MLA is dedicated to protecting the basic needs and human rights of clients, particularly as they navigate the justice system. Members of Parliament staff, volunteer lawyers, community partners and general supporters all have an important role to play in ensuring that the legal playing field is level so that those who need it most have equal access to justice. With this diverse support, MLA is able to amplify the voices of tens of thousands of economically disadvantaged and vulnerable Marylanders each year. Stephanie Goldenhersh joined the office in August 2007 as a full-time clinical instructor, mentoring students in the office`s family relations practice and is now a senior clinical instructor. Since September 2016, she has been the Assistant Director of Family Practice. Prior to joining the firm, Stephanie practiced at Community Legal Aid-Worcester for six years, handling all types of family relationship litigation and abuse prevention litigation 209A. Stephanie also served as Project Manager for the U.S. Department of Justice Unit Grant under the Violence Against Women Act, which worked with local domestic violence service providers to ensure continuity of legal services for survivors of domestic violence. Prior to entering the practice of law, Stephanie worked at the law firm of Foley Hoag, LLP, where she participated in environmental litigation and pro bono advocacy for survivors of domestic violence. Stephanie holds a bachelor`s degree in sociology, politics and women`s studies from Brandeis University and a juris doctorate from the University of Michigan School of Law. During law school, Stephanie was a project coordinator for the Family Law Project, a provider of student advocacy for survivors of domestic violence seeking protection orders. Stephanie has also served as editor-in-chief of the Michigan Journal of Gender & Law and taught the undergraduate course “Women in the Law.” The mission of the Buffalo Legal Aid Office is to pursue justice to improve the lives of low-income people in Western New York City through legal advice and advocacy.

This mission will never be fully accomplished until the structural racism that is at the heart of the legal system and of our country is dismantled. (Know your rights when you protest) The Harvard Legal Aid Bureau (“HLAB”) is the oldest student-run legal aid office in the United States, founded in 1913. [1] The office is one of three honorary societies of the law school, along with the Harvard Law Review and the Board of Student Advisers. Students selected for more than one of these three organizations may only join one. The Harvard Legal Aid Bureau is a student-run law firm that serves clients in housing law (landlord-tenant relations, public housing, subsidized housing, foreclosure defense), family law (divorce, custody, paternity, child support), government benefits (Social Security, unemployment benefits), and wages and hours (wages, benefits, and unpaid or underpaid overtime). The office employs nine supervising lawyers and selects approximately twenty-five student members each year. Students practice under the supervision of licensed lawyers; However, students are the main social workers in all fields. As a result, students gain first-hand experience by appearing in court, negotiating with opposing lawyers, and working directly with clients. Students receive both teaching credits and clinical credits for their work in the office. Since the office is a student-run legal services program, members and their elected student councils are responsible for managing the organization.

The office consists of about fifty second- and third-year lawyers at Harvard Law School who provide free legal services to a diverse population of low-income clients in the greater Boston area. It is the second largest legal service provider in Boston. The Harvard Legal Aid Bureau (HLAB) is unique among HLS clinical legal education programs in that its legal services program is student-led. HLAB was founded in 1913 and has a long history of serving the legal needs of low-income people in the greater Boston area. Eloise Lawrence is Associate Director of the Faculty and Assistant Clinical Professor of Law at HLS. She is also faculty supervisor for the HLS student practice organization “Project No One Leaves”. In her role as a clinical instructor, she oversees student lawyers representing tenants and landlords who are in the eviction process. In her role as a lecturer, she teaches Housing Law and Policy every two years and is a member of HLAB`s teaching team for courses specifically designed for HLAB students/lawyers.

Prior to her current role, she joined HLAB in 2011 as a staff attorney representing hundreds of families and individuals threatened with eviction due to a seizure of their homes, working with local organizers to advocate for policy change. Previously, she practiced law in the Consumer Rights Unit of Greater Boston Legal Services, where she sued mortgagees on behalf of mortgage borrowers against lenders, service providers and foreclosure companies. Prior to the foreclosure crisis, she was an attorney at the Conservation Law Foundation and began her legal career as a Skadden Fellow in Chicago, where she represented public housing residents in civil rights class actions. Before studying law, Eloise was a high school history teacher. Eloise received a J.D. He attended Northwestern University School of Law in 2002 and Stanford University in 1995.