Marielena Hincapié ’96 Named Northeastern Law’s Brown Forum for Women in the Law Practitioner-in-Residence
03.08.24 —Marielena Hincapié ’96, a nationally recognized leader and legal/political strategist in the social justice movement, has been named by Northeastern Law’s Judith Olans Brown Forum for Women in the Law (WIL) as its Practitioner-in-Residence for 2025–2026. Hincapié will visit the law school for three days, from November 12 to 15, 2025. While in residence at Northeastern, Hincapié will share her expertise and insights as a leading voice in the national immigration conversation and the need to safeguard democracy. Her visit will include class lectures, meetings with groups such as the Women’s Law Caucus, and office hours to build personal connections with students, graduates, staff and faculty.
Hincapié is a Distinguished Immigration Visiting Scholar at Cornell Law School and a 2024–2025 John W. Nixon ’53 Distinguished Policy Fellow at the Cornell Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy. She was the executive director of the Los Angeles-based National Immigration Law Center (NILC) and the NILC Immigrant Justice Fund (IJF), where she served for over 22 years. Hincapié began her tenure at NILC in 2000 as a staff attorney leading the organization’s labor and employment program. During that time, she successfully litigated law reform and impact-litigation cases dealing with the intersection of immigration laws and employment/labor laws.
A seasoned strategist and bridge builder, Hincapié co-led the transformational Immigrant Movement Visioning Process, which resulted in a long-term vision grounded in racial, economic, and gender justice and equity. She co-chaired the Biden Campaign’s Unity Taskforce on Immigration and helped lead the national conversation on the essential role immigrants play in shaping the future of the US and safeguarding our democracy. She was key in supporting youth leaders in creating and successfully implementing Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), and co-founded the Protecting Immigrant Families Coalition.
As an immigrant from Colombia, Hincapié brings a bilingual and bicultural perspective to her work, advancing equity, justice and democracy. She is writing a forthcoming book, Becoming America: A Personal History of A Nation’s Immigration Wars, under contract with Flatiron Books, an imprint of Macmillan.
“At a time when immigration and labor law are under the spotlight, we look forward to having a national social justice leader like Marielena on campus to illuminate critical and topical issues in the fields of immigration and labor law. Northeastern Law is the leader in experiential legal education and the Brown Forum supports our mission by providing an opportunity for community to interact with top practitioners like Marielena,” said Mielle Marquis, director of alumni/ae engagement and initiatives, and co-founder of the Brown Forum for Women in the Law.
Previous Practitioners-in-Residence include Carrie Goldberg, founder of leading victims’ rights law firm C.A. Goldberg; the Honorable Anita Earls, associate justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court; Debra Katz, a founding partner of Katz Banks Kumin, whose notable clients include Dr. Christine Blasey Ford; and Bridget Amiri ’99, deputy director of the ACLU’s Reproductive Freedom Project.
The 17th annual Brown Forum for Women in the Law Conference will take place on Thursday, May 1, 2025.
About Northeastern University School of Law
The nation’s leader in experiential legal education since 1968, Northeastern University School of Law offers the longest-running, most extensive experience-based legal education program in the country. Northeastern guarantees its students unparalleled practical legal work experiences through its signature Cooperative Legal Education Program. More than 1,000 employers worldwide in a wide range of legal, government, nonprofit and business organizations participate in the program. With a focus on social justice and innovation, Northeastern University School of Law blends theory and practice, providing students with a unique set of skills and experiences to successfully practice law.
For more information, contact d.feldman@northeastern.edu.