Hemanth C. Gundavaram
Director of the Immigrant Justice Clinic; Director of Clinical Programs; and Associate Dean for Learning Innovation
Education
Boston University School of Law, JD 2004
Bio
Professor Hemanth Gundavaram joined the Northeastern University School of Law faculty in 2014 and currently serves as associate dean for learning innovation, a leadership role charged with guiding the school’s strategic response to the integration of artificial intelligence across legal education, practice and professional responsibility. The appointment aligns with Northeastern University’s broader standing as a global leader in experiential, technology-forward education. As director of clinical programs, Professor Gundavaram oversees the school's clinics and practicums, which provide more than 25,000 hours of pro bono legal services each year.
Professor Gundavaram received his law degree from Boston University School of Law and his BS in journalism from Boston University College of Communication. After law school, he joined the global law firm of Mintz as a litigation associate. He then served as an attorney at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit before transitioning to full-time teaching.
Professor Gundavaram is the co-founder and director of the school’s Immigrant Justice Clinic. In the clinic, attorneys and students represent non-citizen clients in their claims for asylum, permanent residence, release from immigration detention and other forms of relief. He also teaches immigration law, contracts and administrative law. In 2019, Professor Gundavaram was voted the law school’s professor of the year, gave the faculty commencement address at graduation and received the faculty service award. A frequent public speaker on immigration law, he has appeared on Fox News (Tucker Carlson Tonight), NPR (All Things Considered), WCVB (CityLine), NECN (The Take) and WGBH (Greater Boston). He has been quoted in various news outlets, including Politico, USA Today, Politifact and The Christian Science Monitor.
Of note, Professor Gundavaram has been working extensively with the National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE) since 2021 on the reimagined bar exam, slated to debut in 2026, that will test fewer subjects and more skills. He has served on numerous NCBE committees regarding the scope and depth of the new exam, written and edited numerous prototype versions of item sets, and traveled around the country with NCBE to update the legal academy on the changes and possible paths to changing law school curriculum to meet the needs of the new exam and support bar passage for students.
Fields of Expertise
- Administrative Law
- Dispute Resolution
- Immigration Law
- Legal Research and Writing
- Litigation
- Social Justice
Selected Works
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- Book Review: The Lawyer's Guide to Writing Well, 66 Journal of Legal Education 439 (2018).
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- “Critics of Trump’s Immigration Crackdown Are Using the Term ‘Kavanaugh Stop.’ Here’s What It Means,” The Boston Globe (October 7, 2025).
- “Trump’s Lawsuit Targeting Boston’s ‘Sanctuary’ Laws Is About Making Noise, Legal Experts Say,” The Boston Globe (September 9, 2025).
- “Professor Hemanth Gundavaram Honored with 2025 John Portz Faculty Excellence Award,” Northeastern Law News Announcement (May 22, 2025).
- “In Dennis Port, an ICE Raid Draws 20 Witnesses,” Provincetown Independent (March 19, 2024).
- “In Mass., Trump Administration Threats Against ‘Sanctuary Cities’ Have Chilling Effect,” The Boston Globe (January 22, 2025).
- “As Trump Prepares To Take Office, Here’s What To Know About ‘Sanctuary Cities’,” The Boston Globe (December 13, 2024).
- “‘Really Meaningful’: Some Migrants Flown to Martha’s Vineyard by Desantis Now on Path to Legal Status,” The Boston Globe (April 22, 2024)
- “New Immigration Court in Chelmsford Aims to Relieve Case Backlog,” The Sun (April 7, 2024).
- “A New Immigration Court Is Set To Open in Mass. Will It Help the Immense Backlog of Cases?,” The Boston Globe (February 25, 2024).
- “Why Immigration Reform Has Been So Elusive Over the Years,” Cape Cod Times (September 21 2022).
- “Northeastern Immigration Law Expert Reacts to Supreme Court’s Ruling on ‘Remain in Mexico',” News@Northeastern (June 29, 2022).
- “Legal Face Off Supreme Court Special,” WGN Radio (June 28, 2022).
- “Why the Remain in Mexico Policy, Recently Upheld by the Supreme Court, Can Still Be Trumped,” News@Northeastern (September 3, 2021).
- “For the Many Left Behind in Afghanistan, a Refugee Crisis in the Making.” News@Northeastern (August 24, 2021).
- “How the Trump Administration Is Weaponizing Work Permits,” Politico (August 5, 2020).
- “Immigrant Detainees are at High Risk for COVID-19. Should They be Released?,” News@Northeastern (March 25, 2020).
- “The Third Narrative about Immigrants: Why We Need Them As Much As They Need Us,” International Institute of New England Blog (September 16, 2019).
- “The ICE Raids Aren’t Just Wrong – They’re Expensive,” Politico ( August 9, 2019).
- “There Are Limits To What Immigration And Customs Enforcement Can Do During Raids,” NPR's All Things Considered (July 12, 2019).
- “Law Schools See 'Trump Effect,' With More Students Studying Immigration Law,” WBUR News (June 19, 2019).
- Video: Northeastern University School of Law Commencement 2019 Faculty Address (May 23, 2019).
- Video: “Sec. Nielsen Is Out, But Her Family Separation Legacy Lives On,” WGBH News (April 8, 2019).
- “Will an ISIS Bride be Allowed to Return to the US?,” News@Northeastern (March 29, 2019).
- “Trying to Make Sense of the Government Shutdown,” NECN News (January 7, 2019).
- “Abolish ICE? Reform it? Or what?,” The Christian Science Monitor (July 31, 2018).
- “Tucker Battles Professor Who Wants to Abolish ICE: Who Will Arrest Criminal Aliens?,” Fox News Insider (June 28, 2018).
- “Ice on Ice? Move to Abolish Ice, at Center of Storm in Immigration Battle, Has a Long Way to Go,” USA Today (June 27, 2018).
- “No, The Government Hasn’t Lost 1,500 Children. What’s Actually Happening Might Be Worse,” News@Northeastern (June 7, 2018).
- “DACA and Dreamers,”BUTV's On That Point (May 8, 2018).
- “What the US Supreme Court Decision Means for the Deportation of Criminal Immigrants,” PolitiFact (April 23, 2018).
- “Video: Immigration Issues,” WCVB On Demand (January 28, 2018).
- “How the 7-Eleven Immigration Raids ‘Feed on Fear’,” News@Northeastern (January 19, 2018).
- “Book Review of The Lawyer's Guide to Writing Well,” 66 Journal of Legal Education 439 (2016) (co-author).
- “Law School and Beyond: NCC Parent Passes Bar, Builds Legal Career,” BlogNCC (November 18, 2016).
Hemanth C. Gundavaram
Director of the Immigrant Justice Clinic; Director of Clinical Programs; and Associate Dean for Learning Innovation