“At Northeastern, I felt like I could trust my classmates.
Elena Francis ’16
“I applied to law schools all over the place,” recalls Elena Francis. But, when she came to the open house at Northeastern, she found the perfect fit. “It was the law school I was looking for that I didn’t think existed. At Northeastern, I felt like I could trust my classmates.”
Heartened by the law school’s emphasis on cooperation and practical experience, Elena strategically picked co-ops in which she honed her skills and explored her interests. The process transformed her thinking. “When I came to law school, working at a big law firm was the one thing I didn’t want to do,” she says. But she decided to try it on co-op and it turned out she felt right at home. “It’s so interesting how people come in gung-ho with preconceptions and then co-op changes their minds,” says Elena, now an associate with Fragomen.
Massachusetts Appeals Court, Boston, Massachusetts
Elena honed her research and writing skills during a judicial clerkship. “Having the opportunity to find out that I knew what I was doing was such a nice feeling.”
Prisoners’ Rights
Elena found that trying to help people in the penal system is a monumental task, but worth the effort.
Office of General Counsel, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts
For her second co-op, Elena explored the role of in-house counsel.
Legal Skills in Social Context
Elena was the upper-level lawyering fellow for a first-year “law office” that worked with the law school’s Public Health Advocacy Institute. Under Elena’s leadeship, the team researched e-cigarettes and deceptive marketing campaigns.
Mintz Levin, Boston, Massachusetts
As a summer associate, Elena explore a wide range of practice areas, including litigation, public finance, and employment and labor law.
- Administrative Law
- Corporations
- International and Foreign Legal Research
- International Law
- Internet Law
- Reproductive Rights and Health
Partners HealthCare, Boston, Massachusetts
With a post-grad job offer in hand from Mintz Levin, Elena decided to explore health law — a field she knew little about — for her final co-op.