Celebrating Clinician Anniversaries: 30 Years at the Legal Services Center of Harvard Law School

Original Post: Harvard Law Today

This year, two Legal Services Center clinicians are celebrating milestone anniversaries at Harvard Law School. Over 30 years in the Harvard Law Clinical Programs, these clinicians have provided thousands of hours of crucial pro bono legal service in the Boston community and across the globe, mentored generations of students, and have been trusted and valued colleagues to their peers. We couldn’t be more proud of their accomplishments, support, and dedication to their community.

Roger Bertling, 30 years

Roger Bertling is a clinical instructor, lecturer on law, and director of the Consumer Protection Clinic at the WilmerHale Legal Services Center (LSC). Over the course of 30 years in the clinic, Bertling and his students have represented hundreds of low-income individuals in cases related to predatory lending and other consumer matters, including bankruptcy and debt collection defense. Under Bertling’s supervision, students represent clients in both small claims and regular civil courts, helping to defend — and in some cases, proactively protect — consumers.

Bertling first joined the Legal Services Center as a clinical instructor in the Housing Law Clinic in 1993. His colleague Maureen McDonagh, today’s director of the Housing Law Clinic, captures his lasting impact at LSC: “Roger has for all these years, been the heart of the Center.  He uses his exceptional sense of humor to lighten the many heavy moments we all face and to make all of us here feel part of his circle,” she says.

“Roger is truly a one-of-a-kind teacher, mentor, colleague, and advocate,” adds Alexa Rosenbloom, clinical instructor who works alongside Bertling in the Consumer Protection Clinic. “He is smart, humble, kind, empathetic, and has a quick wit that rivals any comedian’s. Roger is beloved by everyone he interacts with—students, clients, colleagues, and even opposing counsel.  His contributions to the consumer bar in Massachusetts are immeasurable, and I heard about ‘Roger’ (or sometimes ‘Bertling’) long before I came to LSC and got the pleasure of working alongside him. Roger’s clients have been so lucky to have him as the fiercest of advocates and everyone at LSC, including myself and countless students over the years, has been so lucky to learn from him.”

Prior to his work at the Legal Services Center, Roger was an attorney in legal services in Missouri and Massachusetts, specializing in consumer cases, elder cases and complex litigation. His work included an emphasis on mortgage problems and foreclosures. Roger received his B.A. at the University of Northern Iowa and his J.D. at the University of Iowa.

“We are all indebted to Roger for being such a stalwart and beloved member of our community for so many years,” says Daniel Nagin, clinical professor of law and faculty director of LSC. “As lawyer, teacher, and colleague, Roger is simply the best. Among the many, many things he has modeled, Roger’s approach to collaborative lawyering with students has set the bar for all of us. Similarly, his trademark “walking the carrels” strategy for student engagement has taught everyone in our community multiple and vital lessons.  Roger has made the world a better place for the untold numbers of clients and students who have been fortunate to work with him over the course of his distinguished career.”

Julie McCormack, 30 years

“Julie is the soul of the Legal Services Center,” says Maureen McDonagh, director of LSC’s Housing Law Clinic. “Her enormous heart shows itself in all the creative things she does for the community and her students, and her passion is endless.”

Julie McCormack is the director of the Safety Net Project of the Veterans Legal Clinic at the Legal Services Center, where she supervises clinical students representing clients in administrative settings, including in Social Security, employment, estate planning, consumer and other benefits issues. Since joining LSC 30 years ago, McCormack has expanded the clinic’s impact through new ideas, including LSC’s CORI sealing initiative and LSC’s Peoples Law School “Know Your Rights” community legal education workshops. To provide holistic representation to clients, she also works on employment, estate planning, consumer and other benefits issues and collaborates with other LSC clinics, including the Estate Planning Project, the Consumer Protection Clinic, the Family Law Clinic, the Housing Clinic, the Tax Clinic and the Veterans Legal Clinic, to address clients’ broader needs.

“Julie’s deep compassion and fierce determination to address social injustices have inspired decades of students, interns, and colleagues,” says Betsy Gwin, former LSC clinical instructor who co-taught the Poverty Law Workshop alongside McCormack. “While she built up vast and detailed knowledge of safety net benefit programs and their mechanics, she has never lost her ability to translate complicated rules into actionable information for clients, students, and fellow advocates. Like so many others, I am grateful for her generosity as a teacher, a community leader, a mentor, and a friend.”

“First, no one knows more about the vast and complex world of safety net benefits than Julie—she possesses truly expert knowledge about every nook and cranny of every program,” adds Daniel Nagin, clinical professor of law and faculty director of LSC. “Every clinic and every advocate at LSC very much depends on Julie’s substantive and strategic expertise.

“What is more, Julie combines her unmatched expertise with an unmatched commitment to justice. Through creative strategies for community engagement and community partnerships, she has set the standard for what it means to engage in community-based lawyering. Indeed, she has long served as the beating heart of LSC’s commitment to ensuring our clinics are responsive to community need and accessible to clients, especially those clients living with health challenges and those who may encounter the greatest barriers in navigating to legal help. Beyond these extraordinary contributions, Julie brings a singular joy to the demanding tasks of advocate and teacher—enriching the LSC community in countless ways over these many years. A trailblazer in the field of public benefits advocacy and the pedagogy of poverty law, Julie has made a mark that will not soon be repeated.”

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