BO S TO N CO LL E GE LAW S C H O O L
P UBLIC I NTEREST N EWSLETTER
November 2014
Learn more about the
keynote speaker:
SPECIAL FEATURE: PUBLIC INTEREST LAW RETREAT
Christine M. Griffin Discussion, Networking,
Ms. Griffin is the Executive
Director of the Disability Law
Center (DLC). She also served as
the Executive Director of DLC
from 1996 to 2005. After Ms.
Griffin’s first tenure as DLC’s
Executive Director, she served as
Commissioner at the U.S. Equal
Employment Opportunity
Commission (EEOC). She then was
the Acting Vice Chair of EEOC.
During her time at EEOC, Ms.
Griffin established the Leadership
for Employment of Americans
with Disabilities (LEAD) Initiative,
which is a national outreach and
education campaign to address
the declining number of
employees with severe disabilities
in the federal workforce. Ms.
Griffin next served as Deputy
Director of the Office of Personnel
Management and was responsible
for implementing President
Obama’s Executive Order on
Increasing Employment of People
with Disabilities in the Federal
Government and for establishing
the first government-wide
initiative on Increasing Diversity
and Inclusion in the Federal
Workforce.
Prior to her current tenure as
Executive Director of DLC, Ms.
Griffin was the Assistant Secretary
for Disability Policy and Programs
at the Massachusetts Executive
Office of Health and Human
Services. As the Assistant
Secretary she provided leadership
and supervision to management
of the Massachusetts
Rehabilitation Commission,
Developmental Disability Services,
Massachusetts Commission for
the Blind, Massachusetts
Commission for the Deaf and Hard
of Hearing and the Soldiers
Homes in Holyoke and Chelsea.
For this and more information on
Ms. Griffin, please go to:
http://www.dlc-ma.org/news/
newed.htm
BOSTON COLLEGE
LAW SCHOOL
885 CENTRE STREET
NEWTON, MA 02459
WWW.BC.EDU/LAW
617-552-4345
Orientation, and Parlor Games:
The Annual Public Interest Retreat
A Success
By Andrew Haile
More than 50 interested BC Law
students traveled to the Connors
Center in Dover, MA on September
13th and 14th for the annual Public
Interest Law Retreat. Each year,
the retreat is organized by the BC
Public Service Scholars, a small
group of scholarship students
committed to working in the
public sector after graduation.
The retreat aims to provide a point
of connection for students—1Ls in
particular—who enter BC with a
demonstrated interest in public
interest law. For many of these
students, 1L fall can be a
challenging and disorienting time,
as required first-year courses tend
not to directly address issues of
social justice or lawyering for the
poor. The retreat is designed to
give students an outlet to talk
about different areas of public
interest law and connect with
other like-minded students and
practitioners.
This year’s retreat featured
nearly twenty practitioners in
various fields of public interest
law, including immigration,
child welfare, education
advocacy, and criminal law,
among others. Students
participated in roundtable
discussions with practitioners,
a keynote speech from
Disability Law Center director
Christine Griffin, and a few
rousing rounds of parlor games
during the evening hours.
A 1L’s Experience
By Liam Holland
I had the pleasure of attending
BC Law’s annual Public Interest
Law Retreat at the Connors
Center in Dover, MA. The
retreat’s purpose was to give
attendees a broad
understanding of how lawyers
in the real world dedicate their
work to serving others and
promoting the public
interest. The events began
with a speech delivered by
Christine Griffin, the Executive
Director of the Massachusetts
Disability Law Center. Ms. Griffin
shared her experiences advocating
for the disabled, as a Commissioner
on the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission and as
Deputy Director of the US Office of
Personnel Management. Later,
students gathered in small groups
with practicing attorneys from
different public interest areas to
learn about their experiences. I
attended the Legal Services
roundtable, where I learned from
attorneys working for legal aid
organizations that provide free
legal services for individuals who
are elderly, low income, or living
with HIV and AIDS. I also attended
a second roundtable where I
conversed with an assistant
attorney general and legal counsel
for a Massachusetts state
senator. The weekend retreat
allowed attendees to envision a
career in public service that while
challenging at times, can be a
rewarding experience full of diverse
professional opportunities.
Additionally, I had a lot of fun with
other students passionate about a
career in public service and forged
valuable relationships with them
that I continue to enjoy.
Students at the Public Interest Law Retreat at the Connors Center
SPECIAL FEATURE: EJW CONFERENCE AND CAREER FAIR
free form discussion of what employer
and employee have to offer each other. I
By Graham Markiewicz
even discovered two new potential
Four of us carpooled down to
placement opportunities at organizations
Washington D.C. to attend the Equal
I hadn’t previously considered. Outside
Justice Works Conference and Career
the formal conference, DC is a great
Fair this October. While 18 hours of Top
place to meet with others in the
40 music on the radio was challenging the Government/Public Interest field and get
experience and opportunity we had was advice from senior experts. I made
irreplaceable. To best make the trip a
contact with BCLS alumni through
success it was important to carefully plan professors and social networks and even
every moment of the weekend. The
reached out to previous colleagues who
dominant feature was pre-scheduled
may not be practicing in my interest
interviews with the public interest
areas, but still provided significant
employers, who represented over 100
mentorship, to schedule "coffee
organizations. Because much public
chats" (i.e., informational interviews).
interest work is very niche or
Although it was tiring after five “coffee
geographically constrained, this
chats” on Friday, possibly the most
conference was a good chance to get
important lessons I can pass on are that
many likely employers in one place. Those it’s OK to order Decaf and it's well worth
that I did not interview with were
the time to meet with contacts in-person
available to meet through “table-talk,” a while traveling.
Students Attend EJW Conference in DC
Students in
DC for the
EJW Fair
Upcoming Public Interest Events
Monday, November 17
Tuesday, November 18
Public Interest Designation &
Pro-Bono Nuts and Bolts
12:00 - 1:00 pm in EW 200
Come learn about the Public
Interest Designation Program
and Pro Bono Program at BC
Law. What are these programs?
How do you participate in them?
What requirements must you
complete before graduation? 1Ls,
2Ls and 3Ls, all your questions
will be answered at this program!
Pizza will be served.
PILF Holiday Talent Show
6:30 pm in Barat House
Join faculty and students as they
share their talents at this annual
talent show.
EJW Conference Keynote: Bryan Stevenson
Professor Bryan Stevenson has dedicated his career to
helping the poor, the incarcerated and the condemned as
a public-interest lawyer. He is a professor of law at New
York University Law School and the founder and Executive
Director of the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI). EJI is an
Alabama-based group that has won major legal challenges
eliminating excessive and unfair sentencing, exonerating
innocent prisoners on death row, confronting abuse of the
incarcerated and the mentally ill and aiding children
prosecuted as adults.
In 2012, EJI won a historic case in the U.S. Supreme Court,
which ruled that mandatory life-without-parole sentences
for all children 17 or younger are unconstitutional. Students in BC Law’s Children’s Law and Public Policy have
recently read this historic case, Miller v. Alabama. Professor Stevenson has won relief for dozens of condemned
prisoners, argued six times before the Supreme Court and
won national acclaim for his work challenging bias against
the poor and people of color. He has received numerous
awards, including the MacArthur Foundation “Genius”
Grant. He is a graduate of the Harvard Law School and the
Harvard School of Government, and has been awarded 14
honorary doctorate degrees. Professor Stevenson has also
recently written a book, Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and
Redemption, which the BC Law Library has ordered and
should have soon for students to borrow.
To view Professor Stevenson’s inspiring keynote speech at
this year’s EJW Conference and Career Fair, visit:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=cGqsXmjugjo&list=UUKlFtyI63EnXuQoNDAheq7Q
For this and more information on Professor Stevenson,
please go to: http://equaljusticeworks.org/law-school/
conference-and-careerfair/keynote
Summer Opportunity: Rappaport Fellowship
The Rappaport Summer Fellowship is a 10-week summer fellowship with
a law and public policy focus and a generous stipend. Placements are
available in state and local government agencies.
About the Fellowship:
Each year, the Rappaport Fellows Program brings together a cadre of
highly qualified law students from Boston-area law schools who demonstrate exceptional commitment to public service and an interest in law
Saturday, November 22
and public policy issues affecting the Greater Boston region. Twelve
Boston Bar Association Event:
fellows are selected from J.D. candidates attending any of the six Boston
Volunteer at Cradles to Crayons
-area law schools. The fellowship funds students to engage in a ten10 am - 12 pm at 155 N Beacon St.,
week paid summer internship, and also includes a weekly summer semiBrighton, MA
nar series and mentoring opportunities designed to enhance the fellow’s
Click here for more information
understanding of public policy and public service.
and to register to attend
Featured Opportunities for Pro Bono
Volunteer Lawyers Project
The Volunteers Lawyers Project (VLP) of the Boston Bar
Association offers many different pro bono opportunities for law
students in areas including family law, housing law, bankruptcy,
trusts and estates, and consumer law.
There are pro bono opportunities in the VLP’s different clinics,
such as the Guardianship Clinics and Housing Clinic. Also, there are
opportunities for students who are 3:03 certified to take cases
currently.
For more information on these and other pro bono opportunities at
the VLP, please go to: http://www.vlpnet.org/students/
For additional information you can contact the Volunteer Lawyers
Project’s Referral Coordinator, Tiara Mahoney Paulino, at
tmpaulino@vlpnet.org.
For more information, contact: Michelle Grossfield, Associate Director of
Public Interest and Pro Bono Programs, at michelle.grossfield@bc.edu or
(617) 552-4345
For internship, job and pro bono postings, visit:
https://law-bc-csm.symplicity.com/students