Clinical and Pro Bono Programs

Providing clinical and pro bono opportunities to Harvard Law School students

Tag: Education Law Clinic

Catherine Howard ’16 wins the David Grossman Exemplary Clinical Student Award

May 27, 2016 / / 0 Comments
Catherine Howard ’16

Catherine Howard ’16

Harvard Law School student Catherine Howard ’16 is the winner of the inaugural David A. Grossman Exemplary Clinical Student Award. To be presented annually, this award recognizes students who have demonstrated excellence in representing individual clients and undertaking advocacy or policy reform projects. It is named in honor of the late Clinical Professor of Law, David Grossman ’88, a public interest lawyer dedicated to providing high-quality legal services to low income communities.

Howard embodies David Grossman’s tireless pro bono spirit. She was chosen for excellence in representing her clients, her compassion in legal practice, and her contributions to the clinical community.

During her 2L year, as a student in the Education Law Clinic, she worked to advance the interests of traumatized children in Massachusetts through the Safe and Supportive Schools Act.  Howard showed extraordinary talent at drafting successful language for a budgetary line item that was passed by the legislature, outstanding analysis of statutory language, and the ability to work on a team in developing an overall strategy to secure passage of the legislation.

Throughout her 3L year, working in the Criminal Justice Institute (CJI), Howard demonstrated exceptional skills in and out of the courtroom, representing numerous clients who faced criminal charges and could not afford an attorney. She has advocated for them from arraignment to disposition, in the Dorchester and Roxbury Divisions of the Boston Municipal Courts. Along the way, Howard has earned the praise and respect of the judges, her clients, and her peers.

“As a clinical student, Catherine’s approach to her clients is full-hearted, strategic, and selfless,” said Clinical Instructor Lia Monahon, who supervised her in the Criminal Justice Institute. “One of the hardest things for student attorneys working on criminal cases is to find pride, grace and eloquence in an argument or position that faces bad odds. Catherine’s capacity for this is boundless because she is completely motivated by her client,” she said.

In addition to her work with CJI, Howard has also served as Editor-in-Chief of Harvard’s Journal on Racial and Ethnic Justice and as co-chair of the Leadership and Mentorship Committee of the Harvard Black Law Students Association. She has also engaged the law school community as a member of the Reclaim HLS movement, helping to develop a set of practical demands for achieving diversity and inclusivity.

“My clinical experiences have been the most rewarding moments of my law school career,” said Howard. “The Criminal Justice Institute and the Education Law Clinic have allowed me to live out the passions that brought me to law school in a meaningful way, even as a student. While I am so deeply honored to be recognized by this award, I am most validated by what I am able to accomplish with my clients every day.”

“We are delighted that Catherine is the inaugural David Grossman Exemplary Clinical Student Award winner,” said Lisa Dealy, Assistant Dean of the Clinical and Pro Bono Programs. “Catherine embodies David’s spirit of tireless and excellent advocacy in representing clients and improving the legal system.”

Schools look to aid traumatized children

April 25, 2016 / / 0 Comments

Via Caller Times

Rachel Denny Clow/Caller-Times Youth attend an award ceremony recognizing volunteers and mentors with Brockton's Promise in January in Brockton, Mass. The organization is a coalition for youth development that aims to improve conditions of youth within the community by offering safe places, effective education, healthy starts and caring adults and opportunities to serve.

Rachel Denny Clow/Caller-Times Youth attend an award ceremony recognizing volunteers and mentors with Brockton’s Promise in January in Brockton, Mass. The organization is a coalition for youth development that aims to improve conditions of youth within the community by offering safe places, effective education, healthy starts and caring adults and opportunities to serve.

CAMBRIDGE, MASS. — Violence children see at home can affect their chances for success in school and later in life.

That’s why the Trauma and Learning Policy Initiative, based at Harvard Law School in Massachusetts, advocates for trauma-sensitive schools to help children impacted by trauma to feel safe at school.

There are six attributes of a trauma sensitive school that are explained in the initiative’s book, “Helping Traumatized Children Learn II: Creating and Advocating for Trauma Sensitive Schools.” Those attributes came from work done in schools in Brockton, Mass., and other places, and describe what a trauma sensitive school looks and feels like, said Michael Gregory, a senior attorney with the initiative and a clinical professor of law at Harvard Law School.

Leadership and staff share an understanding of trauma’s impact on learning and the need for a schoolwide approach.

“So this isn’t something that just the school psychologist understands, or just a few teachers that are interested in it, but really the whole staff,” Gregory said.

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Cravath fellows travel globally to experience international and comparative law

April 21, 2016 / / 0 Comments

Via HLS News

Thirteen Harvard Law School students were selected as the 2016 Cravath International Fellows. The fellows traveled to 12 countries for winter term clinical placements or independent research with an international, transnational, or comparative law focus. Below are accounts of the experiences of four of the new fellows.

Crystal Nwaneri ’17

Crystal Nwaneri ’17 spent winter term in Singapore, conducting research on the legal and technological implications of a court ruling permitting a third party to retransmit over-the-air television without permission of the broadcasters. For Nwaneri, this was a chance to further explore her long-standing interest in the legal challenges brought about by rapidly advancing technology.

As an undergraduate, Nwaneri examined public policy and how legislators and private organizations shape and regulate the technology industry. Prior to law school, she worked at Dell’s government relations office in Washington, D.C., briefing their executives on the internet technology issues discussed at Congressional hearings.

Upon entering Harvard Law, she enrolled in a reading group with Professor of Practice Urs Gasser about the future of online privacy, joined the Women’s Law Association and the Harvard Black Law Students Association, and began working as an editor at the Journal of Law and Technology. As a 2L, she is focusing on the legal infrastructures that support technology innovation, which may affect access for underserved communities. She also supports clients in the Cyberlaw Clinic and is a research assistant with the Student Privacy Initiative at the Berkman Center.

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Advocating for students impacted by trauma

January 7, 2016 / / 0 Comments

By Chen-Chen Jiang, J.D. ’16
Student in the Education Law Clinic

The first time I met Jessica*, she sat quietly in her living room as her mother explained to us that she had suffered serious abuse and had missed a significant amount of school work. The traumatic experiences had left her with post-traumatic stress. She attempted to confide in her friends, but instead of finding comfort, she was bullied. Faced with this bullying and a school environment that could not serve her special needs, Jessica chose to stay in the one remaining place where she still felt safe: her home.

But what struck me the most about her was not the incredible amount of adversity that she had overcome at a young age; it was her dedication to education. In that living room during our first meeting, one of the first things she softly said was “I just want to learn.” Someday, she said, she wanted to be a lawyer, too. From that moment on, she wasn’t just the student I was advocating for; she became part of our advocacy team.

Jessica bravely decided that she would prepare a statement to read at the meeting with school district representatives, where we would argue for a different school placement. I excitedly told her that she was engaging in work that real attorneys, and certainly law students in clinical programs, perform on a daily basis. She learned how to draft the initial statement, trying her best to capture the complex struggles that she faced. Together, we went through an editing process, going line by line through her statement to figure out the best way to present it. When it was done, she practiced delivering the statement to her mother, clinical supervisors, and me.

Over the time that I worked with her, Jessica transformed from a quiet, timid girl to a poised young lady, confident to speak for herself. The day before our meeting with the school district representatives, at our last check-in, she looked directly at me and said, “I’m ready. I’m ready for them to hear my story.” At that moment, I realized the true power of legal advocacy. Representing low-income students is not only about securing the end result; it is also about giving those who are not always heard a voice. It is about introducing them to a foreign system and helping them to develop the ability to navigate that system themselves. And most importantly, it is about building in each client the belief that their stories, their struggles, and their experiences matter and must be shared to ensure a better working system for those who come after them.

On the day of the meeting, Jessica was nervous. She was going to share her story for the first time in a room full of adults. I was nervous, too. I was not sure how these adults would react to her words. As soon as she began, her tears overcame her. It looked as if she would not be able to resume. But after a few moments, and a deep breath, she finished her statement. At the end, the director of special education in the district personally commended her for having the courage to speak up and thanked her for doing so.

We secured a different educational placement for Jessica that day. But the greater victory was the confidence instilled in her to fight for what she deserved. About three months after the meeting, Jessica’s mom called to let me know that she was thriving at her new school. This came as no surprise; she, like so many other students, was primed for success if given the appropriate support. I have no doubt that, someday, she will be the lawyer giving those without a voice a platform to speak.

*Name has been changed to protect confidentiality.

“Trauma-Sensitive” Schools

May 7, 2014 / / 0 Comments
Danielle Winn, a teacher in Brockton, Mass., displays a pass students take when they need a break from class.

Danielle Winn, a teacher in Brockton, Mass., displays a pass students take when they need a break from class.

Via the Harvard Graduate School of Education
Harvard Education Letter

The most artfully devised curriculum means little to a student whose mind is fixed on last night’s shooting outside or the scary, violent fight between parents that broke out in the kitchen. Brilliant teaching often can’t compete with the sudden loss of a parent or friend. Yet incidents like these reverberate in schools and pose deep challenges to educators.

More than 15 years of research reveals that the prevalence and effect of “adverse childhood experiences” (ACEs) are pervasive in the United States—more than 68 percent of children have experienced a possible traumatic event by age 16—and pernicious, with higher ACE scores correlating to health, education, and social problems. Federal data show that 686,000 children were victims of abuse or neglect in 2012, the most recent year for which figures are available. The National Survey of Children’s Exposure to Violence found one in four children had witnessed violence, and one in 10 had seen one family member assault another. …

Children who experience trauma struggle with interpersonal relationships, face cognitive deficits (including memory and language development), and overreact to everyday stress. In school, because traumatized students view the world as dangerous and misread social cues, minor events may trigger defiant, disruptive, or aggressive behavior. Alternately, they may withdraw and seem not to care. “Their ability to cope is overwhelmed,” says Eric Rossen, director of Professional Development and Standards for the National Association of School Psychologists, explaining that such behavior is often a magnet for disciplinary action.

Continue reading the full story and learn more about the Trauma and Learning Policy Initiative.

Addressing Trauma’s Impact on Learning Should Be Central to the Way Schools Are Run

December 18, 2013 / / 0 Comments

Susan Cole, Director of the Trauma and Learning Policy Initiative

Via the Huffington Post, Education Blog

The New York Times empathetically and articulately chronicles the travails of homeless children in its recent series “Invisible Child.” Young Dasani, the centerpiece of the series, is just one of many more children than we ever imagined who are exposed to highly adverse experiences every day. Adverse childhood events can come in many forms, from living without a roof over their heads, enduring abuse, or being the victim of chronic bullying inside or outside of school to living in a home with substance abuse. Unfortunately, when these experiences become overwhelming they can cause a traumatic response that can impact even the most resilient child’s ability to be successful in school and in life.

The good news — as Principal Holmes and the teachers at the Dasani’s beloved Susan B. McKinney School demonstrate — is that schools can help children reach their potentials despite the adversity they may have faced. Until recently, an understanding of how trauma impacts learning, behavior, and relationships at school had only been acknowledged anecdotally. But public health experts, psychologists, and neurobiologists have established an incontrovertible link that can no longer be ignored within education circles. The conclusion has never been clearer: traumatic experiences that happen at any time in a child’s life can create a cascade of social, emotional, and academic problems down the road.

Continue reading the Op-Ed on the Huffington Post Education Blog

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