Harvard Legal Aid Bureau

“Bureau exposure is to the hard reality, yet fascinating world of the practitioner, not as it’s depicted in books, but as it actually is. Many a distinguished practitioner, law teacher and judge…would, I’m sure, concede that he owes a debt to the Bureau for that early insight and not only because we were provided that early chance to learn something of the practitioner’s skills. There was also the lesson that living law has its compassionate aspects – helping confused and worried little people over problems of rent and family and small inheritances – problems of little or no significance in the large but which can assume terrifying proportions for the people concerned – drive that lesson home as few things can. Many would certainly wish that such an internship might be possible for every student…”
-Hon. William J. Brennan, Jr. (1931) , Associate Justice, United States Supreme Court

Former members of the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau have gone on to contribute significantly to all areas of the legal profession. The Bureau alumni network includes members of the judiciary, distinguished academics, politicians, dedicated public interest lawyers, and partners at nearly every top law firm.

Most respondents to a Bureau survey indicated that they have positive recollections of their opportunities at the Bureau to meet with clients and engage in actual courtroom experience.  Several described it as "easily the single most important experience" or as "my only practical application of the law during my three years at law school."

Importantly, numerous alums have specifically stated that their time at the Bureau allowed them to grasp the general importance of legal services and pro bono work.  One alumnus reported that his Bureau experience led him to become actively involved in the creation of the Legal Aid Society in his home town. Another wrote that he later helped found the OEO Legal Services Program and various ABA pro bono programs. Most of the alumni who later spent significant portions of their careers in the public sector, including one alumnus who became the chairman of the organization of legal services back-up centers, pointed to the Bureau as an important factor in their decisions. One former member summed up his experience: "I am proud to have been part of an organization devoted to pro bono legal service long before it became widespread and p.c."

“My work at the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau provided me with the opportunity to work with real people who had real legal problems that was a perfect balance to the theoretical framework and Socratic dialogue taught in the classroom. My HLAB work has always stood out as one of the most important parts of my Law School experience. My success as a judge is enhanced by my HLAB work. Every day people appear before me whose life experiences and legal problems are like those of my clients from HLAB.”
-Beth Freeman (1979), Supervising Family Law Judge, Superior Court of CA

“I got the experiences I expected and hoped for - I participated in hearings and
went to court to argue my first motions. What I didn't realize at the time was that I was also exposed to issues that I still confront today -- what cases should we take? Is that person telling us the truth? How do I deal with opposing counsel? Am I having fun as a lawyer? I worked with a broad range of clients to help them solve their problems -- problems that didn't end at the same time the semester did. Years after I left HLAB, I got a letter from a former client -- a battered woman who had come to HLAB for a divorce from her abusive husband. She wrote to tell me how her life had improved since HLAB took her case and how she has been able to provide a good life for her son. You can't make that type of impact in a semester."
-Helen Cantwell (1995), AUSA of NY, US Attorneys Office

“It was a positive experience, both personally and professionally. I enjoyed being a member of such a positive and committed group of people, and in my clinical work appealing ALJ denials of SSDI benefits, I saw the tremendous impact that legal representation can have. We absolutely made the difference between benefits and none for the clients we helped. I also received valuable training in how to actually ferret out the facts in a client interview.”
-Alyson Allen (1985), Partner, Ropes & Gray

"The experience and camaraderie of working with dedicated fellow law students to provide needed legal services for community residents helped instill within me the values and skills that spurred my public interest law career."
-Howard A. Learner (1980), Executive Director, Environmental Law & Policy Center

“The Harvard Legal Aid Bureau gave me my first taste of real life in the legal and court system -- researching cases, counseling clients, appearing in court, etc. It provided a basis for my fifty-year career as a lawyer and as a judge.”
-Robert A. Behrman (1950), Senior Judge, State of Colorado