Jennifer Dieringer

I am a lecturer of practice, having spent my entire legal career working in legal aid, first as a staff attorney at Western Massachusetts Legal Services, specializing in housing and family law, and now as the managing attorney of the Franklin and Hampshire County offices of Community Legal Aid.  I have litigated hundreds of family and housing cases at the trial and appellate level. 

My teaching philosophy is driven by my heavily experiential graduate program at Northeastern University School of Law, my teaching experience as a visiting professor in the poverty law clinic at University of Denver Sturm College of Law, and my career practicing poverty law. I fully integrate practical skills and experiential learning into my curricula. 

In class, I share my own practice experience, and I give students the opportunity to hear from others in relevant fields, including judges, plaintiffs in impact litigation, legislators, and lawyers. I create accessible materials in a range of modalities and pay attention to the physicality of learning. 

To help students understand legal and theoretical concepts, I create small group exercises that require students to apply them to real life situations. These exercises take the form of debates, legislative hearings, oral arguments, closing statements, and general presentations. Working in smaller groups allows everyone to participate by creating a more intimate setting. Requiring small groups to then present to the entire class also helps students develop oral skills and allows them to learn from each other.