Departments School of Law - News @ Northeastern

She climbed her way to the top. Now she’s helping others do the same.

Betty Francisco, a graduate of the Northeastern School of Law and D’Amore-McKim School of Business, is an entrepreneur, business executive, attorney, and community leader who sits on five boards. She lives by the motto, “Lift as you climb.” Her advice for other professionals: “Take a man or woman with you as you’re going through your own journey of advancement, and open doors for them just as doors are being opened for you.”

by Khalida Sarwari December 7, 2020

Press clipping collage by Northeastern University

Let’s talk about reparations for the families of lynching victims

Northeastern will host writer and journalist Ta-Nehisi Coates and civil rights icon Angela Davis for a conference on reparations for the descendants of lynching victims. The historic event will take place at a time when public officials across the country are making a renewed effort to repair past wrongs within their communities, says Margaret Burnham, university distinguished professor of law.

by Khalida Sarwari November 15, 2020

A security guard walks past a giant American flag hanging in Woodrow Wilson Plaza behind temporary metal fencing ahead of the 2020 Republican National Convention, in Washington, D.C., on August 21, 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. AP photo by Graeme Sloan/Sipa USA

How can the US fix legal flaws exposed by COVID-19?

Wall off the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from politics, and let the agency focus on the core mission of public health, says law professor Wendy Parmet.

by Peter Ramjug September 10, 2020

picture of protestors clashing with federal agents in Portland in July

How 9/11 and the US Civil War provided the framework for federal agents in Portland

Reconstruction-era jurisdiction changes, coupled with national security legislation passed after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks provide the framework for federal presence in Portland, Oregon and other U.S. cities, says Northeastern law professor Michael Meltsner.

by Molly Callahan July 31, 2020

Police officers stand guard at City Hall in New York as protesters gather near an encampment outside on June 30, 2020. AP Photo/John Minchillo

‘We have to move to a place where non-serious, non-violent, non-dangerous actions do not involve police interaction’

At a panel discussion of police accountability and reform, Deborah Ramirez, a professor of law at Northeastern, called for reducing the role of police and narrowing the scope of their power. She was joined by Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins and Rev. Willie Bodrick II, senior advisor to U.S. Sen. Ed Markey and associate pastor at Twelfth Baptist Church.

by Kaitlyn Budion July 22, 2020

Hector Plaza, co-owner of Red City Fitness, sanitizes equipment in the fitness studio. The law students at Northeastern’s Community Business Clinic helped him create a plan to reopen safely. Photo by Ruby Wallau/Northeastern University

They’re helping small businesses reopen responsibly

The law students at Northeastern’s Community Business Clinic are helping small business owners in disadvantaged communities navigate the complex legal and regulatory policies to operate responsibly during the COVID-19 pandemic.

by Khalida Sarwari July 21, 2020

Photo by Adam Glanzman/Northeastern University

Northeastern will provide more than $350M in financial aid. Millions more will support COVID-19 efforts.

The record investment is part of the university’s ongoing commitment to make a Northeastern education available to talented students from all circumstances and backgrounds.

by Peter Ramjug July 17, 2020

What would it mean to ‘defund’ the police–and what would come next?

Questions on the future of U.S. police departments should be focused on reducing violence in disadvantaged communities, says Ben Struhl, executive director of the Center on Crime and Community Resilience at Northeastern.

by Ian Thomsen July 8, 2020

COVID-19 is making things harder for victims of domestic abuse. Here’s a way to help.

The pandemic has exacerbated deep problems in the systems that protect victims: a lack of open beds at crowded shelters and an antiquated court system are among them. Now, Northeastern’s Domestic Violence Clinic has devised an innovative way to reach victims.

by Peter Ramjug June 30, 2020

Northeastern graduate George Benner has been feeding neighborhood kids in South Boston via his charity, Round Table, since 2008.Photo by Ruby Wallau/Northeastern University

The neighborhood kids were hungry. He planted a garden.

For years, George Benner—a Northeastern graduate and merchandising director for the Celtic punk band the Dropkick Murphys—has been feeding and supporting adolescents and their families in South Boston via his charity, Round Table.

by Ian Thomsen June 29, 2020