“Co-op provides an unparalleled opportunity to sharpen your research and writing skills and gain confidence.
Mattie Bono ’25
“I was raised with an understanding that I was always a part of a community, that I should always be looking at the world around me, seeing how I could participate in the success of community members,” says Mattie Bono, who grew up in rural Tennessee and volunteers weekly in a Boston soup kitchen.
At Northeastern Law, Mattie found her path through co-ops and the Prisoners’ Rights Clinic. “The clinic changed everything,” says Mattie. “Representing a client makes a huge difference. Believing in somebody and helping them believe in themselves is the most rewarding experience one can have. And no matter who your client is in the Prisoners’ Rights Clinic, you can feel confident that you are doing the right thing in helping them achieve their goals and apply for parole.”
After completing a clerkship with the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, Mattie plans a career in criminal defense. “Northeastern Law allowed me to explore my passions, beliefs and values. It grounded me.”
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Boston, Massachusetts
Under the supervision of Justice Dalila Argaez Wendlandt, Mattie honed her research and writing skills by reviewing applications for appeals and writing bench memos for oral arguments.
- Advanced Criminal Procedure: Adjudication
- American Legal Thought: Traditional and Critical
Employment Discrimination - Evidence
- Human Rights in the United States
- Trial Practice
- Whistleblower Law
Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General, Boston, Massachusetts
In the Civil Rights Division, Mattie assisted attorneys investigating complaints of civil rights violations in the commonwealth, including document review and legal research.
Prisoners’ Rights
Mattie and a fellow student represented a prisoner in his parole hearing, including visits to meet with their client at MCI-Shirley. Mattie learned about her client’s life, the underlying crime and his history in institutions. Mattie and her partner wrote a long memorandum in support of parole and prepared their client to testify on his own behalf.
Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS), Boston, Massachusetts
In the Boston Trial Unit of CPCS, Massachusetts’ public defender agency, Mattie argued in court on behalf of clients at their arraignments and helped attorneys with research, discovery review and drafting motions. This for-credit experience was supervised by Professor Aliza Hochman Bloom.
Women’s Law Project, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Mattie was selected for a prestigious Peggy Browning Fellowship, which funded this co-op focused on women’s and LGBTQ+ rights, including issues related to employment discrimination.
Under the direction of Professor Martha Davis, Mattie researched using state constitutions for reproductive rights advocacy, with particular attention on state constitutional interpretation.
Northeastern University Law Review (senior editor)
Throughout law school, Mattie volunteered at Haley House, working weekday shifts in the soup kitchen as well as helping in the organization’s community gardens. She also assisted with the the Life Foundations Training (LiFT) Reentry Program for recently incarcerated individuals.