Susan K. Sloane
Co-Director of LSSC for Legal Research and Writing
Vassar College, A.B. 1969
Boston University School of Law, J.D. 1972
Susan Sloane is Co-Director for Writing and Research of the Legal
Skills in Social Context Program. She joined the Northeastern adjunct
faculty in 2006-2007, teaching Legal Research and Writing. She
previously taught a similar course at Boston University School of Law
for four years. Professor Sloane served as Interim Co-Director of the
LSSC program for one year and became the permanent Co-Director in
2008. She began her legal career at Choate, Hall & Stewart in Boston and then served in the
office of the Massachusetts Attorney General, first as an assistant attorney general in the
Consumer Protection Division and then as chief of the Division of Public Charities. She opened
her own practice in 1985 specializing in mediation and collaborative law, primarily in the field of
family law. She has also coached the Boston University undergraduate mock trial and mock
mediation teams for many years.
Donald L. Cabell
Université de Paris, 1983-84
University of Massachusetts, Amherst, B.A. 1986
Northeastern University School of Law, J.D. 1991
Following his graduation from law school in 1991, Mr. Cabell spent
four years in private practice litigating commercial, securities and
employment matters, first as a litigation associate for Hale and Dorr,
and then for Peckham Lobel Casey Prince and Tye. Since 1995, Mr.
Cabell has worked for the Department of Justice as an Assistant U.S.
Attorney in the Boston U.S. Attorney’s Office. His responsibilities
have included prosecuting all types of federal felony offenses, including firearms, narcotics,
fraud and violent crime, but he has focused his practice for the last several years on prosecuting
terrorism and espionage cases as a member of the Office’s Antiterrorism and National Security
Unit. In addition to trying dozens of cases in the District Court, Mr. Cabell has successfully
argued several matters before the First Circuit Court of Appeals. Mr. Cabell teaches legal
research and writing in the Legal Skills in Social Context (LSSC) program.
Romeo G. Camba
Rutgers University, BS 1990
Northeastern University, JD 1994
Romeo G. Camba is the head of the Law Clerk Program at the
Massachusetts Superior Court. He was previously an Assistant
Attorney General at the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office, a
litigation associate at Burns & Levinson LLP, and a law clerk to the
Justices of the Massachusetts Superior Court. Mr. Camba teaches
legal research and writing in the Legal Skills in Social Context (LSSC) program.
Phil Catanzano
Northeastern University (BS, 1999)
Boston College Law School (JD, 2002)
Boston College Lynch School of Education (M.Ed., 2002)
Mr. Catanzano is an attorney with the U.S. Department of Education's
Office for Civil Rights. Prior to joining the Department, Mr. Catanzano
was a litigator at Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo,
where his practice focused on intellectual property litigation. During
his time in private practice, Mr. Catanzano also dedicated a substantial
amount of time to the firm's pro bono efforts, representing indigent
clients in immigration asylum proceedings and in the Massachusetts
state and federal courts. In addition, he has drafted amicus briefs to the Massachusetts Supreme
Judicial Court regarding the privacy rights of sexual assault victims and he currently serves as
the Amicus Chair of the Boston Bar Association's Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Section. Mr.
Catanzano has most recently published an article in the Massachusetts Law Review regarding the
impact of globalization on trademark rights. He teaches legal research and writing in the Legal
Skills in Social Context (LSSC) program.
Christine M. Durkin
Connecticut College, B.A. 1988
Suffolk University School of Law, J.D. 1991
Ms. Durkin received her J.D. from Suffolk University Law School in 1991. While a law student,
she served as Executive Editor for the Suffolk University Law Review. After graduating, she worked
as an associate at Danaher, Tedford, Lagnese & Neal in Hartford. From 1995 to 1999, Ms. Durkin
was the Coordinator of Legal Services at Casa Myrna Vasquez, Inc., representing victims of
domestic violence. From 1999 to 2006, she was a Staff Attorney with Greater Boston Legal
Services' Family Law Unit, where she co-directed the law student internship program, as well as the
Crime Victim Relocation Counseling Project. Ms. Durkin has taught Legal Research and Writing at
Boston University School of Law for 12 years. She also taught Legal Research and Writing II at
New England School of Law. For the past four years, she has taught a pre-LL.M. course at the
Boston University Center for English Language and Orientation Programs. She teaches legal
research and writing in the Legal Skills in Social Context (LSSC) Program
Ben L. Fernandez
Cornell University, BA 1984
Northeastern University School of Law, JD 1987
Boston University Law School, LL.M. 1995
Mr. Fernandez is an attorney practicing in the areas of real estate,
housing finance and affordable housing. He also teaches Business
Law at Cape Cod Community College. He has worked at Brown,
Rudnick, Freed & Gesmer, Peabody & Arnold, and Massachusetts
Housing Partnership. He teaches legal research and writing in the
Legal Skills in Social Context (LSSC) Program.
Margaret Hahn-Dupont
University of Pennsylvania, BA 1987
Georgetown University Law Center, JD 1991
Ms. Hahn-Dupont worked as an associate in the litigation department at Shearman & Sterling in
New York upon her graduation from law school. In 1994 and 1995, she served as the law clerk
to United States District Court Judge Denny Chin in the Southern District of New York.
Following her clerkship, she taught at Fordham University School of Law in both the JD and
LL.M. programs, in the Lawyering Program at New York University School of Law, and at
Brooklyn Law School. Ms. Hahn-DuPont teaches legal research and writing in the Legal
Services in Social Context program.
Michael Joyce
College of the Holy Cross, BA 1995
Boston College law School, J.D., 2002
Michael J. Joyce graduated in 1995 from the College of the Holy Cross, in Worcester,
Massachusetts with a degree in English literature. He is a 2002 graduate of Boston College Law
School and the Lynch School of Education. After graduating from law school, he served as
a clerk for Justices of the Massachusetts Superior Court. Upon completing the clerkship,
Michael joined the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office where he served as a member of its
Gang Unit. Since August of 2007, Michael has served as a Civil Rights Attorney for the United
States Department of Education where he investigates claims of discrimination based on gender,
race, national origin, age and disability. He teaches legal research and writing in the Legal Skills
in Social Context (LSSC) Program.
John LaPlante
Princeton University, B.A. 1993
Cornell Law School, J.D./L.L.M. 2002
Mr. LaPlante is a practicing attorney in the Boston office of
Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi, L.L.P., a national law firm known for
its trail advocacy. Mr. LaPlante's practice focuses on complex civil
litigation, with a primary emphasis on intellectual property litigation.
He also has experience representing insurers in high value propery
losses, as well as both small and medium sized corporations in contract and labor disputes. He
has represented clients on a pro bono basis in immigration, landlord/tenant, and domestic
relations matters. Prior to joining Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi, Mr. LaPlante worked as an
attorney for two years at another large Boston firm, and, before becoming an attorney, taught
English and writing at secondary schools located in Europe and the United States. Mr. LaPlante
teaches legal research and writing in the Legal Skills in Social Context (LSSC) program.
Carol Mallory
Bowdoin College, B.A. 1990
Northeastern University School of Law, J.D. 1996
Ms. Mallory is an attorney in private practice. Her practice consists primarily of performing
legal research and writing projects under contract to other attorneys. Prior to starting her own
practice Ms. Mallory worked for six years as a staff attorney in the Employment Unit of Greater
Boston Legal Services. She began her career as a law clerk for Justice Gerald Gillerman of the
Massachusetts Appeals Court, and later worked as a litigation associate at the firm of Stern,
Shapiro, Weissberg & Garin. She has taught the Poverty Law Clinic and currently teaches legal
research and writing in the Legal Skills in Social Context (LSSC) program.
Rachel Munoz
Grinnell College, B.A. 1998
University of Massachusetts, Amherst, M.A. 2003
Northeastern University School of Law, J.D. 2006
Anne-Marie Ofori-Acquaah
University of Ghana, Legon, LL.B. 1980
Yale Law School, LL.M. 1983
New York University, LL.M. 1984
University of Toronto Faculty of Law, S.J.D. 1987
Anne-Marie Ofori-Acquaah is the Associate Labor Counsel for the Massachusetts Trial Court.
She represents the Trial Court at arbitration hearings, in employment matters before the
Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination, the Division of Labor Relations, the
Division of Unemployment Assistance and in the trial courts. Prior to joining the Trial Court,
she was the Special Assistant General Counsel for the Department of Mental Health, where she
was responsible for representing the Department at the Massachusetts Commission Against
Discrimination, and also handled a variety of functions such as reviewing client appeals and
drafting regulations. She has a bachelor of laws degree from the University of Ghana, a masters
of law degree from Yale Law School and New York University and a doctoral degree from the
University of Toronto. She teaches legal research and writing in the Legal Skills in Social
Context (LSSC) Program.
Dyane O’Leary
Villanova University
Suffolk University Law School
Dyane O’Leary is a senior associate in the Litigation/Controversy
Department at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr, LLP in
Boston. Her practice focuses primarily on intellectual property and
complex commercial litigation. She re-joined WilmerHale in 2009
after completing a clerkship with the Honorable William E. Smith in
the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island.
Professor O'Leary graduated summa cum laude from Villanova University and Suffolk
University Law School and is a member of the Massachusetts Bar Association, Boston Bar
Association, and Women's Bar Association. She is also an adjunct instructor of legal research
and writing at New England Law|Boston and a member of the Legal Writing Institute. She
teaches legal research and writing in the Legal Skills in Social Context (LSSC) Program.
Laurie M. Ruskin
University of Michigan, A.B. 1976
Harvard University, Ed.M. 1981
Northeastern University School of Law, J.D. 1995
The Honorable Sabita Singh
Pennsylvania State University, B.A. 1987
Boston University School of Law, J.D. 1990
Sabita Singh is Associate Justice of the District Court Department of
the Trial Court for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Prior to her
appointment to the bench, Judge Singh served as a federal prosecutor
for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Boston where she specialized in
human trafficking cases. She also practiced civil litigation with
Bingham McCutchen LLP. Prior to that, Judge Singh served as a
state prosecutor with the Middlesex County District Attorney's Office
and as a law clerk to the Justices of the Superior Court. She is a graduate of Boston University
School of Law and Pennsylvania State University. She is also past president and founding
member of the South Asian Bar Association of Greater Boston and the North American South
Asian Bar Association. She teaches legal research and writing in the Legal Skills in Social
Context (LSSC) Program.