New England Law | Boston has been at the forefront of innovation in legal education since its founding as Portia Law School in 1908, the first and only law school established exclusively for the education of women. More than 100 years later, the school and its students are still finding ways to break barriers.
In 2021, evening students Katharine Nakaue and Greg Newman-Martinez co-founded the Identity Affirmation Project under the Center for Law and Social Responsibility at New England Law | Boston. The project aims to assist transgender, non-binary, and gender-nonconforming people in the process of legally changing their name or gender marker in Massachusetts, including probate court filings.
When a person identifies by a name or gender other than what was assigned at birth, they may seek to legally change their name or gender marker so official documents match their identity. Student volunteers guide participants through often overwhelming legal steps at no cost, with oversight from the project’s faculty advisor, Professor David Siegel.
“Fostering student-initiated, student-driven and student-led projects like this is exactly why we created the Center for Law and Social Responsibility,” Siegel said. “Students who recognize critical legal needs and develop ways to meet them become lawyers who have impact.”
Newman-Martinez said his hope, in addition to seeing this project continue to grow, is that similar services will be available across the country, and ultimately that these processes will become less burdensome.
For now, participants must be U.S. citizens, Massachusetts residents, and at least 18 years of age.
New England Law’s three law centers — Center for Business Law, Center for International Law and Policy, and Center for Law and Social Responsibility — give students the opportunity to apply classroom learning to real-world situations, gaining legal experience and a strong practical foundation in areas of law that they are passionate about.
