Harvard Legal Aid Bureau

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Harvard Legal Aid Bureau
Harvard Legal Aid Bureau logo.jpg
HeadquartersCambridge, Massachusetts
No. of offices1
No. of lawyers9
Major practice areashousing law, family law, government benefits, and employment law
Date founded1913
Website http://www.harvardlegalaid.org/
The Harvard Legal Aid Bureau's offices at 23 Everett Street Harvard Legal Aid Bureau (25 July 2006).jpg
The Harvard Legal Aid Bureau's offices at 23 Everett Street

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.

Contents

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]

Overview

HLAB Members discuss policy at the annual spring retreat. Members of the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau on their spring retreat.jpg
HLAB Members discuss policy at the annual spring retreat.

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.

Alumni

Prominent alumni of the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau include:

References

  1. ↑ "About Us". 14 November 2013.
  2. ↑ "Obama taps Loretta Lynch to replace AG Eric Holder | Chicago Sun-Times". chicago.suntimes.com. Archived from the original on 2016-02-22.
  3. ↑ "Alumni".
  4. ↑ "The Harvard Legal Aid Bureau" (PDF). Harvard Law Review. 27 (2): 161-162. December 1913. Retrieved 9 March 2025.
  5. ↑ "Harvard's Legal Aid Bureau: Celebrating a century of learning and service". Harvard Law Today. Harvard University. Retrieved 9 March 2025.
  6. ↑ Rules of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
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