Northeastern University School of Law will launch an LGBTQ+ legal clinic this fall, giving students hands-on experience representing and advocating for underrepresented members of the LGBTQ+ community.
The clinic will focus on legal issues affecting transgender, nonbinary and intersex individuals, vulnerable queer and trans youth and people impacted by anti-immigrant policies. Its work will include humanitarian immigration, identity documentation, discrimination and education law, as well as policy and community advocacy.
James Hackney, dean of Northeastern Law, said the school has always believed that a legal education rooted in social justice must extend beyond the classroom.
“This clinic is a reflection of that belief, and a commitment to standing with the LGBTQ+ community at a moment when that commitment matters most,” Hackney said.
Connor Leighton-Cory, a nationally recognized advocate for the rights and dignity of LGBTQ+ immigrants and young people, will serve as inaugural director of the LGBTQ+ Clinic.
Leighton-Cory said this clinic will be a robust voice and resource for the LGBTQ+ community and a springboard for students pursuing careers in social justice lawyering.
“LGBTQ+ people are living in a climate of targeted intimidation that has translated into concrete harm and new legal challenges,” Leighton-Cory said. “In nearly every aspect of life, transgender, nonbinary and intersex people are grappling with state-sanctioned discrimination.”
