The cover of this magazine is a stunning pictorial of our school’s leadership in Massachusetts, with ripple effects beyond. It also speaks to the critical — and intentional — role this law school has played in educating women since our re-opening in 1968. The epitome of women’s leadership on our faculty is the legendary Judy Brown, who along with her husband, Jim, is paying it forward through their generous support of the Brown Forum for Women in the Law. Professor Margaret Burnham and her team recently launched the unparalleled Burnham- Nobles Digital Archive, and I urge you all to read her riveting new book, By Hands Now Known: Jim Crow’s Legal Executioners. And for a lifetime of leadership in health law, we celebrate Professor Wendy Parmet, who was honored this fall by the American Public Health Association.
James Hackney
Dean and Professor of Law
I am consistently amazed at the outstanding accomplishments of our graduates. As you’ll read in this issue, our graduates are at the forefront of the fight for reproductive rights justice, leading the way to a cleaner environment in California, serving as CEOs of major nonprofit organizations and helping to shape the legal landscape of data privacy, technology and healthcare. A consistent theme that runs through the stories in this magazine and the life of our law school is that ours is a community that instills a passion for social justice in our students, however they choose to use their degrees. This is nowhere more evident than in the achievements of Ralph Martin ’78, who after decades of public service, private practice and nonprofit leadership (including as Northeastern University’s general counsel) was recognized by the Eastern Bank Foundation with its 2022 Social Justice Award.
We also see the domino effect of our graduates giving back. Judge Angela Ordoñez ’89 and Geoffrey Spofford ’89 lead an inspiring mentoring program. Joan Fortin ’96, chief executive officer of Bernstein Shur in Portland, Maine, was instrumental in establishing the Roux Institute Legal Fellow program, which provides legal advice to start-up ventures in Maine, and she continues to mentor our legal fellows. Deb Freitas ’10 and Cris Freitas ’10 were recently honored by the American Bar Association as “reunification heroes” for their work to safely and quickly reunite children with their families. The list goes on and on.
As our cover story makes clear, Northeastern Law graduates know how to shake things up, root out injustice and lead the charge for a better world. Governor Maura Healey ’98 is rolling out her vision for the commonwealth; Senate President Karen Spilka ’80 continues to advocate for the most vulnerable members of our society; and we have two extraordinary, diverse women at the helm of our federal justice system in Massachusetts. I could not be more proud and more excited about what these four women will accomplish.
I wish you all the best in 2023. May it be a year of peace and happiness for all of us.
Best,
James Hackney
Dean and Professor of Law
