Opportunity: Apply to Shareholder Rights Project!

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Are you a rising 2L, 3L, or LLM who is interested in learning about corporate governance, the relationship between internal and external stakeholders, and the role of shareholders? The HLS Shareholder Rights Project (SRP) is a clinical program through which faculty and students assist public pension funds and charitable organizations to improve corporate governance at publicly traded companies in which they are shareowners. With supervising attorneys, students conduct research, draft memos and reports, and participate in meetings with company and pension fund representatives.

The Shareholder Rights Project seeks participants for its 2012-2013 clinical program, which includes a fall-spring clinic and a spring seminar. To apply, submit a statement of interest (maximum 200 words), resume, and academic transcript (unofficial or official). You may also opt to include a writing sample of no more than 15 pages (one sample only). Applications should be addressed to the instructors, Lucian Bebchuk and Scott Hirst, but submitted to Emily Lewis ( emlewis at law.harvard.edu). Applications will be considered on a rolling basis. Interested students are encouraged to apply as soon as possible, as only a few spots remain.

Note: Please be sure to review the course description and clinic description before applying.

Clinical Voices: Reflecting on a Semester in Washington

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Final Dinner with the Semester in Washington Crew

Today’s “Clinical Voices” comes from Jonathan Wroblewski, who runs the Semester in Washington program at Harvard Law School. Here is his note to his students at the end of the semester:

The 2012 edition of the Harvard Law School Semester in Washington has ended, and it has been a wonderful semester in so many ways!

We’ve explored what policy making is and the building blocks that make up rigorous and thoughtful policy making. We’ve met fascinating people, including Senator Tom Udall, National Security Staff Deputy Counsel Michael Bahar, Cabinet Secretary Chris Lu, White House Human Rights Director Samantha Power, policy entrepreneur Jeanne Smoot, Sentencing Commission General Counsel Ken Cohen, Professor Doug Berman, and many more. We visited the Facebook policy shop and wrestled with issues of privacy and commerce. We’ve worked on some critical writing skills and heard some pretty good “Elevator Pitches,” including ones to revamp foreign aid, reform defense spending, and make a change at the top of the FHFA. We visited the Supreme Court and watched as the Solicitor General defended the Stolen Valor Act. We’ve set goals for ourselves; met some (maybe most); and missed a few, too. We’ve worked hard at our placements and shared and learned from each other’s experiences. We’ve thought about the ethical responsibilities of the government lawyer and picked apart how government bureaucracies work. We ventured outside of the Washington of tourists and monuments and served some of the people who call Washington home. We shared a few meals together and gotten to know one another a lot better. For each of us there were expectations met, expectations missed, and some surprises.

Most gratifying is that we were able to create a small community of learning away from Cambridge and in this strange city of Washington, D.C. I have enjoyed getting to know all of you and sharing some of your experiences over the past three months. Please don’t hesitate to call on me if there is ever anything I can do for you. I will be in Cambridge in the fall to recruit for our Semester in Washington Class of 2013. I hope to see some of you there. And if you are ever near the Main Justice Building, please drop me a line and let’s find time to catch up.

Enjoy the summer!

Snapshot: HLS Students are Finalists in National Criminal Justice Trial Advocacy Competition

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From L-R: Kristin Muniz, Andrew Roach, Justine Goeke, Ieshaah Murphy, Richard Young, and Dehlia Umunna

Criminal Justice Institute (CJI) Clinical Instructors Dehlia Umunna and Kristin Muniz coached HLS students Ieshaah Murphy (JD ’12), Andrew Roach (JD ’13), Richard Young (JD ’13), and Justine Goeke (JD ’13) to a second place finish in the 22nd Annual National Criminal Justice Trial Advocacy Competition. Read all about it on HLS News.

And read more about Ieshaah Murphy’s recent win in Dorchester Division Court as a student attorney with CJI on the OCP blog.

Reader Recommendation: Project No One Leaves Featured in Spare Change

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Recommended by one of our readers:

This week’s Spare Change highlights Project No One Leaves, a collective founded in 2008 by Harvard Legal Aid Bureau (HLAB) members David E. Haller (JD ’09) and Nicholas J. Hartigan (JD ’09) to “empower citizens living in foreclosed properties to protect their homes and communities through grassroots organizing, legal education, and civic engagement”.

In related news, the Harvard Crimson profiles Joseph P. Kennedy III (JD ’09) and discusses his contribution to Project No One Leaves during his time at HLAB.

Happy reading!

Clinical Voices: Exciting Win for CJI Students

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Ieshaah Murphy (JD ’12) and Nicholas Heimbach (JD ’12) in court

Today we introduce “Clinical Voices”, an opportunity for clinical professors, instructors, supervisors, and administrators to share their perspective on the HLS clinical experience and to highlight the work of students who may be too bashful to bring attention to themselves. Our first update comes from Robert Proctor, a clinical instructor with Criminal Justice Institute (CJI).

It is my pleasure to announce that Ieshaah Murphy (JD ’12) along with her colleague, Nicholas Heimbach (JD ’12), successfully defended a young man who was charged with Assault and Battery with a Dangerous Weapon and faced a potential penalty of up to five years in prison after he was brutally attacked by two security guards. During a three-day jury trial at the Dorchester Division Court, Ms. Murphy and Mr. Heimbach overcame seemingly insurmountable odds and obtained an acquittal on all charges!

Mr. Heimbach and Ms. Murphy’s intense cross examination of the government’s witnesses were major turning points in the case, and Ms. Murphy’s closing argument was described by another law student as “a thing of beauty.” This rare feat is just another of her many accomplishments and honors while attending Harvard Law School, which includes two moot championships. I am very proud of these students!

Roundup: Clinical Programs in HLS News

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HLS students traveled all over the world during spring break

HLS News presents a nice roundup of student travel over spring break, including mention of pro bono trips to New Orleans, the Mississippi Delta, and Alabama and International Human Rights Clinic trips to Brazil and the Thai/Burmese border. Check it out!

Snapshot: Rajan Sonik Awarded ACC-Northeast Law Student Ethics Award

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Rajan Sonik accepts his ACC-Northeast Law Student Ethics Award

Congratulations to Rajan Sonik, who was recently awarded the ACC-Northeast Law Student Ethics Award. During his time at HLS, Rajan participated in the Health Law and Policy Clinic, the Education Law Clinic of the Trauma and Learning Policy Initiative, the Harvard Immigration and Refugee Clinic, and the Harvard Prison Legal Assistance Project (where he is currently co-executive director). To top it off, he has completed over 2000(!) pro bono hours over the past three years.

We wish Rajan the very best as he starts work later this year at Medical-Legal Partnership | Boston on an Equal Justice Works Fellowship.

Deadline: Apply for the Shareholder Rights Clinic

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The Shareholder Rights Clinic is now accepting applications.

To apply, students must submit a statement of interest (maximum 200 words), a resume, an academic transcript (unofficial or official), and can elect to submit a writing sample of no more than 15 pages (one sample only). Applications should be addressed to the instructors and submitted to Emily Lewis at emlewis@law.harvard.edu. Applications will be considered on a rolling basis, and interested students are encouraged to apply as early as possible.

Please don’t hesitate to contact Emily with any questions.

Event: PLAP Reunion and Trip Down Memory Lane

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3Ls Paul Chapman and Brent Boos demonstrate the enduring popularity of facial hair at PLAP

In anticipation of this weekend’s Harvard Prison Legal Assistance Project (PLAP) reunion, Project Archivist Molly Frazier has been digging up treasures from the archive. Next up: pictures and reunion details!

As we’ve explored in recent posts, some things change at PLAP (offices, fashion) while others stay the same (foraging for food, making playlists, sporting beards). Now there’s photographic evidence. Enjoy a few photos from the archive (below) in anticipation of the 40th Anniversary Celebration on April 20 and 21.

We all know that seeing how your classmates have fared (and aged) over the years is one of the key motivating factors for attending a reunion. But more importantly, PLAP’s 40th Anniversary Celebration will be a great opportunity to mingle and network with PLAP alums and current students, check out our new office space, and reminisce about your days at HLS! Here are the details:

Reception & Open House
Fri, Apr 20, 6-8pm
Wasserstein Hall, Caspersen Student Center, Clinical Wing & PLAP Office (Suite 5107)

The Long Road for Prison Justice: PLAP’s Lasting Impact (Panel Discussion)
Sat, Apr 21, 2:15-3:30pm
Austin Hall, Ames Courtroom

For more information, please visit the PLAP website.

1980-81 PLAP Board

PLAP in the classroom

PLAP loves a good house party. This cat, not so much.

Vintage PLAP sign from the 1970s