Eloise Lawrence

Eloise Lawrence is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Law and Acting Faculty Director of the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau (HLAB) at Harvard Law School. She co-teaches Housing Law and Policy and leads the HLAB teaching team, supervising student attorneys in civil legal aid. She also advises Project No One Leaves, a student practice organization focused on tenant rights and displacement prevention.

• Position: Assistant Clinical Professor of Law
• Institution: Harvard Law School, Harvard University
• Role: Acting Faculty Director, Harvard Legal Aid Bureau
• Email: elawrence@law.harvard.edu

Her educational background includes a J.D. from Northwestern University School of Law (2002) and a B.A. in History from Stanford University (1995). She is admitted to the Massachusetts bar.

Her research and practice focus on housing law, poverty law, and economic justice. She specializes in eviction defense, foreclosure litigation, and community-based legal advocacy. Her work emphasizes the intersection of legal representation and social change, particularly in resisting displacement caused by gentrification and speculative development. She has worked closely with community organizers to strengthen tenant power and advocate for policy reforms at local, state, and federal levels.

Her recent scholarship explores the concept of 'subversive lawyering' in the context of eviction defense, challenging traditional legal frameworks and advocating for transformative legal practice. This is exemplified in her 2022 article in the Fordham Law Journal, which analyzes how legal advocacy can empower marginalized communities and disrupt systemic inequities.

Eloise Lawrence has extensive practical experience in public interest law. Before joining Harvard, she worked as an attorney at Greater Boston Legal Services and the Conservation Law Foundation. She began her legal career as a Skadden Fellow in Chicago, focusing on housing and community development issues.

She teaches courses such as Harvard Legal Aid Bureau (for 2L and 3L students), Introduction to Advocacy: Civil Legal Aid Ethics, Theory, and Practice (Parts 1 and 2), and biennially offers Housing Law and Policy. She plays a key role in clinical legal education, mentoring student attorneys and integrating theory with hands-on litigation and advocacy.