NLG Student Chapters Report

“Introduction to the Guild” October meeting of Guild members with studends at Roger Williams University School of Law in Bristol, Rhode Island. (l.-r.): Linsday Vick, Tracy Harper, Shannah Kurland, Laura Alfring (Boston), Benjamin Evans (Pawtucket), Lipou Laliemthavisay, Jaime Rogers, Chris Williams & Carl Williams (Boston), Neal Lawless.

Boston University

After a dormant perior, NLG at BU is officially a real student group and already busy organizing! We have held a Workers’ Rights Street Law Clinic training and hosted a couple happy hour nights. In November, we hosted a discussion with Jeff Haas on “How the FBI and the Chicago Police Murdered a Black Panther” and Mr. Haas’s experience litigating on behalf of Fred Hampton.

We are trying to get a discussion group going for next semester and hoping to hold a few more street law trainings, including Legal Observer.

- Marianne Tassone -

Harvard

During the past year, the Harvard NLG has worked closely with Justice for Palestine and Unbound: Harvard Journal of the Legal Left to host a number of events. Such events have included a talk by Norman Finkelstein about the Goldstone Report (U.N. fact finding mission on the Gaza conflict); “On the Legal Left,” a discussion with professors Duncan Kennedy, Janet Halley and Lucie White from HLS and Karl Klare from Northeastern (we’re pleased to note that Kennedy and Klare are NLG members); and a showing of “The People Speak,” a tribute to the late Howard Zinn. In addition, the NLG recently held a viewing of “William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe.” Other events which the NLG supported and co- sponsored included “Afghanistan: Resisting Occupation and Fundamentalism,” with Prof. Marc Herold (University of New Hampshire) and an anonymous member of the Revolutionary Association of Women in Afghanistan; a screening of the documentary “Bread and Roses” (regarding the Justice for Janitors Campaign) and the Harvard Dinner for Darfur. Now we are ready for 2011!

- Marissa Vahlsing -

New England

The New England Law chapter of the NLG has had a very exciting year thus far. The chapter held a Street Law Clinic trainings, including Stop and Search and Landlord/Tenant, and plan to hold many more in the coming semester. The chapter also is co-sponsoring and training a team of high school students at Jeremiah Burke High School in Dorchester to participate in a Mock Trial competition put on by the Massachusetts Bar Association. We look forward to organizing some more exciting and engaging activities in 2011.

- Margaret Ciborowski -

Northeastern

The Northeastern University NLG chapter has been largely led by a vibrant and energetic group of first year students who have hit the ground running since school began in August. Several of our members put together the event “Organizing for Human Rights: Sex Workers and Allies Take it to the U.N.” We also organized an informal “History of NLG” program where we learned about the amazing background and roots of NLG, which was presented by NUSL Prof. Melinda Drew and Mass. Chapter Director Urszula Masny-Latos.

We proudly hosted “The FBI and the Murder of a Black Panther,” featuring Jeffrey Haas, author of The Assassination of a Black Panther. We also sponsored a “Know Your Rights” training organized by Students for Sensible Drug Policy. Speaking of trainings, we organized two Street Law Clinics at our campus, one on Tenants’ Rights and another on Foreclosure/Eviction Prevention. These trainings are in line with our issue of the year — housing forfeitures and seizures. Looking ahead, we plan a SLC training on Civil Disobedience. We are also planning to get trained in lobbying and will probably do some advocacy work next semester. In other news, NLG members organized a meeting with visiting Daynard Public Interest Fellow Fred Brewington, a well known New York civil rights lawyer and community advocate.

Not to count out the excellent and dedicated work of our upper level students, in October Yana Garcia, a 3L member, represented young activists on an NLG panel for the screening of “South of the Border” in Cambridge, Oliver Stone’s documentary.

We are looking forward to next year and have big plans in mind – stay tuned!

- Raymond Austin -

Roger Williams

2010 marks the founding year of the Roger Williams University School of Law (Bristol, RI) chapter of the NLG (RWUNLG). Seven students began the chapter with the help of the Massachusetts Chapter’s director, Urszula Masny-Latos. The RWUNLG chapter is structured as a collective, rather than a hierarchy, with seven students acting as Executive Council Members and labor divided within the group.

In January 2011, the RWUNLG chapter will hit the ground running with a general meeting to start the semester and Stop & Search and Legal Observing clinics to follow. We will also be reaching out to Providence, RI, activists and community organizations in order to assess how we can be of assistance in Rhode Island and how we can facilitate a stronger NLG presence within the state.

- Lindsay Vick -

WNEC

2010 has been a productive year for the reconstituted NLG chapter at Western New England College School of Law. We’ve been working hard to get the organization off the ground by drafting our constitution and building membership, as well as by bringing a more progressive legal voice to our campus.

In October and early November, we held a Prisoners’ Rights Speaker Series, which kicked off with NLG member and Brooklyn defense attorney, Liz Fink. Ms. Fink spoke about the Attica prison uprising, prison conditions in the 1970s and the political undertones of that era. We also hosted Leslie Walker, Executive Director of Prisoners’ Legal Services, who spoke about prison conditions in Massachusetts and what prisoners’ rights advocates are doing to change them. Our third speaker, WNEC alumnus Peter Wagner, Executive Director of The Prison Policy Initiative, spoke about prison-based gerrymandering and how his organization started as an independent study project at Western New England College 10 years prior.

In November, the WNEC Chapter partnered with the Alternative Spring Break team and the International Law Society to co-sponsor Guild and international human rights attorney, Brian Concannon, Jr., Director for the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti. Mr. Concannon spoke about rebuilding Haiti from a human rights perspective and his position on the Haiti subcommittee of the NLG International Committee.

Many Guild members have also been serving as volunteers for the No One Leaves Coalition in an effort to combat the foreclosure epidemic in Springfield, which has the highest rate of foreclosures in the state. Next semester the WNEC Chapter is looking forward to participating in the Student Day Against the Death Penalty, as well as continuing our work with the No One Leaves Coalition and other on-campus groups.

- Jack Godleski -

Photo by Urszula Masny-Latos