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>>
Mass Dissent – Student Meeting Minutes (9/15/2022)
09/15/2022
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>>
Mass Dissent – Starbucks Workers Hold The Line! (8/15/2022)
08/15/2022
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>>
Mass Dissent – Post Dobbs Action Plan Meeting (8/15/2022)
08/15/2022
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>>
Mass Dissent – NLG Mass Abortion Justice Task Force (8/15/2022)
08/15/2022
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>>
Mass Dissent – Street Law Clinic and Mass Defense Committee Update (8/15/2022)
08/15/2022
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>>
Mass Dissent – Abortion Access in Massachusetts – Interview with Margaret Batten (7/18/2022)
07/18/2022
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>>
Mass Dissent – Abortion Access Resources (7/18/2022)
07/18/2022
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>>Mass Dissent – The “Reagan Court” Goes Rogue – Op-ed (7/18/2022)
07/18/2022
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>>
NLG Summer Retreat 2022!
07/18/2022
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>>
Mass Dissent – Litigation Committee Updates (6/15/2022)
06/15/2022
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>>Mass Dissent – Member Profiles: Grace Ross (6/15/2022)
06/15/2022
“…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>>
Mass Dissent – Annual Dinner Student Honoree Interviews (6/15/2022)
06/15/2022
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>>
NLG-Mass Chapter Annual Dinner! Save the Date!
05/16/2022
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>>
Free the Mamas! MCI Protest
05/16/2022
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>>
Mass Dissent – Litigation Committee Report (5/16/2022)
05/16/2022
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>>
Mass Dissent – Member Profiles: Jane Alper
05/16/2022
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>>
Justice Is Global Fights for Vaccine Democracy
05/02/2022
Last Thursday, April 28th, a coalition of people’s rights organizations led a protest which marched from Galaxy Park in Cambridge, MA to the Moderna headquarters located just a few blocks away. Lead in part by Justice is Global, the protest called for Moderna to share the science and help put an end to the pandemic the world over. The organizers … Read more>>
Harvard Student Chapter in Solidarity at Prison Moratorium Rally
04/11/2022
Members of our Harvard Student Chapter stood in solidarity at a recent Prison Moratorium Rally with fellow activists and abolitionists. … Read more>>
Starbucks Workers’ Union Ballot Count Today! 1pm-3pm
04/11/2022
Starbucks workers’ union’s ballot count will be tomorrow from 1pm-3pm at the Brookline Booksmith (a unionized local bookstore!). They would love to have the support of members of the Guild at the event! Below are some additional details:
Representative Tommy Vitolo of Brookline will kick off our event at 1pm, but folks can start trickling in as early as 12:45pm. … Read more>>
NLG Mass Defense Committee trains new Direct Action workshop trainers.
04/11/2022
On April 7th, Jeff Feuer from the NLG Mass Defense Committee conducted a training session for five NLG attorneys and three NLG observers to prepare the attorneys to conduct workshops in Direct Action.
Human rights & Rule of Law in Spain: the Aftermath of the 2017 Catalan Pro-Independence Referendum
04/01/2022
Organized by: NLG International
Human rights & Rule of Law in Spain:
the Aftermath of the 2017 Catalan Pro-Independence Referendum.
Friday April 1, 2022
1:00pm EST
Register here: https://bit.ly/catalanlawyers
Join NLG International for an important presentation and meeting with our Catalan colleagues
ABSTRACT:
In October 2019, nine Catalan pro-independence political and civil society leaders were convicted for sedition and … Read more>>
Starbucks Workers United Webinar
03/30/2022
Student Member, Kylah Clay and her fellow baristas will be holding a webinar to discuss the Starbucks Workers United movement and what the experience has been like for organizers in Massachusetts. The event will be today, Wednesday, March 30th at 6pm via Zoom.
During the event, speakers from several different unionizing Starbucks locations will talk about what led them to unionize, what the petitioning process was like, … Read more>>
Among Us – Dr. Cornel West discusses Imposter Syndrome and Colonialism
03/29/2022
On April 1st, Black Law Student Association — with the support of an Affinity Coalition of New England Law | Boston student orgs and committees, including National Lawyers Guild – New England Law | Boston— presents Among Us: an event featuring Dr. Cornel West discussing Imposter Syndrome and the enduring echoes of colonialism. Imposter Syndrome is an issue with which … Read more>>
Contesting Disability Policing: A View from the Fourth Amendment
03/07/2022
HLS DLSA, along with The Bell Collective and HLS NLG, invite you to join us for a lunch talk with UCI Law professor Jamelia Morgan! Prof. Morgan is an incredible scholar and authority on issues at the intersections of race, gender, disability, policing, and criminal punishment. On Tuesday, she’ll be coming to discuss how current 4th Amendment jurisprudence fails … Read more>>
