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Please browse around, catch up on our latest public interest law projects, peruse our links (including the one to our home site, New England Law | Boston), and add your comments. Before you start, we encourage you to become familiar with our Terms of Use.

Friday, January 28, 2011

Public Interest Retreat

Every year, public interest law students, professors, and practitioners gather together at the Robert M. Cover Public Interest Law Retreat to build networks, to discuss the status of public interest law, and to learn more about what a public interest legal career is like. The retreat brings to life the vision of Robert Cover, a Yale Law School professor and social change activist. This year, the Cover Retreat will take place from March 4-6, 2011 at the Sargent Center in Peterborough, New Hampshire.

It presents the opportunity for public interest law students from across the country to come together to meet each other and graduates who are paving the way for successful public service careers. There will be workshops designed to give students a sense of what a career in public interest law is like, as well as opportunities to network with lawyers who have chosen these fields.

The important information:
Robert M. Cover Retreat, 2011
Where: Sargent Center
Hancock, New Hampshire
When: Friday, March 4 - Sunday, March 6
Cost: $140 per person (the cost covers both attendance fees and meals during the retreat)
Registration: All registrations can be completed online (http://www.law.yale.edu/news/coverretreat11.htm ), and the deadline is February 15

Thursday, January 27, 2011

“De Novo” Play Explores Plight of Asylum Seekers



De Novo, a documentary theater presentation about minors seeking asylum from U.S. immigration custody, will premiere in Boston at the Stuart Street Playhouse. The free performance will take place on Wednesday, February 9, 6:30-8:30 pm.

The presentation is cosponsored by New England Law | Boston’ s Center for Law and Social Responsibility and the Immigration Law Association. RSVPs are requested; please contact Martha Drane ’10, center fellow, martha.s.drane@nesl.edu.

In 2004, 16-year-old Edgar Chocoy was gunned down in his home nation of Guatemala by the largest gang in Central America. He had earlier filed for asylum in the United States, pleading that he had a well-founded fear of returning to his country. In his hearing, he testified: “If I go back, they’ll kill me.” This true story, crafted from court transcripts, interviews, and letters tells the story of a case that exposed fatal flaws in our immigration system.

Edgar tried to escape the gang by traveling over 3,000 miles, across the borders of three countries, in search of his mother, who came to the U.S. to find work. Detained by the Department of Homeland Security, he unsuccessfully asked for asylum.

De Novo chronicles the gripping true story of Edgar and other young people seeking asylum. Each year, thousands of these children make the dangerous journey across the border and through the U.S. justice system. The play’s Off Broadway run was hailed by Show Business Weekly for its “superb acting and directing.”

“Children are especially vulnerable to the dangers that can accompany immigration,” notes Professor Dina Haynes, director of New England Law | Boston’s Immigration Law Project. “This play is a searing commentary on what can happen when we fail to fulfill our domestic and international law obligations to protect those who have a well-founded fear of being returned to their home countries. When we fail these asylum seekers it is often not because we think the law is wrong or doesn’t apply, but because we are afraid of floodgates opening and too many coming in search of protection.”

The Houses of the Moon Theater Company production, written and directed by Jeffrey Solomon, features images by acclaimed photojournalist Donna DeCesare. The performance will be followed by discussion with the creative team and immigration experts.

Friday, January 21, 2011

Careers in Education Law

Please join The Center for Law & Social Responsibility and The Education Law and Policy Association for a discussion of Careers in Education Law with:

Rosa I. Figueroa
Hearing officer, Massachusetts Bureau of Special Education Appeals

Jodi Greenburg ’89
Investigative counsel, Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

Eileen M. Hagerty
Special education attorney, Kotin, Crabtree & Strong, LLP

Matthew D. Jones
Staff counsel, Massachusetts Teachers Association

Maureen A. MacFarlane
Legal counsel, Cambridge Public Schools and adjunct professor, New England Law | Boston.


Wednesday, January 26th
4:00 PM
Cherry Room


Refreshments will be served.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Public Interest Careers Panel

Attend this program to learn about a career in public interest and gain valuable tips for your post-graduate or summer internship job search.

Thursday, January 20, 2011
4:30pm – 6:00pm, Cherry Room

Featuring:
Sarah Roxburgh '08, Co-Executive Director, Shelter Legal Services
Jennifer Sutherland '08, Public Defender, Committee for Public Counsel Services
Dan Biagiotti '92, Managing Attorney, Legal Advocacy and Resource Center


Refreshments will be served.

Please RSVP with Career Services Office: cso@nesl.edu

Summer 2011 Internship at MA Appleseed

The Massachusetts Appleseed Center for Law and Justice seeks a law student intern for the Summer of 2011. The position will involve legal and factual research and writing. The summer intern will be supervised directly by the Executive Director. The summer intern will also work closely with the Center’s staff, board members, volunteer lawyers and other activists. The internship runs for ten weeks and is unpaid.


Current Projects. The Massachusetts Appleseed Center’s current projects and priorities include:
  1. Education and School Discipline: Our signature project is entitled “Keep Kids In Class,” whereby we examined the intersection of school discipline, zero tolerance and youth entering the juvenile justice system. The goal is to mitigate the effects of school discipline proceedings on drop-out rates and its connection with juvenile delinquency. We will be publishing a report within the next few weeks entitled “Who Let The Kids Out?” Shortly thereafter, we will publish the first two pieces of work product that flow from the report: a parent guide to school discipline and a white paper on the legal review standards in education exclusion cases. We are actively developing new projects to build on the conclusions and recommendations that grow out of this important work. “The Keep Kids In Class” project is staffed by pro bono attorneys at Goodwin Procter LLP.

  2. Education of Homeless Children: The federal McKinney-Vento Act entitles children who are homeless to a free, appropriate public education. The Act requires that schools remove any barriers to their enrollment, attendance, and success in school. Specifically, school districts are mandated to waive residency requirements, to eliminate requirements to produce medical records, such as immunizations, or academic records prior to enrollment, and to pay for transportation costs. In 2003, Massachusetts Appleseed created a coalition of legal and social services organizations to implement the federal law. This coalition, called the Massachusetts Advocates for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth (MAEHCY), has worked cooperatively with the Massachusetts Department of Education to address these issues, including educating parents and school district leaders regarding the federal law’s requirements. MAEHCY continues to monitor the status of potential changes to the federal law.

  3. Unaccompanied Homeless Youth: Unaccompanied homeless youth are adolescents who are homeless for the purposes of McKinney-Vento and not in the physical custody of a parent or guardian. This includes, but is not limited to, children and youth who are living in runaway shelters; living in abandoned buildings, on the streets or in other inadequate accommodations; staying on the couches of friends or relatives; and denied housing by their parents. While the number of homeless youth is growing, unaccompanied homeless youth are often undercounted and underreported. Massachusetts Appleseed is partnering with the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless to propose legislation to raise awareness of this problem and increase state funding for solutions. The proposed legislation is focused on housing stability, educational stability and developing best practices.
The Massachusetts Appleseed Center is one of sixteen public interest law centers nationwide in the Appleseed pro bono justice center network. Appleseed advocates for structural reform in such areas as education, immigrant rights, financial access and health care. Working collaboratively, Appleseed Centers identify significant local community issues and strive to use their resources and expertise to develop long lasting solutions at the local level. Our multidisciplinary approach promotes consensus building and community problem solving. The Massachusetts Appleseed Center does not provide direct legal representation to individuals.

Applications. We are currently accepting applications and will continue to do so on a rolling basis until the position is filled. The Center expects to begin conducting interviews during the first half of February, 2011. To apply, please send a cover letter, resume and brief writing sample (3-5 pages) on a topic of your choice to:
Joan Meschino
Executive Director
Massachusetts Appleseed Center
8 Winter Street, Suite 402
Boston, MA 02108
jmeschino@appleseednetwork.org.