BBF Students Share Summer Experience

The Summer Jobs Students who are working in positions sponsored by the BBF at our Summer Jobs Orientation in June.

With the end of summer in sight, we are taking the opportunity to catch up with Summer Jobs students funded by the Boston Bar Foundation. You’ve already heard where the 14 BBF students are working this summer, but we wanted to offer our loyal readers a closer look at what they have been working on this summer. Take a look below to hear about three of the interns’ current projects and their takeaways from their internships so far.

 

 

  Student: Alexandra Suazo

  Employer: Massachusetts Department of Labor

Job Responsibilities: While working at the Department of Labor Alexandra has concentrated on several different projects. One of her first projects was to identify and sort records in accordance with the Statewide Record Retention Schedule. She has also been focused on improving the agency’s webpage by updating information and adding links to resources. Her most recent project included making the website more accessible to reading-impaired constituents.  At her internship, Alexandra also got to witness Massachusetts history when she witnessed the Governor signing the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights.

Alexandra says: “This has been a great experience, something that I won’t hesitate to do again if I was given the option. Seeing the Governor sign a bill was something that I never thought would have happened. I found it very interesting how he signed the bill with about 20 different pens then he handed them out!”             

 

  Student: Cesaltina Barros

  Employer: Committee for Public Counsel Services – Palmer Street Roxbury

Job Responsibilities: Cesaltina’s experience at the Committee for Public Counsel Services has centered on criminal cases. She has been responsible for opening and closing criminal cases, handling database work, drafting subpoenas, scanning police reports, operating the switchboard, and much more. Tina has also had the opportunity to attend court sessions, and observe criminal justice in action.

Cesaltina says: “I like learning about the criminal cases. I like to talk to people and get to know new cases and new things that I never thought people would do. I also go to court and I love that. It’s exciting because of the way they speak to each other and the way they try to express things.”

 

  Student: Hannah Givertz

  Employer: U.S. Federal District Court for the District of Massachusetts

Job Responsibilities: At the U.S. District Court, Hannah has been observing court cases, cataloging and organizing files, and editing memos. Hannah is also the coordinator for the Ward Fellowship where she is in charge of projects, such as scheduling and confirming meetings with various public servants and organizing an annual trip to Washington D.C. In addition, she assists the Honorable Judge Mark L. Wolf by editing memos and working with law clerks.

Hannah says: “Getting to know how the courthouse runs has definitely been the highlight of my work this summer. Doing the behind-the-scenes work with the law clerks has helped me to better understand the work of a lawyer, while observing court sessions and watching the judge preside over cases has helped me to better understand the justice system.”

 

Stay tuned to meet the other BBF funded students.

BBF Students Meet Firms Who Made Their Summer Possible

 

As you may remember from this article, the Boston Bar Foundation funded 14 Boston public high school students to work in legal service and government agencies through the BBA Summer Jobs Program with the help of Boston law firms. In addition to money allocated from the Foundation itself, local firms donated to the BBF to help support a summer job.  This morning, the sponsoring firms had the opportunity to hear first-hand from the students at the BBF Summer Jobs Breakfast, where the students shared stories of their experiences going to court and helping with large office projects.

The BBF would like to thank the following firms for their generous contribution to the BBA Summer Jobs Program:

Arrowood Peters LLP
Dain, Torpy, Le Ray, Wiest & Garner, P.C.
Hemenway & Barnes LLP
Hirsch Roberts Weinstein LLP
Peabody & Arnold  LLP

Take a look below for more highlights from the morning:

Students and supervisors from LARC, the Committee for Public Counsel Services, and the U.S. Bankruptcy Court discussed their experiences in the BBA Summer Jobs Program.

Supervisors and students from the Department of Labor Standards, Massachusetts IOLTA, Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, and the Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services told BBA Public Service Programs Coordinator Katie D’Angelo about their internship highlights.

Cesaltina Barros, who is interning at the Committee for Public Counsel Services in Roxbury, told Michael McDermott (Dain, Torpy, Le Ray, Wiest & Garner, P.C.), who’s firm sponsored a student this summer, BBF Director of Marketing & Development Megan Leppert and her supervisor, Keisha Taylor (Committee for Public Counsel Services), about her experience.

The interns and supervisors at Massachusetts Law Reform Institute and Volunteer Lawyers Project discussed their job responsibilities with BBF Trustee and BBA President-Elect Julia Huston.

Society of Fellows Program Grows as BBF’s Community Impact Expands

In April, members of the Society of Fellows were invited to an exclusive Spring Fellows reception to honor their contributions.

While our readers know about the Boston Bar Foundation’s impact in our community, you may be less familiar with the group of people who make this work possible—the BBF’s Society of Fellows Program. The Fellows are a community of philanthropic lawyers dedicated to advancing the BBF’s mission of increasing the availability of legal help to those in need, supporting innovative legal services projects and programs, and providing meaningful ways for lawyers to connect with our community.   We’ve noticed amazing growth from the Fellows Program since the beginning of this year, so we crunched some numbers to calculate how the Society of Fellows impacts the BBF.

As of today, 45 Fellows have either joined or upgraded their memberships for this year alone, pledging a total of $335,000.  This support has allowed us to use fundraising revenues for specific causes. For example:

•  This year, 100 percent of the proceeds from Casino Night will be dedicated to the BBA’s Summer Jobs program, helping to provide paid summer employment for Boston teens.  In addition, the upcoming Passport to Pairings event (formerly Justice is Sweet) will be dedicated to funding the full portfolio of BBA public service programs.
• The BBF devoted $300,000 in Adams Benefit proceeds this year to legal service grants that advance access to justice for those in need, including immigrants, victims of domestic violence and low income children and families – a need that continues to grow as IOLTA funding continues to decline.
• The BBF is only $1.4 million away from its long-term goal of $5 million for the endowment, which will provide invaluable long term support for the BBF’s efforts.

Don’t just take it from us.  Hear firsthand from some of the individuals who have joined this year on why they made the decision to pledge as a Fellow:

“The BBF’s mission to support pro bono work and access to justice for Boston’s needy is so critical to us as lawyers and citizens, and I am really grateful and excited for the opportunity to work with the BBF and the Society.” – Karen M. O’Toole, Fidelity Investments

“Each day, too many of our fellow citizens must face serious legal issues – from the loss of disability benefits to eviction – while being unable to afford having a lawyer at their side.  I am proud to support the Boston Bar Foundation’s mission of expanding legal service, assistance and access to all in our communities.” – Scott A. Roberts, Hirsch Roberts Weinstein LLP

“All lawyers have a professional responsibility to assist those with limited means.  I admire the work of the Boston Bar Foundation and the tangible, positive impact of the Foundation in the lives of those who most need its help.  I am proud and thankful to be a Junior Fellow and to assist in this work.”—Kimberly Butler-Rainen, Tamkin & Hochberg, LLP

If you are interested in supporting the BBF’s public service, find out more about joining the Society of Fellows here. Take a look at the current list of fellows here.