John C.P. Goldberg, the Morgan and Helen Chu Dean and Professor of Law at Harvard Law School.
“It has been an absolute privilege to teach and mentor Harvard Law School students at TLC and to work alongside our amazing staff.” said Roycroft. “I am honored to take on this new role and look forward to continuing to provide accessible legal representation that helps our clients realize their dreams and to train the next generation of transactional attorneys.”
Harvard’s Transactional Law Clinics provide pro bono legal assistance to small businesses, entrepreneurs and community organizations in the Boston area. As director, Roycroft maintains the clinic’s focus on community economic development, frequently providing trainings and workshops in partnership with community, nonprofit, and government groups. A skilled transactional lawyer, Roycroft also supervises and guides the work of students in the clinics’ array of practice areas: Business and Nonprofit; Entertainment; and the Community Enterprise Project.
“Noel Roycroft is an outstanding lawyer and a dedicated teacher. She is passionate about clinical pedagogy and about training thoughtful transactional lawyers, and I am thrilled that she is joining the clinical faculty at HLS,” said Chris Bavitz, WilmerHale Clinical Professor of Law and vice dean for Experiential and Clinical Education.
Prior to joining Harvard Law School, Roycroft served as an associate in the corporate department of Ropes & Gray, where she was a member of the firm’s asset management group. She focused her practice on representing investment products, their boards, and managers in transactional, regulatory, and compliance matters. She also provided pro bono representation for sealing and expunging Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) and assistance with Individual Education Plan (IEP) negotiations.
Before her work at Ropes & Gray, Roycroft was a fellow and associate counsel with the national office of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, where she provided litigation support in the areas of education, voting, predatory lending, and employment.
Prior to law school, Roycroft worked in the Massachusetts House of Representatives in a variety of positions, including as chief of staff to a committee chair and state representative. She also has experience working in the nonprofit sector in fundraising and development, and served as an AmeriCorps member with Roxbury Youthworks Inc.’s Female Focus Initiative.
Roycroft received her B.A. from Bowdoin College and her J.D., summa cum laude, from American University’s Washington College of Law, where she served as articles editor of the American University Law Review and as a student attorney in the Community & Economic Development Law Clinic.
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