“In every co-op, I was treated as an attorney and valued member of the team.
Chelsea Diaz ’24
Chelsea Diaz arrived at Northeastern Law hoping to focus her future career on community economic development and climate justice. She strategically selected courses, clinics and co-ops that would help her master the skills she needed to advocate for economic systems that center the well-being of people and the planet.
Through her co-ops, Chelsea gained both experience and confidence. “In all of my co-ops, I was surprised by how much I felt like an attorney and not a student hiding behind the scenes. At New Economy Project, I had a whole caseload of my own clients, and at Taproot Earth, I worked on cutting-edge legal research around race-conscious policies and climate justice. In every co-op, I was treated as an attorney and valued member of the team. My lawyering skills were recognized, even if they still needed to be honed and guided by my supervisors.”
Now, as an attorney, Chelsea has returned to New Economy Project with a prestigious Skadden Fellowship. “I’m providing technical legal assistance and education to community land trusts throughout New York City,” explains Chelsea. “Helping build the self-organized communities that are critical to economic and climate justice: this is my dream job.”
New Economy Project, New York, New York
For her first co-op, Chelsea provided legal assistance to low-income New Yorkers who were facing debt collection lawsuits and fighting unfair and discriminatory financial practices.
- First-Generation Law Association
- Housing Justice Collective
- Latin American Law Students Association
- National Lawyers Guild
- Administrative Law
- Human Rights and the Environment
- Immigration Law
- Land Use
- Sexuality, Gender and the Law
Taproot Earth, Boston, Massachusetts
Chelsea conducted legal research on the constitutionality of race-conscious environmental and climate justice policies at both the federal and state level.
Housing Rights Advocacy
As a student attorney in the Housing Rights Advocacy Clinic, Chelsea represented a client in a summary process eviction proceeding, resulting in a dismissal. She also negotiated an agreement with the Boston Housing Authority to allow a client to maintain her Section 8 housing voucher.
Chelsea assisted Professor Libby Adler in the first-year Constitutional Law course.
Lawyers for Civil Rights, Boston, Massachusetts
Chelsea provided legal assistance, primarily to minority-, immigrant- and women-owned small businesses, and drafted fact sheets, advocacy letters and public records requests on various civil rights issues.