National Lawyers Guild - UMass School of Law

Come join us for our next general body meeting as we discuss our mass incarceration week as well as other events through the semester!

Don’t forget! General body meeting is being held this Monday in room 017. We will be wrapping up events from this semester and discussing events coming up for the next!

Check you email for zoom link if you can’t meet in person. Can’t wait to see you all there!

UMass National Lawyers Guild Chapter and Massachusetts National Lawyers Guild Chapter are so happy to be hosting our legal observers training. If you are interested in attending, contact [email protected]. Please send your registration forms in by Sunday, November 5th at noon. PILF Approved!

Attending the training is a great way to become more aware of the rights you hold at protests as well as play a significant role in keeping others safe. Legal Observers serve two related but distinct functions. First, their presence at protests and other political actions serves as a deterrent for police misconduct. Second, Legal Observers monitor and record instances of police misconduct.

See you all there!

Run for 1L rep! Applications are due October 6 at 5pm. Be sure to reach out if you have any questions!

Welcome Back UMass Law Students.

Check at the National Lawyers Guild - UMass Chapter at the Fall 2023 Student Organization fair.

Find us and other school organizations in the main lobby on campus on Wednesday, September 20th from 12:00pm - 6:00pm.

We will have members available to answer any questions and help get you signed up.

Find out more about the national organization at www.nlg.org .

Our 2023-2024 E-board! Thank you to everyone that ran and everyone that voted!

Zoom link sent via email. See you all there!

So excited for this event! Gonna be a great discussion from some amazing advocates!

Pizza Provided! See you all then

PILF APPROVED!!!!!!

So excited to learn from such an esteemed group! ALSO PILF APPROVED!!!

Ready to kick off the semester!

Going to be a great event hope everyone is able to tune in to watch!

Please fill out this survey to help us pick a date for certification training for the fall semester!

https://forms.gle/YRqiUF82MA9XekyV9

Can’t wait to be able to share such an amazing film with all of you. Hope to see everyone there!

Calling all active UMass NLG members! We want to feature YOU on our member spotlights. It’s so simple just fill out the google form and send a photo of yourself to [email protected]. We will then feature you on our page along with a little blurb to showcase how proud we are of every single one of you! Feel free to reach out with any questions!

https://forms.gle/BgZVkNYUMcpUWYqN9

Such an amazing film that sheds light on such a prevalent issue!

Hope to see you all there!

The "Know your Rights Stop and Search" workshop is a free law clinic that educates members of progressive activist organizations about their rights and effective tactics in encounters with police. The workshop covers First Amendment Rights, Fourth Amendment rights, FBI questioning, police encounters for immigrants, and more. The goal of the workshop is to equip citizens and activists with the knowledge they need to engage with entities of state authority.

To sign up follow this link: https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdocs.google.com%2Fforms%2Fd%2Fe%2F1FAIpQLSd_vwdNA1lKASz50Y_XSu5GlOMOUb6N1gxkhoOQXCOW4ObJng%2Fviewform&data=05%7C01%7Cjsharpe%40umassd.edu%7C3f79ecbd71f542fac39208dab37c969b%7C328d6c0d0f2f4b7693109762ba1c3e2d%7C0%7C0%7C638019645759408517%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=N%2BBfVmvZ005yN%2Fb1pvVLUOsa6EJP2wBvA4ER1u09%2BQU%3D&reserved=0

Buy Buttons, Raise Awareness! Great for putting on your backpacks. NLG has a vast amount of buttons in all different colors with phrases that embody the core values of our chapter.
They are $2 for 1, or $5 for 3! Feel free to message us on our social or reach out to any E-board member to purchase them.

Phrases range from “Sex work is work” “Don’t tell me to Smile” “Resist” “Peoples Lawyer” “Radical Lawyer” “Hate Does not make America Great” “Speak up,Speak Out” “Mental Health Matters” “Stop Criminalizing Homelessness” and “Black Lawyers Matter”

Meet our 1L rep!

So excited to introduce our new 1L Rep. Chelsee is originally from Portland, Oregon. While living on the west cost, Chelsee had the opportunity to work at a popular coffee shop that prides itself on giving back by donating time and proceeds to local charities. A social cause that Chelsee cares most about is equal rights. That includes women’s rights, LGBTQ+ rights, disability rights, minority rights, and so forth. She hopes to help move towards a society of acceptance and inclusion, that celebrates diversities, and that eradicates discrimination. Basically, a society that is willing to lift each other up no matter our differences. Chelsee stated “I love working hands on to make a difference in my community and I believe that the National Lawyers Guild organization will allow me the opportunity to continue to do so, and this 1L class is made up of a remarkable group of people that have the desire to not just Pursue Justice but to fight injustices.”

In her free time, Chelsee also has a two year old puppy to play with and she is a huge Portland Timbers soccer fan. So excited to see what she does this year!

Going to be a great even hope to see you all there!

Meet the Secretary!

This years Secretary is JJ Sharpe. JJ also helps to run the social media accounts for the UMass NLG chapter. JJ is involved in other organizations as well such as PILF and DTP. JJ graduated from the University of Nebraska Kearney with a major in Social work and minor in Family Studies. She is extremely passionate about a lot of social justice issues but most importantly juvenile justice and reform. Previously she has interned at the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services in Child and Family services and currently is an intern at the Committee for Public Council Services- Child and Family Division in Fall River. She believes that every person especially children deserve to have their rights recognized and when the law fails to acknowledge that it’s time to change the law. That is one of the many things JJ loves about NLG is the focus on protecting every persons right and how NLG continuously is pushing for progress! She is most excited to be involved this semester to help raise awareness to key issues.

In her free time, JJ loves reading. Her perfect day consists of sitting with a good book in the middle of the woods swinging in her hammock. So excited to see what the year brings.

Meet our Treasurer!

We are very excited to introduce our dedicated treasurer, Sam Daitsman. Sam is a 2L in the JD/MPP (Education policy) program. He received his undergrad from UMass Boston in Classical studies. He has a passion for political philosophy and how we can work together to build a better tomorrow for workers. He is also a Public Interest Law Fellow along with being involved in National Lawyers Guild. In his free time, Sam enjoys a good book, discussing philosophy, or watching his beloved Green Bay Packers and New York Mets

Sam is passionate about NLG because “one of the biggest things that we need in a functioning democracy is a legal system that works for the lay person and not for corporate interests, the NLG works every day to embody that ideal, and its a great honor to be a steward for the university’s chapter.”

Calling all NLG 1Ls!!!!!

 If you are interested in applying for the 1L representative position please email JJ ([email protected]) with your interest by October 10th. Please include a short statement explaining who you are, what your previous experience has been in different leadership positions or organizations, what social causes you are passionate about , and just kind of why you want to be the 1L representative/ what you want to help achieve as 1L rep. Feel free to add any other information you think would be helpful for people to know. Your statements will then be sent out to all members and they will be able to vote October 12th thru the 15th. An email announcement will follow that with the results. We want to encourage you to apply. It is a great way to get some low-pressure leadership experience and be able to have a greater voice in how the semester is planned out.

Really no reason not to!