Northeastern Law Welcomes Three New Faculty Members
05.26.2025 —Northeastern University School of Law is pleased to announce the hiring of three exceptional faculty members: Rosa Hayes, Veryl Pow and Ryan Quinn ’19. “We are thrilled to welcome this trio of scholars committed to making impact,” said Dean James Hackney. “Their research and activities will align perfectly with our law school’s social justice mission.”
Rosa Hayes joins the faculty as assistant professor of law. Her research explores how the different branches and levels of government administer or obstruct public administration, with particular focus on public programs to mitigate climate change and the role of courts in mediating competing claims of sovereignty.
Since 2022, Hayes has been a clinical fellow in the Emmett Environmental Law and Policy Clinic at Harvard Law School, where she co-teaches the clinical seminar and supervises students in the practice of environmental law. Previously, she served as a law clerk for Judge Kermit V. Lipez of the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and Chief Judge Geoffrey W. Crawford of the US District Court for the District of Vermont. Hayes graduated from Yale Law School in 2020, where she was a member of the Peter Gruber Rule of Law Clinic, the Yale Environmental Law Association, the Yale Urban Law & Policy Society and the Yale Law Journal. Before law school, Hayes received a BA in economics from Wesleyan University and an MA in economics from Yale; she also worked for the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
“I admire Northeastern’s commitment to public service and public interest law, and its strong sense of place,” said Hayes. “I’m thrilled to be joining such a dynamic, conscientious community of scholars and lawyers. Having grown up in Massachusetts, I'm also excited to be returning home.”
Veryl Pow, a movement lawyer who specializes in solidarity economics and land return, joins the faculty as associate professor of law and architecture within the School of Law and the College of Arts, Media, and Design. Pow's conception of movement lawyering was shaped by his time in Baltimore, where grassroots community members creatively and resiliently built urban farms, cooperatives and community land trusts in response to neoliberal conditions of disinvestment, immiseration and premature death.
Pow previously served as a clinical instructor at the University of Baltimore School of Law and with the Sustainable Economies Law Center. Pow practiced rebellious lawyering in South Los Angeles around traffic court debt. As a Skadden fellow in Baltimore, he represented hundreds of debtors caught in the predation of the bail bonds industry, and challenged the industry in class action litigation that ended in a settlement with two of the nation’s largest insurers of bail bonds. Pow holds a JD from UCLA School of Law and a BA from the University of Washington. His writings, which have been published by the UCLA Law Review, have centered on racial capitalism, critical race theory and rebellious lawyering
“I am thrilled about the opportunity to inspire the next generation of lawyers and architects to think critically about how their tools can be repurposed and reimagined towards collective liberation,” said Pow. “I am eager to bring my focus on solidarity economics and the decommodification of land and housing as a movement lawyer to shape conversations within the Center for Law, Equity and Race, and to already blossoming conversations around spatial justice within the School of Architecture.”
Ryan Quinn
joins the faculty as assistant teaching professor after serving as a part-time professor for two years. He previously spent over a decade working in the labor movement, including most recently as a labor lawyer at Segal Roitman in Boston, where he co-founded the first US union of private law firm associates. His practice included private and public sector labor and employment law, with a focus on the constitutional rights of public employees and their unions.
Quinn’s research centers on developments in labor law and the future of work, particularly the role of unions in building democratic workplaces and societies. He clerked for the Honorable Mary Thomas Sullivan ’81 of the Massachusetts Appeals Court and holds an MS in labor studies from UMass Amherst and a JD from Northeastern University School of Law.
“I am thrilled to be joining the faculty of Northeastern University School of Law. Having taught here as a part-time faculty member, I am very familiar with the incredible students and the impressive faculty and I look forward to working more closely with both,” said Quinn.
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 1,100 employers 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.