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Headquarters | Cambridge, Massachusetts |
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No. of offices | 1 |
No. of lawyers | 9 |
Major practice areas | housing law, family law, government benefits, and employment law |
Date founded | 1913 |
Website | http://www.harvardlegalaid.org/ |
The Harvard Legal Aid Bureau (HLAB) is the oldest student-run legal services office in the United States, founded in 1913. [1] The bureau is one of three honors societies at the law school, along with the Harvard Law Review and the Board of Student Advisers.
Notable members include Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, activist and First Lady Michelle Obama, Attorney General Loretta Lynch, [2] Berkshire Hathaway's Charlie Munger and law professors Erwin Chemerinsky and Laurence Tribe. [3]
The Harvard Legal Aid Bureau was formed in 1913 "to render legal aid and assistance gratuitously to all persons who may appear worthy thereof and who from poverty are unable to procure it." Campbell Bosson was the Bureau's first chairman and Malcolm M. McDermott was its first secretary. They were succeeded by Charles B. Rugg and Clarence B. Randall, respectively. [4] On November 8, 1913, Rugg tried the association's first court case. [5]
Members of the bureau practice under Rule 3:03 [6] of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, which allows them to appear in court as counsel of record for low-income clients. The bureau currently employs nine practicing attorneys who train and supervise members.
Bureau members practice in the following general practice areas: housing law, family law, government benefits, and employment law. Students usually focus primarily on housing or family law. Within these practices, students work on matters such as eviction defense, domestic violence, child custody and support, divorce, social security benefits, wage and hour violations, and employment discrimination cases.
Prominent alumni of the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau include: