How We Help
We provide multifaceted representation to individuals facing eviction following foreclosure. The Clinic counsels and represents individual tenants in this situation, takes on impact litigation, lobbies on the local, state, and federal levels for greater tenant protections, provides trainings to pro se tenants, housing subsidy providers, social workers and legal services attorneys on tenants’ rights after foreclosure, and works with community partners to bring public attention to the social problems caused by mass displacement of tenants living in foreclosed buildings.
Apply for Assistance
Clients are referred to the Clinic through its referral partners. There is no formal application process.
Eligibility
To be eligible for legal assistance from the Clinic, you must be referred by one of community partners.
Team Overview
Maureen E. McDonagh
Lecturer on Law and Director of the Housing Law Clinic
mcdonagh[at]law.harvard.edu
617.390.2542
Maureen joined the Center in January 1998 as a Clinical Instructor in the Housing Law and Litigation Unit. She oversaw the move to specializing in Post-Foreclosure Cases and was in July, 2006 appointed to the Faculty as a Lecture. She has, since 2011, directed the Housing Law Clinic and she teaches the accompanying class to second and third year Harvard Law School students. Prior to her work at the Center, Maureen, for ten years, specialized in the representation of indigent individuals in criminal defense and child abuse and neglect cases. Maureen has volunteered as a Citizen Teacher with the Citizen Schools program, mentoring Boston Public Middle School students in a Legal Apprenticeship Program that met at LSC. She has also served as adjunct faculty at the Urban College of Boston, which is affiliated with Action for Boston Community Development, Inc. Maureen received her B.A. from Suffolk University in 1980 and her J.D. from Suffolk University Law School in 1987.
Gary Allen
Clinical Instructor, Housing Clinic
gallen[at]law.harvard.edu
Gary is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley and earned his J.D. from Washington University in St. Louis. During law school, he completed a year-long internship at St. Louis’ fair housing agency, the Equal Housing Opportunity Council. Since his admission to the Massachusetts bar, he has practiced housing law, serving low-income and marginalized client populations, focusing primarily on eviction defense and homelessness prevention. Gary has also been on staff at Greater Boston Legal Services, has been a supervising attorney at Boston College Law School, and before moving to the Legal Service Center at Harvard Law School, worked as a clinical instructor at the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau.
Legal Disclaimer
This website is neither a solicitation nor an offer to represent you concerning any legal problem. The information conveyed on this website is not legal advice and is not intended to and does not create an attorney-client relationship between you and our law firm or any attorney with our firm. Please be s aware that unsolicited letters, emails, and faxes do not create an attorney-client relationship, and you should not send any confidential information to us unless and until you and our firm enter into a formal agreement establishing an attorney-client relationship.
Contact Information
For information about the Housing Law Clinic please contact Maureen E. McDonagh, mcdonagh[at]law.harvard.edu, 617.390.2542