“I wanted to go to a school that would require me to be outgoing and force me to start interviewing and career planning. Northeastern’s co-op program planted the seeds in Boston for my career.
Luke Blackadar ’14
With an artist’s eye for inspiring visuals and a lawyer’s lens for putting the puzzle pieces together, Luke Blackadar has the perfect job: deputy director of the Arts & Business Council of Greater Boston and head of its Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts of Massachusetts (VLA). “We have more than 750 attorneys who volunteer their time and expertise to provide legal support to the Massachusetts arts community,” explains Blackadar, who joined the organization in 2018. “It satisfies my craving to help people in the arts in their creative journeys.”
Blackadar’s commitment to the co-op program runs deep. As a student, he valued the full-time experience of working side-by side with lawyers and judges. “The level of ownership you get when you are there full time is much different than the part-time internship experience. The level of discretion and independence that my supervising attorneys gave me was surprising. They trusted me to do a diligent job and respected me as a professional even though I was a law student.”
Blackadar has payed that experience forward. Today, he’s a supervisor in Northeastern Law’s co-op program. “It’s so rewarding to help train future lawyers who are learning about intellectual property or art law or contracts. It’s impactful for me and hopefully for my co-op students as well.”
US Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts, Boston Massachusetts
For his first co-op, Luke chose the fast-paced Cyber Crime and Intellectual Property Unit in the US Attorney’s Office in Boston. He researched a variety of evidentiary rules and sentencing guidelines in connection with electronic and financial crimes such as wire and computer fraud.
- Corporate Finance
- Corporate Tax
- Entertainment Law
- Intellectual Property
- Negotiation
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, Boston, Massachusetts
Under the supervision of then-Chief Justice Roderick Ireland, Luke reviewed incoming applications for further appellate review and conducted legal research regarding mitigating factors on charges of first-degree murder.
Luke served as a research assistant for two faculty members. One project involved research related to the right of publicity and the other project focused on redesigning the law school’s legal research and writing curriculum.
Donovan Hatem, Boston, Massachusetts
On this co-op, Luke decided to find out what it was like to work in a law firm handling civil litigation. He drafted pleadings, motions and written discovery requests. He also focused on employment law-related research.
Black Law Students Association
Luke assisted a faculty member teaching in the Legal Skills in Social Context program by developing in-class exercises and working directly with first-year students.
Prince Lobel Tye, Boston, Massachusetts
For his final co-op, Luke once again chose a private firm. Here, he worked with attorneys in the media law and intellectual property practice groups, researching intellectual property, publicity and publishing law issues.