Mia Friedman was working as a lawyer in private practice when she decided it was time to follow her true passion. She had gone to law school seeking the skills to help people in need change their lives for the better. While she already participated in pro bono work, she decided to seek out a career where she could more easily effect positive widespread change.
Returning to her alma mater at Suffolk University Law School, Friedman took a position as the Director of Public Interest and Pro Bono Programs. She helped connect law students with pro bono opportunities, managed the law school’s public service fellowship programs, and provided counseling for students interested in devoting their careers to public interest work. Friedman’s goal at Suffolk was to inspire students to begin volunteer legal work while in school, a habit that she hoped they would continue throughout their careers.
After over four years at Suffolk, Friedman now begins a new challenge as the Director of the Access to Justice Fellows Program, now administered through the Lawyers Clearinghouse. The program pairs lawyers who are retired or transitioning to retirement with non-profit and legal services organizations to provide critical assistance to underserved individuals and community and public interest groups. The Fellows devote up to twenty hours per week to help their partner organizations. In the past, Fellows have worked on projects to support urban agriculture, improve the legal system for foster children, and provide wills to low-income and bed-ridden seniors.
Watching her own parents prepare for retirement influenced Friedman’s decision to manage the Fellows Program. “Retiring, as I’m seeing my parents go through it, is a huge life change. Providing something like this, that can be very fulfilling for the attorneys, and can do a critically-needed service for people in the Boston area, it just seems like the perfect fit,” she said.
Friedman voiced excitement about the potential growth of the program and the enormous impact that it could have in Massachusetts. “I’m looking forward to the opportunity to help shape the program’s future,” she said.
The newest class of 15 Fellows will be announced at a kick-off event in October at the Supreme Judicial Court.
