Tashrima Hossain ’25 is the recipient of the 2025 Ralph D. Gants Access to Justice Award. Hossain is celebrated for her outstanding accomplishments as a member of the Housing Law Clinic of the WilmerHale Legal Services Center, where she spent four semesters advocating for survivors of intimate partner and sexual violence in the clinic’s Housing Justice for Survivors Project. Hossain’s diligent efforts to secure housing solutions on individual and systemic levels have made her a model of client-centered advocacy and thoughtful leadership.
The award commemorates the legacy of the late Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Ralph D. Gants ’80, who was a champion of social justice advocacy. This recognition is given to a student who demonstrates commitment to improving access to justice and leadership in working to remove systemic barriers that prevent equal justice for all.
“It is an immense honor and privilege to receive the Gants Access to Justice Award,” said Hossain. “I’m humbled to be associated with Chief Justice Gants’ legacy of advocating for individuals facing historic injustices. I came to law school to learn how to represent and defend those harmed by America’s broken housing systems. It means a great deal to know these efforts have made an impact on our clients. None of this would have been possible without the mentorship and guidance of my clinical professor, Julia Devanthéry, the thought partnership of my fellow Housing Justice for Survivors students, and the unwavering support of the entire Legal Services Center team.”
When Hossain was 8 years old, Hurricane Katrina ravaged her community in New Orleans. Prior to attending law school, she worked in San Francisco, where she fought for housing justice through policy advocacy at the city and state levels. After enrolling at Harvard Law, Hossain said she was eager to work directly with families like her own, those most affected by housing crises. She quickly put this purpose into action in the Housing Law Clinic.
In the clinic, Hossain provided direct representation to tenants facing housing instability due to domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking. In one case, a client was about to lose her home as a direct result of experiencing abuse. Hossain advanced a claim under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and negotiated a favorable settlement with the survivor’s landlord, allowing her to continue to be safely housed. In another VAWA case, Hossain drafted and argued a motion for summary judgment claiming that the landlord’s failure to provide the required notice of tenant rights under VAWA rendered the original eviction notice null and void. The judge agreed, providing precedent for other cases that the clinic circulated to hundreds of legal services attorneys to use in their cases.
“Tashrima is caring, passionate, and willing to listen intently without judgment,” said one former client. “Although I’ve cried some ugly tears throughout the two years that she has been my student attorney, Tashrima always puts a smile on my face by the time we end each conversation. She is attentive, respectful, and leads with so much empathy. She will be an amazing attorney, and the world will be a better place with her fighting for justice.”
Each individual client representation underpinned the urgency of Hossain’s broader goal, to bring housing justice to families in need. The work began during her first hearing, she recalled: “I’ll never forget the whirlwind of it. Less than 24 hours before we were scheduled to appear, the judge informed us we would need to present our motion for summary judgment the next morning — or wait until trial. Because our argument had the potential to impact domestic violence survivors across the Commonwealth, our client, Julia [Devanthéry], and I knew we had to act quickly to ensure it would be heard. We spent the night and the early morning preparing. In the end, it was incredibly rewarding to stand in court and argue not only on behalf of our client but also for the many survivors at risk of eviction.”
Much of Hossain’s work in the clinic successfully brought housing solutions to broad swaths of clients through class action litigation. During her time in the clinic, Hossain was involved in negotiating settlements that compensate tenants for illegal evictions, advising on corporate policies that aim to reduce evictions. She also designed an outreach program to launch the clinic’s eviction record sealing practice.
“Throughout law school, I’ve wrestled with how to balance representing individual clients with pursuing broader systemic change,” reflected Hossain. “The Housing Law Clinic has shown me it’s possible to do both. We can offer direct legal services to housing survivors in Boston, while mounting class actions against some of the city’s largest evictors and pushing for policy reform at the municipal and state levels. These clinical opportunities have affirmed my goal of becoming a lawyer who not only serves individuals but also works to confront the structural forces that shape their experiences.”
After graduation, Hossain will work at a law firm in San Francisco. “There, I hope to build a robust housing-related, pro bono practice, including continuing my involvement in housing matters I worked on last summer,” she said. “I also plan to engage in homelessness and housing advocacy in partnership with the City of San Francisco upon my return — work I intend to pursue full-time later in my career.”
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