BU Law Celebrates Pro Bono & Public Service Accomplishments of Students, Faculty

Year-End Celebration recognizes outstanding pro bono and public service contributions and highlights the BU Law community’s commitment to public service.

The Boston University School of Law community came together on April 11 to recognize students and faculty who dedicated their time and efforts to pro bono and public service work during the 2015–2016 academic year. In addition to recognizing all graduating students who completed their Pro Bono Pledge, BU Law also recognized four individuals for their outstanding commitment to pro bono and leadership in public service with the 2016 Pro Bono and Public Service Leadership Awards.

Robert G. Burdick was the recipient of the Pro Bono and Public Service Faculty Award. Professor Burdick, a graduate of BU Law, has served as the director of the Civil Litigation Program since 1979 where he has supervised students on the law practices of trial advocacy, pretrial advocacy, ethics and negotiation. Under his leadership, the Civil Litigation Program has helped impoverished, mentally ill, and disabled clients avoid eviction, obtain disability benefits, and keep themselves and their children safe from family violence. His work has helped to improve the rights of the marginalized in several important areas of law. Some of Burdick’s leading cases include Phil v. Dept. of Education, in which the First Circuit Court of Appeal recognized a remedy for compensatory education for disabled students outside of the statutory age for special education services and Rogers v. Dept. of Mental Health, in which the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court set the Rogers standard for determining a patient’s incapacity to made decisions about mental health treatment.

Katrina Myers (’17) received the 2L Public Service Leadership Award, given to students who have shown exceptional leadership within the BU Law community and exemplary commitment to pro bono and public service. Myers has served as a student attorney in the International Human Rights Clinic where she has worked on asylum issues and the status of Tibetans in India. In addition, Myers works as a research assistant at the Questrom School of Business, where she researches and writes about issues surrounding ethics in the global economy. She spent her 1L summer interning at the Hawaii Appleseed Center for Law and Economic Justice. During her 1L spring break, Myers participated in the Boston University Spring Break Pro Bono Service Trip to Portland, Maine, working at Pine Tree Legal Assistance. She serves as the co-chair for BU Law Students for Reproductive Justice and is a founding member of the BU Law Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild. She also held leadership roles in the Women’s Law Association and ACLU at BU Law. Through her two years of pro bono service, Myers has worked as a volunteer for Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, Law Students for Reproductive Justice, Massachusetts Association of Conservation Commissions, and the American Civil Liberties Union.

Alexandra Tucker (’16), who has completed 467 hours of pro bono service, was the recipient of the JD Pro Bono Award, given to the graduating student who has completed the most pro bono hours during his or her three years at BU Law. In addition to the JD Pro Bono Award, Tucker also was the recipient of the 3L Public Service Leadership Award, given to a 3L student who has demonstrated leadership at BU Law and an exemplary commitment to pro bono and public service. Her work has focused on criminal defense and mental health advocacy. Tucker currently serves as the co-president of the Public Interest Project at BU Law, in which she has helped to raise thousands of dollars to fund students doing critical work for underrepresented clients. She has served as an intern with the Committee for Public Counsel Services Youth Advocacy Division and the Legal Aid Society’s Juvenile Rights Practice, where she represented children in child protective custody, persons in need of supervision/child requiring assistance, and juvenile delinquency matters. Tucker has also interned with the Mental Health Legal Advisors Committee and Clubhouse Family Legal Support Project in order to champion the rights of the mentally ill, providing legal assistance to parents with mental health issues in child custody, support, and visitation matters and working on education and advocacy efforts to protect and advance mental health rights.

Nathan Wadlinger (LLM in Taxation’16), who has completed 153 hours of pro bono service, received the LLM Pro Bono Award, which recognizes the LLM student who has completed the most pro bono hours during his or her year at BU Law. As an online student in BU Law’s Graduate Tax Program, Wadlinger has worked as the site coordinator for Volunteer Income Tax Assistance where he has helped to establish a new VITA filing location, coordinated student/community volunteers, and trained volunteers for tax return preparation. Additionally, he is a certified public accountant and has also worked as an assistant professor at Indian River State College in Fort Pierce, Florida.

Students may voluntarily take the BU Law Pro Bono Pledge, signifying their commitment to a minimum of 35 hours of legal work over the course of their three years in law school (50 hours beginning with class 2018), or 18  hours over one year for LLM students. The pledge offers the opportunity for students to gain practical legal experience, help serve unmet legal needs, build relationships in the community, gain exposure to various areas of the law, and develop a greater understanding of the importance of pro bono work and public service. This year’s honorees are:

JD Honorees

LLM Honorees                                                                               

The Year-End Celebration of Pro Bono and Public Service is organized by the BU Law Pro Bono Program, administered through the Office of Career Development & Public Service (CDO). Students may work with an advisor to identify public service organizations and opportunities that match their interests and the community’s needs.

Congratulations to the award winners and to all of the members of the Class of 2016 Pro Bono Pledge honorees!