State of the NLG – MA Chapter – 2022
Well, another busy year for the MA chapter of the NLG is nearly over. With the support of our members, we have achieved several goals, some in response to decisions of the Supreme Court. As you all know the Court decided the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization in which the … Read more>>
We are planning to do a Narcan Training. We are still awaiting some responses and getting the details in order. This Fall, UMass Dartmouth Law NLG Student Chapter plans to host a movie night showing, “Aftershock”; we have invited members of If/When/How and BLSA to join us. We are co-sponsoring a Judicial Accountability event as well as co-sponsoring a post … Read more>>
NLG-Mass’ Abortion Justice Task Force (AJTF) will start facilitating trainings for groups and communities across Massachusetts in January 2023. The AJTF is currently researching the most pressing legal questions for those seeking an abortion, helping with accessing an abortion, and performing abortions in Massachusetts. Additionally, AJTF is researching the added legal concerns for more vulnerable populations, such as college students … Read more>>
I recently had the pleasure to attend the 2022 National Lawyers Guild Mass Chapter Annual Dinner as a guest of New England Law I Boston student, Sara Malley. As I am an architect and most certainly not a lawyer, I expect that I may have been one of the few attendees who wasn’t either directly employed in the field of … Read more>>
There were 13 people participating at this year’s retreat – Bonnie, Doug Smith (Lit. Com.), Eden, Jeff, Jesse Sanderson (2022 Suffolk grad.), Lee, Makis, Melinda, Rebecca Amdemariam, Roberto Patterson, Sara Malley (N.E. Law), Urszula, Zach.
Melinda and Bonnie opened the proceedings up with a brief summary of the topics to be discussed during the retreat. This included the our ongoing … Read more>>
The Litigation Committee of NLG-Mass Chapter September Report
Following the presentation of Drew Friedfertig from the NLG-Buffalo Chapter to the Litigation Committee’s September meeting concerning the Buffalo NLG Chapter’s work in examining police policies and practices to screen out or investigate and discipline police officers who are members of white Nationalist organizations, anti-government militias, sovereign citizen groups, or “domestic terrorist” … Read more>>
The Litigation Committee of NLG-Mass. was busy this month. Law student intern Adam Baldasarre finished up his summer duties by investigating Boston police surveillance and especially drone surveillance, with an emphasis on Mass-Cass and other spots where people lacking sustainable housing gather for safety. No present plans for action as of this writing, but come back next month for an … Read more>>
Our Mass Chapter joined the ACLU, and five community & legal service organizations, with the assistance of a private law firm pro bono, in successfully suing the Boston Police Department (BPD) and the Boston Regional Intelligence Center (BRIC) for its failure to timely and fully produce public records of gang surveillance in Boston. The suit was filed in January, 2019, … Read more>>
At the end of August, students from – UMass at Dartmouth, BU Law, Suffolk Law, Northeastern Law, and New England Law – came together to discuss potential campaigns their NLG chapters may adopt for the 22-23 academic year. As students share their scheduled events, the information will be included in Mass Dissent as well as posted on social media. Additionally, … Read more>>
In response to corporate union-busting attempts, Starbucks workers from 874 Commonwealth Avenue in Boston went on strike over three weeks ago. It is the longest running strike in Starbucks history. Their efforts were joined by other Starbucks stores in Massachusetts. The Coolidge Corner, Cleveland Circle, Watertown, and Worcester stores picketed, and the Gardner and Reading stores held sip-ins.
Kylah Clay, … Read more>>
Recently, staff and members of NLG chapters (Mass, Idaho, Buffalo, Las Vegas, Denver, and Pittsburgh) joined an online meeting to discuss ways chapters across the country can collaborate to address the numerous legal concerns following the Dobbs decision.
The conversation largely focused on three key points: access to representation, legal education and potential avenues to contest the legal legitimacy of … Read more>>
NLG-Mass Abortion Justice Task Force
NLG-Mass Abortion Justice Task Force is revamping NLG-Mass’ former Reproductive Rights Clinic in light of the Dobbs decision and the numerous legal concerns that have resulted. The goal of the Task Force is to uncover the most pressing legal concerns and to address those concerns through a legal clinic/training offered to groups … Read more>>
Our Legal Observers have been hard at work providing support at post Dobbs protests, Black Lives Matter and at the picket lines where Starbucks employees continue to stand for their rights even as they have been faced with mounting police pressure. Click Here to get a copy of the report.
Below are photos of our Legal Observers at the Black … Read more>>
Abortion Access in Massachusetts:
Conversation with Margaret Batten, Board Member of
Eastern Massachusetts Abortion Fund
We had the pleasure of speaking with Margaret Batten from the Eastern Massachusetts Abortion Fund (EMA) to discuss the impacts of the Dobbs decision, next steps, and how the NLG-Mass Chapter can best support those advocating for abortion access.
The conversation started with an … Read more>>
Massachusetts Abortion Access Organizations
For a PDF Version of the listed resources below, CLICK HERE
National Lawyers Guild Mass Chapter www.nlgmass.org NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts https://www.prochoiceamerica.org/state/massachusetts/ Eastern Mass Abortion Fund www.emafund.org Abortion Rights Fund of Western Mass www.arfwm.org Jane Fund of Central Mass www.janefund.org Boston Abortion Support Collective https://www.bostondoulaproject.org/ ACLU Massachusetts www.aclum.org Planned Parenthood Advocacy Fund of Mass www.plannedparenthoodaction.org Reproductive Equity … Read more>>The “Reagan Court” Goes Rogue
How did we arrive at the historical inflection point where our society is being remade, brick by brick, by a cadre of Supreme Court judges intent on returning us to a time before womens’ rights, before civil rights, indeed before separation of church and state? Where women are viewed as mere reproductive vessels; where the … Read more>>
We are excited to announce that the NLG-Mass summer retreats are returning to form this year. As per usual, the summer retreat is a great way to reconnect with fellow members, to share what you’ve been up to since we last gathered and to discuss the future efforts and directions that the chapter will head in moving forward.
So, please … Read more>>
The Committee continues to grapple with BPD BRIC straight pride public records requests:
They received a large quantity of supposedly unredacted records from BPD, but a considerable amount of redactions remain. The Committee is likely to file a motion to compel release of records. Without access to proper information, it’s difficult to identify potential plaintiffs within the statute of limitations.… Read more>>“…the resistance is pretty profound.” – Grace Ross
We recently had the opportunity to meet with Grace Ross to discuss her work with the Massachusetts Alliance Against Predatory Lending (MAAPL).
Grace discussed the development of the alliance, goals they started with and how they have evolved, challenges they continue to face, and ways people can help. She spoke to … Read more>>
We sat down with Annie Guare, Joan Steffen and Kylah Clay, this year’s Annual Dinner Student Award winners, to give each honoree an opportunity to talk a little bit about themselves. They shared what inspired their law school journey, what they planned to do post graduation and how the Guild has influenced their legal careers thus far. Our interviews wrapped … Read more>>
SAVE THE DATE!
Friday, 10/7, 2022 – NLG Annual Dinner
We are thrilled to announce that this year the NLG-Mass Chapter will hold the Annual Dinner in person, with a virtual option available for attendees who can’t attend in person. This will be our first in-person Dinner in 3 years!
This year’s honorees are among the best! NLG members … Read more>>
This last Mother’s Day, a protest caravan drove by MCI Framingham as a show of support for those mothers currently locked away and in support of a moratorium on prisons. Our legal observers were present.… Read more>>
LITIGATION COMMITTEE REPORT – 5/16/2022
Since 2020, the Litigation Committee of the NLG-MA Chapter has been working on a campaign to ban or severely limit the use of so-called “less-lethal” and chemical police crowd control devices, such as tear gas, rubber bullets, and pepper spray. Because of our work, three cities – Boston, Cambridge, and Somerville – have passed … Read more>>
Jane Alper is a long-time NLG-Mass member and prolific advocate for the rights for the people. Jane has retired from her legal career, but that has not stopped her desire to help those in need. For the past two years, Jane has been working with the Northeast Kingdom Asylum Seekers Assistance Network [NEKASAN], a nonprofit that supports asylum seekers … Read more>>
