Boston College Law School gives its students a wide range of classes to take that are taught by some of the best scholars in the field. Yet, while learning about the law in a classroom is crucial to becoming a successful attorney, nothing prepares you for day-to-day practice more than getting hands-on experience before graduating. That’s where BC Law’s clinics come in.

Law students in their second and third years of study can apply for coveted spots in any of the school’s fifteen clinics. No matter what someone’s legal interest is, there’s a clinic for them! To help students better understand the opportunities available to them, the BC Law Impact Blog is highlighting each of these clinics this semester. Here is our interview with the director of the Housing Justice Clinic, Alan Minuskin.

Tell us about your clinic!

The Civil Litigation Clinic: Housing Justice (Housing Justice Clinic) advises and represents tenants who can’t afford lawyers in several types of housing cases. Our primary focus is eviction defense, as we use our knowledge of the law and the courts to prevent tenants from being evicted when they have viable defenses and counterclaims to litigate. The clinic also represents clients contesting unlawful rejections or terminations from public housing, and sometimes brings affirmative lawsuits against landlords for inappropriate conduct and/or substandard living conditions. These are front-line litigation matters that move quickly from client interview to fact investigation, case assessment, client counseling, and resolution by negotiation (if possible) or adjudication at trial or via dispositive motion. Students in the clinic are certified to practice law in Massachusetts under close, supportive supervision, and they perform all lawyering activities needed for each case. Even though the focus of this clinic is on housing matters, the litigation skills and ethics considerations integral to our practice apply to all civil litigation matters!

How did you start directing the Housing Justice Clinic?

I’ve been on the clinical faculty of Boston College Law School for 34 years, following 11 years on the clinical faculty at another law school. The focus of the clinics I’ve taught has always been civil litigation on behalf of people unable to afford lawyers. Advancing the dual missions of educating students in practice and closing the access-to-justice gap for low-income clients has been a perfect career match for me.

My current, exclusive focus on housing grew out of the pandemic when, because of lost incomes, evictions shot to astronomic numbers. Lawyering on behalf of low-income people for 48 years has taught me a lot, including that a family’s or individual’s loss of their home poises them to suffer catastrophic collateral consequences in their lives, including mental health, physical, nutritional, educational, criminal justice, and other problems. Loss of a home amounts to a lot more than loss of a place to live, which is why our work is so important.

What makes the Housing Justice Clinic unique?

Students in the Housing Justice Clinic have their own cases, but they’re paired for the purpose of assisting each other as they travel their three-and-a-half month journeys into practice. This is different from clinics in which students co-lawyer cases. Yet, because students’ camaraderie is important to their educational process and professional development, I encourage students to be present in the office at least six hours each week so they can share their practice experiences and engage in peer supervision.

Our cases are fast moving when compared to many other clinics, and our victories are numerous. Also, working on landlord-tenant matters is highly relatable for students who live in apartments in the greater Boston area (a mercilessly tight housing market) that are subject to landlords who may or may not be all that easy to deal with.

Finally, though this isn’t unique, students in the Housing Justice Clinic thoroughly experience the access-to-justice gap and its consequences. Massachusetts law has very strong provisions protecting tenants’ rights, but most tenants facing eviction don’t know those rights, and upward of 90% of them don’t have lawyers. The view of our legal system from the perspective of a legal services lawyer yields a stark, troubling picture of extreme deprivation and terrible consequences for marginalized populations, as race, gender, national origin, and other like factors are almost always part of what drives the battles we undertake. 

Does the Housing Justice Clinic have any fun traditions?

Starting with the Fall 2023 semester, and continuing in the Fall 2024 semester, the clinic has operated a Lawyer for the Day table in the Metro-South Housing Court. On Tuesdays, two or three students and I go to the Metro-South Housing Court where we function, at the court’s invitation, as lawyers with whom unrepresented tenants may consult as they face the event in their case that’s scheduled for that day. This opportunity is open to all students in the clinic, and we collectively debrief our experiences afterward and in our weekly seminar.

Speaking of the weekly seminar, these class periods are fueled with snacks, in addition to fascinating conversations about ongoing cases. We then finish the semester with dinner at my home to unwind and celebrate an eventful, productive semester of lawyering on behalf of tenants.

What’s one piece of advice you have for students who want to apply for clinics?

My strongest advice is to take a clinic and to have an externship experience, usually in that order. The traditional law school curriculum does a fantastic job of teaching students what the law is and how to analyze it, but it doesn’t enable graduates to enter practice equipped to serve clients or even employers. Practice education does that.

What do you love most about directing the Housing Justice Clinic?

Above all, I treasure the opportunity to work individually and intensively with student attorneys in their very first weeks and months as lawyers. I enjoy nurturing and guiding their practice experience, and supporting them through moments that can be stressful as they undertake serious responsibilities and face situations they’ve never before encountered. I also love maintaining relationships with so many of my students after they’ve completed the clinic — following their careers and personal milestones. I can’t imagine a better career for myself. 

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Tess Halpern is a third-year student and president of the Impact blog. Contact her at halperte@bc.edu.