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Suffolk University Digital Collections @ Suffolk Suffolk Law School Alumni Magazine Suffolk University Publications Winter 2021 Suffolk University Law School Alumni Magazine, Winter 2021 issue Suffolk University Law School Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.suffolk.edu/slam Recommended Citation Suffolk University Law School, "Suffolk University Law School Alumni Magazine, Winter 2021 issue" (2021). Suffolk Law School Alumni Magazine. 30. https://dc.suffolk.edu/slam/30 This Magazine is brought to you for free and open access by the Suffolk University Publications at Digital Collections @ Suffolk. It has been accepted for inclusion in Suffolk Law School Alumni Magazine by an authorized administrator of Digital Collections @ Suffolk. For more information, please contact dct@suffolk.edu.
SUFFOLK LAW ALUMNI MAGAZINE
02 A MESSAGE FROM DEAN PERLMAN 03 SUFFOLK LAW BY THE
NUMBERS 04 NATIONAL HONORS FOR CIVIC-MINDED STUDENT
04 FAIR HOUSING PROGRAM GETS $1M GRANT 04 THE PEW
CHARITABLE TRUSTS TURNS TO SUFFOLK 05 ALUMNA DESIGNS
DIVERSIONARY PROGRAMS APP 05 NEW DEGREE PROGRAM FOR LIFE
SCIENCES LAW 05 PROFESSOR EARNS ABA LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
06 NEW LAW FACULTY ON ISSUES THAT MATTER 08 LEGAL 500 RECOGNIZES
RECENT GRADUATE 08 RECOGNITION FROM THE NATIONAL BLACK PRE-LAW
CONFERENCE 08 SUFFOLK LAW HELPS LAUNCH NATIONAL POLICING
A SAGE CONSORTIUM 09 MICHAEL J. NICHOLSON: MAYOR
FROM BY DAY, LAW STUDENT BY NIGHT 10
DEA SUFFOLK LAW
STUDENT
WINS PATENT
A W A R D
11 NEW GROUP
ASSISTS FIRST
-GEN STUDENTS
12 CLOSING
35 COVID-19
PHD’S JUSTICE GAP
ENROLLED AT 12 NY TIMES
SUFFOLK L H IGHLIGHTS
13 A QUICK EVICTION RELIEF
TURN T O W A R D 13 CLINICS FORGE
THE VIRTUAL CLASSROOM AHEAD IN FACE OF PANDEMIC
13 EMERGENCY FUND HELPS STUDENTS IMPACTED BY COVID
14 SERGE GEORGES JR. NOMINATED TO SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT
17 BRETT FREEDMAN ADVISES THE SSCI 18 REGINA HOLLOWAY’S CAREER
IN POLICE OVERSIGHT TAKES A NEW TURN 19 THREE ALUMNI MAKE $1M
PLEDGES IN SINGLE YEAR 20 ALL RISE: CELEBRATING SUFFOLK LAW’S FEMALE
LEADERS 21 ALUMNI CONTRIBUTIONS WITH PERSONAL MEANING 21 ERNST
GUERRIER PAYS IT FORWARD 22 DIVERSITY, EQUITY & INCLUSION AT SUFFOLK
LAW 25 TRANSACTIONAL LAW MEETS SOCIAL JUSTICE 26 DEAN
PERLMAN HELPS LEAD ACCESS-TO-JUSTICE-EFFORT 27 SUFFOLK LAW
LAUNCHES INNOVATIVE HYBRID ONLINE JD PROGRAM 28 EMPATHY AND
REHABILITATION, ALUMNI FORGE NEW PATHS FOR THE COURTS 32 SUFFOLK
LAW RESPONDS TO THE HOUSING CRISIS 38 WALK IN MY SHOES: A DAY IN
THE LIFE OF A BLACK WOMAN ATTORNEY 41 HONORING THE MEMORY
OF A RISING STAR IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE 42 DEAN’S CABINET GROWS BY
FIVE 44 STUDENT AWARD NAMED FOR FORMER DEAN ROBERT SMITH
WINTER 2021 49 REMEMBERING KENNEDY FAMILY ADVISOR GERARD DOHERTY
SUFFOLK CONTENTS
LAW Dean
Andrew Perlman
Executive Editor
Greg Gatlin
Editor-in-Chief
Michael Fisch
Associate Editor
Katy Ibsen
Design
Jenni Leiste
Contributing Writers
Kara Baskin
Beth Brosnan
Alyssa Giacobbe
Jon Gorey
Mark Potts
Contributing Photographers
Michael J. Clarke
Adam Johnson
Copy Editor
Janet Parkinson
32
Suffolk Law Alumni Magazine is
published once a year by Suffolk
University Law School. The magazine
is printed by Lane Press in Burlington, SUFFOLK LAW
VT. We welcome readers’ comments. RESPONDS TO THE
Contact us at 617-573-5751,
mfisch@suffolk.edu, or at Editor, Suffolk HOUSING CRISIS
Law Alumni Magazine, 73 Tremont Tackling Discrimination
St., Ste. 1308, Boston, MA 02108-
4977. c 2021 by Suffolk University. All
and Affordable Housing
publication rights reserved. Head On
EMPATHY AND
REHABILITATION
Suffolk Law Community
Helps Forge New Paths
for the Courts 28
02 20 Posthumous Honors for
A MESSAGE FROM DEAN Professor Victoria Dodd
ANDREW PERLMAN 20 CATIC Foundation
Supports Accelerator-
04 to-Practice Program
LAW BRIEFS 21 Alumni Contributions
With Personal Meaning
12 21 Ernst Guerrier Pays It
PANDEMIC PIVOT Forward
12 Closing the COVID-19
Justice Gap 22
38
12 NY Times Highlights LAW COMMUNITY
Eviction Relief Tool 22 Diversity, Equity, and
13 A Quick Turn Toward Inclusion at Suffolk Law
the Virtual Classroom 25 Transactional Law
13 Clinics Forge Ahead in Meets Social Justice
WALK IN MY SHOES: Face of Pandemic 26 Dean Perlman Helps
A Day in the Life of a Black Woman Attorney 13 Emergency Fund Helps Lead Access-to-Justice
Students Impacted by Effort
COVID-19 27 Suffolk Law Launches
Innovative Hybrid
14 Online JD Program
IMPACTFUL ALUMNI 41 Honoring the Memory
14 Serge Georges, Jr. of a Rising Star in
Nominated to Supreme Criminal Justice
Judicial Court
17 Brett Freedman Advises 42
Senate Intelligence DEAN’S CABINET
Committee
18 Regina Holloway’s 44
Career in Police RETIREMENTS
Oversight Takes
a New Turn 45
CLASS NOTES
19
GIVING BACK 49
19 Three Alumni Make IN MEMORIAM:
$1M Pledges in GERARD DOHERTY
Single Year
20 All Rise: Celebrating
Suffolk Law’s Female
Leaders
1
Suffolk Law Alumni Magazine | Winter 2021
MESSAGE
A MESSAGE FROM
DEAN ANDREW
PERLMAN
Dear Suffolk Law Alumni:
The past year is one we will not soon
forget. We have faced a deadly global
pandemic, political polarization, a severe
economic downturn, and a reckoning on
issues of racial and social justice.
Suffolk Law alumni are at the forefront
of tackling these kinds of challenges, and this
issue of the Alumni Magazine covers just some An exceptional group of first-year making strides to ensure that our community
of their accomplishments. For example, students. The fall 2020 entering class was is diverse and inclusive. This year, we began
our graduates are addressing flaws in the 9% larger than we were expecting, and our taking additional steps in a wide range of
criminal justice system; they are working 409 first-year students have median LSAT areas, such as admissions, the curriculum,
within the government, at the federal, scores (154) and undergraduate GPAs (3.44) and hiring, to advance that important work.
state, and local level, to solve a wide range that were the strongest of any Suffolk Law Transforming legal education.
of pressing problems; and they are raising class in the past 10 years. Suffolk Law has launched a pioneering new
essential concerns about the obstacles that Increasing bar pass rates. For the Hybrid JD Program (HJD). The program,
lawyers of color face in our profession. class of 2020, Suffolk Law’s first-time which had been in the works long before
Suffolk Law faculty and students are bar pass rate in Massachusetts increased the pandemic, is the first in the country
also playing their part. For instance, just substantially to 80.7%. This is our highest to offer full- and part-time students a
this year, they have uncovered pervasive first-time bar pass rate in six years. traditional in-person first-year classroom
discrimination in the Boston housing market, Record-setting donations. The experience, followed by the option of taking
led an international effort to automate court Law School received three $1 million all remaining classes online.
forms for the public while courthouses are commitments in one year. These were the In this issue of the magazine, you will
closed, and established a new transactional three largest commitments ever made by find more details about these developments
clinic that offers legal assistance to small living Suffolk Law alumni, and two were as well as stories about the many ways
businesses during difficult economic times. made after the start of the pandemic. We that all of you—Suffolk Law alumni—are
In these and so many other ways, also now have 45 Dean’s Cabinet members, making a difference.
the Suffolk Law community is making a each of whom has committed at least Thank you for everything that you do,
difference in a changing, challenging world. $50,000 to advance the Law School’s work. both through your professional impact
At the same time, we are carrying out our These contributions are enhancing our and your contributions to Suffolk Law.
core mission of providing an outstanding programs and ensuring that Suffolk Law Together, we are advancing the Law
legal education to talented students who remains affordable to everyone regardless School’s longstanding mission of providing
want to achieve professional success. Here of financial circumstances. an exceptional, practice-oriented legal
are some recent notable developments: Top rankings in experiential education that enables our graduates to
Continuing classes in a pandemic. education. Suffolk Law is the only school make a difference in the world. That mission
In March, we temporarily moved our entire in the country that has had four top-25 has never been more important.
program online to respond to the public ranked legal skills specialties in U.S. News &
health crisis. Our faculty and staff then World Report for five years in a row (2017–21 Warmest regards,
worked hard over the summer to prepare editions).
for a fall semester that has included a mix Diversity, equity, and inclusion. The
of in-person and online classes that are national focus on issues of racial and social
interactive, engaging, and delivering on our justice is reflected in our own community.
educational promise. For several years, the Law School has been Andrew Perlman
2
Suffolk Law Alumni Magazine | Winter 2021
SUFFOLK LAW BY THE NUMBERS
ONE
TEN
IN 373 OF
Governor Baker has nominated Suffolk
Law alum and adjunct faculty member
Judge Serge Georges, Jr. JD’96 to the
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. If
confirmed, Judge Georges would become
the third Suffolk Law graduate to join the new $1 million
The incoming class has the Commonwealth’s seven-member high commitments in
best academic credentials court in the last four years, joining Elspeth the last year.
of any in the last 10 years. Cypher JD’86 and Frank Gaziano JD’89.
45
The number of Dean’s Cabinet members.
Each has committed $50,000 or more to
Suffolk Law.
ONE
THE ONLY LAW SCHOOL WITH FOUR TOP-25 LEGAL
FIRST
SKILLS PROGRAMS FOR FIVE YEARS IN A ROW, U.S.
NEWS & WORLD REPORT (2017–21 EDITIONS).
THIRTY
IN
LEGAL TRIAL DISPUTE
WRITING CLINICS ADVOCACY RESOLUTION
10 months after graduation, the Class of
5 14 20 22
2019 had the best employment outcomes
of any graduating Suffolk Law class in at # # # #
least 30 years.
3
Suffolk Law Alumni Magazine | Winter 2021
LAW
BRIEFS
GRANTS
$1 MILLION GOVERNMENT GRANT
PROPELS FAIR HOUSING EFFORT
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
has awarded Suffolk’s Housing Discrimination Testing Program
(HDTP) a three-year grant totaling more than $1 million to
continue its nationally recognized work. In addition to training
the next generation of civil rights attorneys, the HDTP has
uncovered widespread discrimination against tenants in the
Boston area on the basis of race, the use of housing vouchers,
and other protected categories. Since 2012, the program has
received $4.2 million in grant funding to support its work.
NATIONAL HONORS FOR
CIVIC-MINDED STUDENT
THE PEW CHARITABLE
TRUSTS TURNS TO SUFFOLK
In response to the pandemic, Suffolk’s Legal Innovation &
S
am Faisal JD’20 was dismissed. He went nine for 12 Technology Lab created mobile-friendly guided interviews that
named a finalist for the on the dismissals, National Jurist walk litigants through court forms without the need for physical
National Jurist 2020 Law reported. contact; think Turbo Tax, but for legal issues like a restraining
Student of the Year. The honor Faisal served as a mentor order. With support from The Pew Charitable Trusts, the Lab
is given to just 10 students across in the Law School’s Marshall is building tools that last beyond the pandemic, to bring data
the country. Brennan Program, commuting from those court forms directly into a court’s case management
“Sam has this great quality a few times a week to instruct system. That means court employees will not need to fill in case
of being gentle, at ease, and a public high school class in data by hand, speeding up court response times and simplifying
warm yet tenacious,” Professor constitutional law. One of his processes for pro se litigants. Most importantly, it offers the
Ragini Shah, director of students went on to win the potential to revolutionize data collection and analysis in trial
Photographs from left: Michael J. Clarke (2), Adobe, Michael J. Clarke
the Immigration Clinic, told preeminent high school moot courts throughout the country.
National Jurist. “Whether he’s court—with federal judges
helping clients in the immigrant deciding the final round.
community, teaching high In the last five years, Suffolk IN THE MEDIA
school kids through our Law has made the Student of
Marshall Brennan Program, or the Year shortlist four times.
advocating for fellow students, Last year, National Jurist honored “DEADLY FORCE BEHIND THE WHEEL”
he brings that warmth and Justin Rhuda JD’19, noting that WASHINGTON POST, AUGUST 24, 2020
determination to bear—and he helped stop the eviction of a Professor Emerita Karen Blum addresses a
good things happen.” former U.S. Army prisoner of controversial police driving maneuver used to end car
During his 1L summer, war and his family, who were chases. Blum and Suffolk Law students filed a brief
Faisal volunteered in Boston facing homelessness. Rhuda was in a Supreme Court case brought by a man who was
Municipal Court, working a U.S. Marine Corps captain paralyzed in 2001 during an attempted “precision
with indigent clients and from 2010 to 2015, stationed for immobilization technique” by a Georgia police officer.
attempting to get their cases two years in the Persian Gulf.
4
Suffolk Law Alumni Magazine | Winter 2021
LAW BRIEFS
BUILD IT AND
THEY WILL COME
ALUMNA DESIGNS DIVERSIONARY PROGRAMS APP
NEW DEGREE
PROGRAM FOR LIFE
SCIENCES LAW
D
efense attorneys, especially when master list of community-based resources.
they’re handling low-level offenses No place to go to do a comprehensive search In collaboration with Suffolk’s
like small-quantity drug possession where you could learn about programs and Sawyer Business School and the
and petty theft, often ask judges to divert determine if they had openings,” she says. College of Arts & Sciences, the Law
their clients into social programs—such The idea that young people would lose School has launched a new Master of
as substance abuse treatment or group an opportunity for professional help and a Science in Law: Life Sciences degree.
therapy—to avoid a criminal record. shot at redemption largely because lawyers The interdisciplinary program is
They do that in part because the effects and social workers didn’t have a basic web designed to help students secure jobs
of a criminal record can be so far-reaching: resource seemed wrong. and advance careers in the life sciences,
ineligibility for college scholarships So she conquered her fear of coding, one of the nation’s fastest-growing fields
or financial aid, lost opportunities for turning to Suffolk Legal Innovation for job growth. A 2019 Massachusetts
employment, and denials for private and & Technology (LIT) Lab teachers for Biotechnology Education Foundation
public housing. instruction. And then she built the tool report indicates that the state does not
While working in Suffolk’s Juvenile she envisioned, the Juvenile Resource have enough suitably trained workers for
Defender Clinic, Nicole Siino JD’18 saw Finder. Today, Massachusetts attorneys available life sciences positions and that
how difficult it was to find her clients (and anyone else, for that matter) can filling openings often takes more than
a place in treatment or job programs check her app on their phones from a three months as employers compete to
before they were arraigned, and her courtroom—and help their clients avoid hire promising candidates.
student colleagues and public defenders the potentially devastating effects of a
experienced the same problem. criminal record.
“I sat in court and listened to judges, QUESTIONS?
attorneys, and probation officers talk about Siino is a consultant focusing on legal innovation Contact Jennifer Karnakis at
dozens of programs designed to help juveniles and technology at Fireman & Company. Find her jkarnakis@suffolk.edu.
succeed and discovered that there was no app at bit.ly/NicoleApp2020.
PROFESSOR EARNS ABA
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
A
t an event headlined by Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Illinois Attorney
General Kwame Raoul, Suffolk Law Professor Janice C. Griffith received a
Lifetime Achievement award from the American Bar Association Section of
State and Local Government Law for her years of service and impressive professional
accomplishments. She began her career as an associate with the Wall Street firm Hawkins,
Delafield & Wood, then served as general counsel for New York City’s Housing and
Development Administration. Griffith also served as Suffolk University’s Vice President
for Academic Affairs and dean of Georgia State University College of Law.
5
Suffolk Law Alumni Magazine | Winter 2021
LAW BRIEFS
IN THE MEDIA
NEW SUFFOLK LAW FACULTY
ON ISSUES THAT MATTER
“TELL US ABOUT A LEGAL ISSUE THAT IS ANIMATING YOU.”
NEW PROFESSORS WEIGH IN
JENNIFER STEPHEN
CIARIMBOLI CODY
Assistant Professor of Academic Support Assistant Professor
BA, Boston University BA, Temple University
LIVING TOGETHER?
YOU MAY NEED SOME
JD, University of Notre Dame Law School MPhil, Cambridge University
LEGAL ADVICE JD, PhD, University of California, Berkeley
Ciarimboli served as in-house counsel at
A recent study by the Pew Re:Sources and at Sapient Corporation, Before coming to Suffolk Law, Cody
Research Center has found for the where she advised on a variety of global was a research director at Berkeley Law’s
first time that the percentage of legal issues, including contracts and Human Rights Center and prosecuted
people cohabiting is higher than the compliance. Prior to working in-house, she criminal cases for the U.S. Attorney’s
percentage of married couples. was an associate at Goodwin Procter LLP. Office (Eastern District, California).
In March, Boston News 25 turned His interviews with hundreds of child
to family law expert Professor Remote bar complexities soldiers and other survivors have helped
Maritza Karmely to ask if she had “Due to the pandemic, 2020 graduates determine how best to prepare, support,
any legal advice for people living dealt with months of changes to the dates and protect witnesses who testify against
together. and format of the bar examination. Most perpetrators of mass violence.
She had several recommendations: students took a remotely administered
Put your names on all assets. Hire test in October rather than a live exam in Supporting witnesses of war crimes
an attorney for four important the summer. I’m thinking a lot about how “Witnesses are the lifeblood of
documents—your house deed, your those changes impacted our students, international criminal trials. Most victims
will, a power of attorney for financial whether they disproportionately affected and witnesses have survived killings,
decisions, and a health care proxy. particular groups, and how I can support torture, or the destruction of their homes.
Marriage provides tax benefits as our future graduates who are dealing For many, testifying in a war crimes trial
well as safeguards if couples decide with continuing uncertainty around the requires an act of great courage, especially
to split up, she added. For example, administration of the exam.” when perpetrators still walk the streets
unmarried fathers have fewer rights of their villages and towns. Criminal
than married fathers when it comes prosecutors must be part of national and
to custody, at least until a judge gets international efforts to support and protect
involved. victims and witnesses and help to restore
communities affected by violence.”
6
Suffolk Law Alumni Magazine | Winter 2021
LAW BRIEFS
MAURICE ALI ROD CARLOS M.
DYSON KHADEM TEUSCHER
Professor Assistant Professor Assistant Clinical Professor
BA, Columbia University BA, MA, JD, University of California, Berkeley Director, Transactional Clinic
JD, Columbia Law School MA, PhD, Harvard University BS, University of Southern California
JD, Georgetown University Law Center
Dyson practiced law with Simpson Khadem has worked as an associate in
Thacher & Bartlett LLP, where he King & Spalding’s Middle East and Islamic Teuscher was a lecturer and clinical
specialized in mergers and acquisitions, finance group; as an associate in Linklaters’ instructor at Harvard Law School, where
securities, and leveraged buyouts valued China mergers and acquisitions group; he directed the community enterprise
at over $166 billion. He participated in as a senior director for global strategic project of the transactional law clinics.
landmark pro bono school-finance litigation, relationships at Westport Innovations; and as Before joining Harvard Law, he worked
winning a $14 billion judgment that was a senior vice president for Asia and Middle on domestic and international finance,
upheld on appeal. He also led federal civil East strategy at Macquarie Capital. He mergers and acquisitions, and other
rights enforcement as the Special Projects speaks several languages, including Arabic, commercial transactions at Linklaters LLP
team attorney for the U.S. Department of Mandarin Chinese, Farsi, and French. and Dechert LLP.
Education’s Office for Civil Rights.
Collaboration in a “post-truth” era “A horrible year”
Saying no to the “hired gun” “In our so-called post-truth era, we are “COVID-19, the murders of Breonna
“We often seek a ‘hired gun,’ but we experiencing increasing polarization around Taylor and George Floyd, murder hornets,
should advocate for the ‘hired dove’ attorney fundamental existential questions, whether and now raging fires along the West Coast.
Photographs from left: Adobe, Michael J. Clarke (5)
to engage in creative problem solving as a they be related to the pandemic, climate 2020 has been a horrible year. Regardless,
deliberate peacemaker, using restraint, change, religion, race, gender, or nuclear people have come together in different
reconciliation, and healing rather than acting threat. If information is part of the commons, ways to support each other. Mutual
as instruments to perpetuate malice and then how does pollution of the information aid networks have sprung up across the
bitterness. As such, the hired dove lawyering ecology (whether through misinformation, country, including in the Greater Boston
model, first put forth by Professor Mary C. misunderstanding, or cognitive overload) area, to support immigrants and other
Szto, gives us a more effective manner for undermine the possibilities for agreement and oppressed groups with money, labor, and
empathic cooperation in the practice of law, collaboration? And what new modalities are education programs, among others. Tax,
uniting parties riven asunder by conflict to needed, at the levels of the individual and the business, employment, immigration—the
reach lasting compromises built on mutual collective, for resolving the ensuing conflicts?” legal issues are vast!”
respect and need.”
7
Suffolk Law Alumni Magazine | Winter 2021LAW BRIEFS
LEGAL 500 RECOGNITION FROM THE
NATIONAL BLACK
RECOGNIZES RECENT PRE-LAW
GRADUATE CONFERENCE
R
ecognition by The Legal drug discovery so well; it’s Suffolk Law was recognized at
500 typically takes years deeply ingrained in my the 15th-anniversary celebration
of building a career and system.” of the Annual National Black Pre-
clientele. An organic chemist His work as a staff scientist Law Conference & Law Fair with that
turned Suffolk Law student has at Choate, Hall & Stewart with organization’s “Outstanding Law School
accomplished the feat while Andrea Reid JD’06, a former Diversity Outreach Award.”
still in law school. chemist herself, helped inspire The school’s admissions outreach and focus
Paul R. Fleming JD’20, who his own transition to law. The on diversity pipeline programs contributed to the honor. One
serves as a patent agent with two continue to work together example of the pipeline in action is recent graduate Sam Faisal
Dechert LLP, was recognized today at Dechert. JD’20. As a public high school student in Boston, Faisal wasn’t
this year by The Legal 500 U.S. “It definitely took me some thinking of becoming an attorney until he began receiving lessons
for his patent prosecution work. time to get comfortable making in constitutional law from two Suffolk Law students. His mentors
“The partner I worked with the switch from research to were serving as Marshall Brennan fellows, teaching subjects like free
said that it’s a big deal,” says being a patent agent. That’s a speech in the high school context, search and seizure law, and civil
Fleming, who received his PhD big switch,” he says. “So, for me, rights in police encounters.
from MIT and did his postdoc it was really gratifying to see that
at the National Institutes of the clients appreciated the work
Health before working as a I did and found that I was a
scientist for AstraZeneca. “I valuable part of their team.”
think my background in the Through Suffolk Law’s new
pharmaceutical industry really Accelerated JD Program,
helped me. I am able to help Fleming completed his JD a
clients because I understand year and a half early.
IN THE MEDIA
NIGHTLINE AND ESQUIRE COVER
SUFFOLK LAW HOUSING STUDY
On July 1, the Boston Globe reported that undercover
investigations by Suffolk Law’s Housing Discrimination SUFFOLK HELPS
Testing Program (HDTP) “found that Black people posing
as prospective tenants were shown fewer apartments than LAUNCH NATIONAL
whites and offered fewer incentives to rent, and that real POLICING CONSORTIUM
estate agents often cut off contact when the renters gave
Black-sounding names like Lakisha, Tyrone, or Kareem.” Dean Andrew Perlman helped lead the creation of the ABA-Legal
The HDTP study was also covered in Esquire, The Education Police Practices Consortium, which launched in October.
Chronicle of Higher Education, on NPR, and cited on ABC The Consortium is creating opportunities for more than 50 law
News Nightline. schools across the country to work with the ABA and local, state, and
national stakeholders to improve police practices, from use of force
policies to training and oversight.
8
Suffolk Law Alumni Magazine | Winter 2021LAW BRIEFS
MICHAEL J. NICHOLSON:
MAYOR BY DAY,
LAW STUDENT
BY NIGHT
A
s Suffolk Law students city’s students back to school says. “Professor Polito helped me
navigate law school, safely this fall. Gardner, a city see the whole system, how we got to
there’s a lot to think of about 20,000, lies 57 miles THREE the process that we use to set a city’s
about. For some, there are work west of Boston. By charter, the excise and property tax numbers.”
responsibilities, babies to feed, Gardner mayor serves as chair SUFFOLK Nicholson’s Government Lawyer
parents to care for. Michael J. of the school committee. class included some equally politically
Nicholson, Class of 2021, is
only 26 years old and running a
As part of the city’s hybrid
schooling model, Nicholson
LAW minded students who ran for office
in Massachussetts—for example,
small city. He was elected mayor
of Gardner, Massachusetts, this
proposed the city start off with two
weeks of remote learning for all
STUDENTS 33-year-old Meghan K. Kilcoyne,
Class of 2021, who was elected state
summer.
Since his election, he’s been
students. “That two weeks up front
allowed us to see how other districts
WON representative for the 12th Worcester
District. Another classmate, 31-year-
working through all manner of were faring, what mistakes or blips old Michael J. Owens, Class of
thorny problems, including a were happening, so we could avoid
LOCAL 2021, served for four years as a
Photographs from left: Adobe, Michael J. Clarke
truncated $70 million city budget- those. It made the learning curve a town councilor in Braintree. And
planning process and making little less steep,” he says. ELECTION another Suffolk Law student, John J.
an educated decision about how It’s no surprise that he’s been Cronin, Class of 2022, was elected
the state would likely fund cities thinking back to lessons from his RACES IN state senator for the Worcester and
despite its own pandemic-related favorite Suffolk Law professors, Middlesex District.
budget challenges. including Judge Serge Georges, 2020 Before becoming mayor, Nicholson
Nicholson and Gardner’s Jr. JD’96 and Professor Anthony served as town administrator of
school superintendent worked Polito. “I’m responsible for Rutland, Massachusetts, and as top
through four separate plans managing the procurement aide for then-mayor of Gardner,
required by the state to get the process for the city,” Nicholson Mark Hawke.
9
Suffolk Law Alumni Magazine | Winter 2021LAW BRIEFS
SUFFOLK LAW
STUDENT WINS
PATENT AWARD
W
hile working as an investigator in oral biology at Boston
University, Eva Helmerhorst, Class of 2021, discovered that
a naturally occurring oral bacteria, Rothia mucilaginosa, can
break down gluten proteins. Her discovery and forthcoming inventions
will create a natural therapy for individuals with celiac disease or other
forms of gluten intolerance.
Going through the patent process spurred Helmerhorst’s interest in
law, she says: “I was in contact a lot with the Office of Technology
Development during the time, and this is how I actually became
interested in patent law.”
Helmerhorst, who holds a doctorate in oral biochemistry, was
recognized in 2019 as one of 13 honorees at the Boston Patent Law
Association’s 9th Annual Invented Here! Awards, and was one of four
honorees invited to share more about their work.
“I remember one of the questions I was asked was: ‘How do you
get to a discovery?’ My answer was ‘Just let your brain wander and
see where it goes and make connections’ ... because, when I found the
enzyme ... it was kind of an accidental discovery. It often goes like that,”
says the Suffolk Law 4L evening student.
Helmerhorst’s journey from science to IP law is not uncommon at
Suffolk Law. In a typical year, more than a dozen entering students hold
a PhD, many in STEM fields. They often pursue patent law, one of the
reasons that 30% of Boston-area patent lawyers are Suffolk Law alumni.
THE The incoming Law School class boasts 14
PhDs, 46 students with graduate degrees, and
of these students already have jobs in law
firms working on patent matters, so they
DOCTOR even a nuclear engineer. While impressive,
this is not unusual. In recent years, Suffolk
need to go to law school at night. We pair an
outstanding IP program with a highly ranked
IS IN Law has attracted an increasing number
of students with advanced degrees, with 35
evening program. It’s a perfect match.”
Many attend Suffolk Law for the IP
35 PhDs ENROLLED AT SUFFOLK LAW PhDs currently enrolled. Concentration, which is one of the largest
“Many of these students have graduate and most developed of its kind in the
degrees in STEM fields, and they know country, offering a patent law specialization
that the Law School has a terrific local and a full range of IP courses—patents,
and national reputation in IP law,” says copyright, trademarks, trade secrets, and
Professor Rebecca Curtin, co-director of the licensing—to introduce students to the
Intellectual Property Concentration. “Many diversity of the field.
10
Suffolk Law Alumni Magazine | Winter 2021LAW BRIEFS
NEW GROUP
ASSISTS FIRST-GEN
STUDENTS
Lauren Bertino, Class of 2022, a first-generation law student,
said imposter syndrome set in on her first day of classes last fall.
“I realized I had no idea what was going on,” she says. And she
wasn’t alone. “There are plenty of students around me, especially
at Suffolk … who don’t have an uncle or a family friend to tell
Michael Murray (right), in his previous position as the AHL executive them what to expect [when attending law school].”
vice president of hockey operations, presents the AHL Playoff This experience led Bertino, along with her 2L classmates
MVP award (Jack A. Butterfield Trophy) to Andrew Poturalski of the Melanie Stallone, Cassandra Munoz, and James Lockett, to create
Charlotte Checkers following their AHL Calder Cup championship
the First Generation Law Student Association and its podcast
during the 2018-19 season.
“Firsthand from FirstGen” to support other first-generation law
students in understanding the nuances of law school.
ACHIEVING HIS The podcast delivers insights from other students, faculty, and
NHL DREAM
alumni. “Firsthand from FirstGen” is working on more episodes
now and seeking out alumni for interviews.
“Suffolk is well-known for its strong alumni network,” Bertino
says. “That is why I came to Suffolk in the first place and why
it is such an especially good place for first-gen students. When
ALUMNUS JOINS THE MINNESOTA WILD I was looking to see whether I wanted to even go to law school,
I spoke to Suffolk alumni who were so willing to just say, ‘Yeah,
here’s the deal.’”
M
ichael Murray JD’08 has been named assistant to the general
manager of the National Hockey League’s Minnesota
Wild. In his new role, Murray will assist in the day-to-day Episodes 1 and 2 of “Firsthand from FirstGen” can be
responsibilities of the Wild’s hockey operations department, including found on Spotify, tinyurl.com/suffolkfirstgen. Alumni
contract negotiations, scouting, and player development. He will also interested in participating can email the organization at
support hockey operations for the American Hockey League’s (AHL) sulsfirstgen@gmail.com.
Iowa Wild.
Photographs from left: Courtesy of Carly Gillis Photography , AHL File Photo
Hockey is part of Murray’s DNA—he first wore skates and handled
a hockey stick when he was 3 years old. He played at Dartmouth
and for two seasons professionally, and his father, Bob Murray, was IN THE MEDIA
part of Boston University’s 1971 and 1972 NCAA championship
teams. Murray was previously the executive vice president of hockey
operations for the AHL.
“You can never have too many smart people around you, especially “‘WET’ INK SIGNATURES REQUIREMENTS
during these unprecedented times,” said Wild General Manager Bill MAY FADE AFTER CORONAVIRUS”
Guerin. “Between Michael’s education and experience in the hockey BLOOMBERG LAW, APRIL 10, 2020
world ... he will help make our organization better.” With the logistical challenges of meeting in person
Murray says he wouldn’t have achieved his dream of working in the during a pandemic, many states are moving away from
NHL without his Suffolk Law degree, noting that he regularly applies requiring “wet signatures.” Professor Gabe Teninbaum
the lessons he learned in courses like sports, labor, and employment JD’05 explains why this idea is long overdue. He argues
law. “I think one of the best things about Suffolk is the diversity of the that wet signatures remain a common practice, like a lot
faculty and the ability to learn from their personal and professional of legal practice processes, simply because of inertia.
experiences,” he said. “Their firsthand knowledge and expertise is
invaluable.”
11
Suffolk Law Alumni Magazine | Winter 2021PANDEMIC A TEAM GATHERS ACROSS FIVE CONTINENTS.
PIVOT WATCH NBC 10 COVERAGE AT bit.ly/LITLabNBC
how people facing legal emergencies guardianship, is ongoing.
could access the court from home. “In the U.S., even before the
The answer: court forms that pandemic, a majority of people faced
Clinical fellow
Quinten Steenhuis
could be filled out and submitted to their civil legal emergencies without
interviewed by NBC the courts entirely via mobile phones. a lawyer,” said Suffolk Law Dean
10 about the court Simply placing existing court forms Andrew Perlman—a problem called
forms project online wouldn’t get the job done. the justice gap.
The forms would need to walk users Additionally, many courts have forms
through complex legal questions, in the that must be printed out, filled in by
CLOS ING THE COVID-19 same way that TurboTax simplifies tax hand, and delivered to a courthouse or
JUSTICE GAP
documents, and provide a way to be scanned and submitted to the court, said
submitted without the usual printing Steenhuis. “But many people don’t have
and signing requirements. a printer or scanner at home, and they
By the end of April, the LIT Lab had don’t have access to a library right now—
By Michael Fisch
recruited a group of 100 volunteers across or a retail store’s computer station,” he
I
magine a woman living with an abusive partner, five continents: coders, user experience noted. These are some of the hurdles that
isolated for months during the pandemic shutdown. experts, designers, lawyers, linguists the mobile tools overcome.
Eventually, she goes to the local courthouse to get offering translation services, and the LIT And because the framework for the
help, but the doors are locked when she arrives— Lab’s own committed student team. mobile app, Docassemble, is open to
because of the pandemic, Massachusetts courts are Working at rapid speed, the team anyone, technologists in other states will
closed to the public except for emergencies. She waits launched MassAccess in June with have a leg up in creating similar forms
outside for hours, until a clerk finally comes with a stack an initial array of forms. The project for their courts.
of complex papers for her to complete on her own. is a remarkable feat, both for its swift “This project is extremely helpful,”
“Unfortunately, this actually happened,” says turnaround and its $0 price tag for the said Jorge Colon, a court service center
Quinten Steenhuis, a legal technologist and clinical courts. Without the volunteer army, manager with the Massachusetts Trial
fellow in Suffolk’s Legal Innovation & Technology Colarusso estimates the project could Courts. “When people call to receive
(LIT) Lab. “It’s a problem that was foreseen by Ralph have cost over $1 million. assistance at the Court Service Center, we
Gants, the late chief justice of the Supreme Judicial The mobile forms address legal can refer them to the different tools that
Court [SJC], at the start of the COVID-19 crisis. He issues from restraining orders to this project has created, and they are able
put out a call for ideas to increase public access to the unlawful eviction and even “breach to do the same things that they could do
courts, and the LIT Lab answered that call.” of quiet enjoyment”—say, when a at the courthouse through this project.”
Within weeks, the SJC’s Access to Justice landlord won’t repair a sewage leak in
Commission COVID-19 Task Force’s Access to your kitchen. The creation of court View the MassAccess project
Courts Committee, co-chaired by LIT Lab director forms in other legal areas, such as forms at courtformsonline.org.
David Colarusso, had started tackling the question of consumer debt, education, health, and
NY TIMES HIGHLIGHTS EVICTION RELIEF TOOL
Millions of Americans have been can be sent to their landlords, as CDC rules stipulate. In September,
facing the very real possibility of The New York Times featured the tool in its primer on the topic, “The
eviction—in the middle of winter, with a New Eviction Moratorium: What You Need to Know.”
pandemic spiking. At press time, the CDC eviction reprieve covers qualified renters
This fall, the Suffolk LIT Lab released a free online tool that has through December 31.
helped thousands of tenants across the nation determine whether
they qualify for eviction relief, based on the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention’s (CDC) eviction moratorium order. Check out the tool at courtformsonline.org.
If a renter qualifies, the tool produces a customized letter that
12
Suffolk Law Alumni Magazine | Winter 2021PA N D E M I C P I V O T
CLINICS FORGE AHEAD IN
FACE OF PANDEMIC
A QUICK TURN TOWARD While the COVID-19 pandemic has upended the traditional face-
THE VIRTUAL
to-face interactions of Suffolk Law’s 11 clinical programs, students have
found creative ways to help their clients.
CLASSROOM
The Legal Innovation & Technology Lab created cell phone-guided
interviews that walk pro se litigants through complex court forms.
The team’s effort drew media attention, including a television
segment on NBC Boston.
W
hile COVID-19 has created widespread Students in the newly created Transactional Clinic are working on
hardship, it is also driving rapid innovation— legal documents that set out the governance and financial structure
including at Suffolk Law School, says Professor of Puntada, an immigrant women’s worker cooperative that
Gabe Teninbaum JD’05. produces face masks and other personal protective equipment.
As the recently appointed assistant dean of innovation,
strategic initiatives, and distance education, Teninbaum knew In April, the Human Rights and Indigenous Peoples Clinic learned
that the fundamentals of a Suffolk legal education would that the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights had
remain the same whether faculty and students were miles apart referred their case against the government of Guatemala, addressing
on a Zoom call or six feet away in a Sargent Hall classroom. persistent government raids of indigenous community radio stations,
But because the two experiences can feel very different, to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. The Clinic’s student
he’s made it a priority to get faculty the resources they need attorneys drafted and submitted a lengthy merits brief to the Court
to make their remote classes more intimate and interactive, in October. Expert witnesses will include UN Special Rapporteurs
as well as rich in content. and Suffolk Law Professor Lorie Graham.
Law librarians now serve as “tech guides” or, more formally,
library distance education liaisons, assisting faculty with As the Massachusetts District Attorney’s Offices faced court closures,
the finer details of remote teaching. Faculty tech facilitators the Prosecutors Clinic has jumped in to assist. Working in 17 courts with
(FTFs), hired students, are the virtual world’s new teaching five Massachusetts District Attorney’s Offices, students have created
assistants, serving as an extra set of eyes to help professors. COVID-specific templated motions, flowcharts, and analyses to help
Faculty, in turn, are gaining a sense of the new medium’s criminal cases proceed without undue delay as litigation resumes.
unique rhythm and how to incorporate digital tools—from
instant polling of students to building in commentary from The Accelerator Practice represented a mother with a housing voucher
experts around the world. who faced discrimination for over a year as she sought in vain to rent an
“So far,” says Teninbaum, “it’s gone terrifically, because apartment for herself and her two disabled children. The Accelerator
Photographs from left: Michael Fisch , Michael J. Clarke, Adobe
we have a staff and faculty working together to put students’ Practice and the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office negotiated
needs first.” settlements for the family with several of the offending housing providers.
EMERGENCY FUND HELPS STUDENTS IMPACTED BY COVID-19
One law student, the mother few of the reasons why students have financial challenges brought on by
of a toddler, was laid off from full- applied for grants through the Suffolk the pandemic. As of September 24,
time work. Another was unable to Law CARES Emergency Fund. $33,200 in grants had been awarded
find summer legal employment or The Fund—made possible to students in need.
find work as a nanny to make extra through the generosity of alumni, To support Suffolk Law Cares
income. A third lost his regular gig faculty, and staff members—aims visit app.mobilecause.com/vf/
as an Uber driver. These are just a to help support law students facing SUCARES
13
Suffolk Law Alumni Magazine | Winter 2021IMPACTFUL ALUMNI SERGE GEORGES, JR. NOMINATED TO SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT NOMINEE HAS A REPUTATION FOR LEGAL BRILLIANCE—AND FOR TREATING EVERYONE WITH DIGNITY AND RESPECT By Beth Brosnan
I M PA C T F U L A L U M N I
O
ver the course of his 25-year legal that relationship will last.” perspective” for the Supreme Judicial
career, Judge Serge Georges, Jr. “None of us get to where we are alone,” Court, whose members are rarely drawn
JD’96 has earned a reputation as a Georges said a few days later. “I try to give from the district and municipal courts. “His
remarkably gifted communicator. people the opportunity to be successful.” professional experiences, particularly those
Whether he’s talking with professional involving the civil and criminal legal issues
colleagues, defendants in his Dorchester Proud, Joyful Tears that individuals regularly encounter, will be
courtroom, or his students at Suffolk Law, If confirmed in early December, he especially valuable to the court,” he said.
Judge Georges is the kind of person who will join two other Suffolk Law graduates
can connect with his listeners and cut to the on the seven-member court: Justices Frank
heart of the matter, says Suffolk Law Dean Gaziano JD’89 and Elspeth Cypher JD’86.
Andrew Perlman.
Yet for a few brief moments this fall,
Even more significantly, he will become only
the fourth Black person ever to serve on the
“WHAT SERGE HAS
Georges, 50, found himself speechless.
On November 17, Governor Charlie
328-year-old SJC.
Georges’ longtime friend, Suffolk Trustee
DONE FOR THE PAST
Baker announced Georges’ nomination to
the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.
Ernst Guerrier BS’91, JD’94, a Haitian-
American who grew up in Mattapan, wept
SEVEN YEARS IS LIKE
At a State House press conference, the
governor praised Georges not only for his
when he heard the news.
“Serge’s appointment was a great day for PRACTICING LAW
legal brilliance, but also for the humanity Suffolk, and for our diverse community,” he
he has brought to his work as both a Boston says. “It signifies everything that we preach. IN THE ER. HE HAS
Municipal Court judge and a teacher at You can grow up in Dorchester or Mattapan
Suffolk Law. or Roxbury or Jamaica Plain, and if you are PRESIDED OVER THE
“Many lawyers say he’s their favorite given the opportunity and work hard, you
judge,” Baker said. “Not because he gives can reach the highest level.” BUSIEST COURT IN
them the answer they want, but because Cherina D. Wright JD/MBA’17—the
he knows the law, does his homework, law school’s assistant dean for diversity, THE COMMONWEALTH,
and treats everyone in his courtroom with equity, and inclusion, who first met Georges
dignity and respect.” when she was president of Suffolk’s Black AND HE’S DONE SO
Stepping to the microphone, Georges Law Students Association—was also moved
paused to collect himself. After thanking to “proud, joyful tears.” WITH INTELLIGENCE,
the governor, he said, “I can’t adequately While plenty of systemic racial barriers
express what this means to me—I just
don’t have the words.” As a young Haitian-
remain, she says, “I hope this helps Suffolk
Law students, especially our students of
COMPASSION, AND
American boy growing up in Dorchester, he
added, “I would never have dreamed this
color, realize the sky is the limit. Serge is
proof of that.”
COMMITMENT.”
was possible.” University President Marisa Kelly calls –Ernst Guerrier BS’91, JD’94
Yet Georges has spent his life believing Georges “a role model for our students,
in the possible—including in the classroom, someone who embodies our very highest
Photograph by Michael J. Clarke
where he has mentored law students, and ideals. And in a period when our country
in the courtroom, where he has earned a is wrestling with criminal justice reform, he Guerrier puts it this way: “What Serge
reputation for making litigants feel listened brings a deep understanding of how different has done for the past seven years is like
to, fairly treated, and able to move forward communities navigate our legal system.” practicing law in the ER. He has presided
with their lives. As the governor put it, “It Dean Perlman points out that Georges’ over the busiest court in the Commonwealth,
seems clear that no matter when Judge tenure on the Boston Municipal Court and he’s done so with intelligence,
Georges becomes your friend and colleague, will provide “an often under-represented compassion, and commitment.”
Continued on page 16
15
Suffolk Law Alumni Magazine | Winter 2021I M PA C T F U L A L U M N I
The early years in Dorchester who have just made mistakes and need he says. Stuart was eventually revealed to be
Georges was first appointed to the Boston some guidance to get back on their feet, stop the murderer and committed suicide, yet there
Municipal Court in 2013 by Governor committing crimes, and become productive was no immediate reckoning, no admission of
Deval Patrick, following more than 15 years members of society.” how an entire community had been presumed
as a trial attorney concentrating in civil From 2014 to 2018, he presided over the guilty and deprived of its legal rights.
litigation, criminal defense, and professional Dorchester Drug Court, working with a team After graduating from BC in 1992,
licensure and liability. of clinicians, attorneys, police, and parole Georges enrolled at Suffolk Law. There was,
“I can’t tell you how much it has meant officers to provide substance-use offenders he says, a warmth to everyone he met, and
to me to be a judge in the neighborhood with consistent structure, expectations, and the sense that faculty and staff alike cared
where I grew up,” he says. support. He calls the experience the most deeply about students and wanted them
From age 4 until his early 20s, Dorchester rewarding of his professional life. to succeed. “People would take the time
was home. He lived with his parents and “I’ve seen the kind of miracles that come to check in with you, when things were
two older sisters in a rented two-bedroom with sobriety,” he says, “when people who going well and when they weren’t,” he says.
apartment on Hancock Street in Kane have lost everything are able to reconnect “Suffolk was a place you could always come
Square, surrounded by Irish-American, with family, find employment and housing.” home to.”
Cape Verdean, and Puerto Rican families. After Georges’ SJC nomination was Suffolk also lit a fire under him. “My
He and his friends loved to ride their BMX announced, his email inbox and phone professors were the best in the business
bikes through the neighborhood, flying past were flooded with congratulatory messages, and they started my love of the law,” he
the courthouse where Georges would one including some from former Drug Court says. Friday nights would find him in the
day preside. clients. “It’s ironic they are calling to thank basement of the Archer building, debating
Education was everything to Georges’ me,” he says. “I feel I should be thanking the latest slip opinions with his classmate
parents, who had left Haiti to avoid political them. This work has given me so much.” and close friend, Hank Brennan JD’96,
persecution. His father, Serge Sr., who taught now a noted criminal defense attorney. “I’m
in the Boston public schools by day, held Lighting an intellectual fire a nerd,” he cheerfully admits. “I love the
down a second job at Honeywell by night, Prior to accepting his nomination intellectual stimulation of reading the law
while his mother, Maryse, worked as a data to the SJC, Georges accepted another and thinking about how to apply it.”
entry clerk for the Boston Stock Exchange honor: Suffolk’s invitation to serve as Today, Georges lights those same fires
and at the Safety Insurance Company, all so Commencement speaker for Suffolk Law’s under his own students in his courses on
they could afford to send their children to Class of 2021, where he will receive an Trial Advocacy, Evidence, and Professional
Catholic schools. honorary degree. Responsibility. “He is an exceptional
Georges graduated from both Boston An adjunct faculty member since 1999, teacher,” says Dean Perlman. Assistant
College High School and Boston College, Georges has now taught a full generation of Dean Wright adds he’s the kind of professor
where he majored in English. (He can still Suffolk Law students. At the start of every “who empowers his students, and gives them
recite poetry he studied there from memory.) school year, when he leads incoming 1L a real sense of ownership of the material.”
Having put their three children through students in their oath of professionalism, If confirmed, Georges will bring all this
college, Serge Sr. and Maryse Georges he shares how the notorious 1989 Charles with him to the Supreme Judicial Court—
bought their first home, in Randolph, where Stuart case galvanized him to study law. not only “his clear command of the law
they live today. The judge lives nearby, with When Stuart shot and killed his pregnant and his sharp analytical mind,” says Dean
his wife, Michelle, and their two daughters. wife, Suffolk Law alumna Carol DiMaiti Perlman, “but also his desire to make a
Yet Dorchester remains home, the place Stuart JD’85, and blamed her death on an positive impact on the lives of others.”
that taught him “there are a lot of really unidentified Black assailant, city officials The prospect of joining the nation’s
good people who get bad breaks,” he says. spent two months indiscriminately rounding oldest supreme court, operating under
It’s a perspective he brings with him to up Black men and interrogating them. its oldest constitution, renders this most
the courtroom, where he is known for giving Boston newspapers called for the restoration eloquent of men speechless once more. “I
people a chance while also holding them of the death penalty. want to be part of a team that is working
accountable. “When you are practicing at Georges still has a copy of that newspaper. to get it right,” Georges says after a pause.
the district and municipal court level,” he “It’s old and yellow and I’m going to be buried “For a kid from Kane Square, this means
says, “you see there are plenty of people with it, because it informed the rest of my life,” everything.”
16
Suffolk Law Alumni Magazine | Winter 2021I M PA C T F U L A L U M N I
“ONE OF MY PASSIONS IS TRYING TO BRIDGE THE
PUBLIC AND PRIVATE DIVIDE THAT EXISTS BETWEEN,
SAY, SILICON VALLEY AND WASHINGTON.”
–Brett Freedman JD’07
powerful intelligence apparatus. program, a computer scientist
Security threats have evolved at the NSA could, for example,
since the Lockerbie bombing, of spend a year or two working at
BRETT
course, with cybersecurity and Google—honing their skills and
election interference among the gaining a better understanding
committee’s current concerns. of its culture—while maintaining
FREEDMAN
“There’s certainly a public their government tenure and
knowledge of the efforts by the benefits. Meanwhile, an engineer
Russian Federation and other from the tech industry could take
ADVISES SENATE countries to interfere [with the
election] in one way, shape, or
time to learn how the government
operates—and how to get things
INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE form,” Freedman said in October, done within its bureaucracy—
citing as examples the spread of without leaving their job.
false narratives and innocuous- Freedman hopes that this
By Jon Gorey sounding disinformation that cross-pollination of talent could
proliferate on social media. help the two camps, which are
O
n a late December day in 1988, Brett Freedman JD’07 Freedman isn’t on the front often at odds, get past what they
and his family were readying for an overnight flight to lines of election cybersecurity read about each other in the news.
Israel, where they were planning to celebrate 13-year- and doesn’t consider himself an These exchange workers can
old Brett’s bar mitzvah. As they packed their bags, anticipation especially technical person. “But in “meet the people, see what the
turned to anxiety when they heard that a passenger jet, Pan-Am order to be able to put forth policy, mission is, and get a sense of the
Flight 103, had exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland—killing all you need to understand the innards challenges facing them,” he said.
259 people aboard and 11 on the ground in one of the most of what’s happening,” he said, so Freedman also hopes the
deadly airline bombings in history. he’s had to familiarize himself with program could open up the
“We were watching it on television when the van came to pick technologies like the 5G wireless intelligence community to a
us up to go to the airport,” Freedman recalled. As a suburban standard, artificial intelligence, more diverse talent pool. If the
Boston middle-schooler, Freedman says he didn’t grasp the full and quantum computing—with intelligence community as an
dynamics of what was happening at the time, beyond the burning some help from the Congressional analytical body does not reflect the
wreckage on the TV. But he could sense and understand his Research Service. He also relies on composition of the country and the
parents’ fear, concern—and resolve. “My mom was upset, and relationships he’s built with trusted globe, decision makers are going to
my dad said, ‘There’s nothing more important than to actually academics, think tanks, and private miss critical nuances, he warned.
do this now.’” industry leaders. Imperfect as U.S. national
Freedman didn’t decide in that moment to pursue a career Recognizing the importance security is, Freedman cherishes
in national security, but the experience was influential. of these relationships, Freedman his role in keeping people safe,
After earning his juris doctor at Suffolk in 2007, Freedman pushed for the most recent IAA and feels fortunate to be part
Photograph: Courtesy of Aviva Krauthammer
went on to provide legal counsel at both the National Security to include a public-private talent of something much bigger than
Agency and the National Counter-Terrorism Center in exchange, which would allow either himself or politics.
Washington, DC. Now, he serves as minority counsel for the intelligence officials to spend a year “I’ve been proud to be a
Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI), which oversees or more immersed at a company in part of one of, if not the only,
the entire U.S. intelligence community. the private sector and vice versa. remaining truly bipartisan
Working for Senator Mark Warner of Virginia, the “One of my passions is trying congressional committees, where
committee’s Democratic vice chairman, one of Freedman’s top to bridge the public and private we put our noses down, look at
priorities in most years is to help get the bipartisan Intelligence divide that exists between, say, the issues, and continue to work
Authorization Act (IAA) through Congress—the critical Silicon Valley and Washington,” he together to try to find solutions,”
legislation that authorizes funding and oversight for the nation’s said. Through the pilot exchange he said.
17
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