Bureau Membership

The Harvard Legal Aid Bureau is the best program at Harvard Law School in terms of providing legal services to low income individuals; offering litigation training and experience; and creating a community of talented, dedicated, and compassionate students and attorneys.” – Lam Ho, Harvard Legal Aid Bureau President 2006

The Harvard Legal Aid Bureau consists of approximately 50 second- and third-year Harvard Law School students and 16 Summer Fellows. A member’s duties consist of handling all aspects of cases from the initial interview through final disposition, staffing case intake, and participating in the Bureau’s administration.

Practicing at the Bureau requires involvement with clients with varied backgrounds and experiences. Thus, the Bureau places a high value on cultural awareness and diversity, and actively recruits applicants with diverse backgrounds. In addition, the Bureau places high value on recruiting bilingual students.

Membership Details

Bureau students practice as S.J.C. Rule 3:03 counsels under the supervision of a clinical instructor. Students attend weekly Practice Area Meetings (PAMs), where they present on intake and vote on cases to accept for Bureau representation.

  • During their 2L year, students enroll in Introduction to Advocacy: Civil Legal Aid Ethics, Theory, and Practice (2 units in the fall, 1 unit in the spring), a graded course that satisfies HLS’s Legal Profession requirement. 2Ls are required to enroll in Evidence during their fall semester and have the option to take Trial Advocacy Workshop during their J-term.
  • During their 3L year, students enroll in Advanced Clinical Practice (1 unit in the fall, 1 unit in the spring), a non-graded course. 
  • By completing 2 years in the Bureau, members fulfill their experiential education and pro-bono service requirements. Many members also fulfill part of their Option 2 writing requirement through HLAB.

Members

Since 1914, between 20 and 25 students are selected annually through a competitive application process during their first year of Harvard Law School and make a two-year commitment to the organization. For more information about the selection competition, please look at the “Apply to the Bureau” section.

2022-2023 Members

Housing
Ayodele (Ayo) Aruleba
Isabella (Isa) Badia Bellinger
Anne DeLong

James (J.R.) Hamilton
Nie Joseph
Mina Kalu-Ezikpe
Oliver Ma
Stephen Neilson
Tia Ray
Matthew Rock
Sarah Rosenkrantz
Sofia Scotti
Annie Woronecki

Wage & Hour
Suzanna Bobadilla
Travis Cabbell
Hannah Finnie
Chinmay Pandit
Shilpa Sadhasivam
Hui (Tony) Sun
Jason Vazquez
Kevin Vazquez

Scott Xiantao Wang

Family
Vandana Apte
Sarah Blatt-Herold
Fredrica (Freddie) George
Harold Grigsby
Kaitlyn Ham
Erin Hegarty
Catherine Hoang
Syeda Malliha
Olivia Murray
Jordan Rogers
Evelyn Shan
Nicole Yapp