Janet Donovan

Janet Donovan is the former Managing Attorney of the Legal Advocacy Program at Casa Myrna Vazquez, Inc., Boston’s largest provider of services to survivors of domestic violence.  During her fifteen years in that capacity, Janet supervised the Program’s staff, represented the agency’s clients in family law and other civil matters, and collaborated with other non-profits and government agencies to address systemic change, and served on bench/bar task forces.  Previously, Janet was in private practice with a focus on family law and special education cases.  Before attending Suffolk University Law School, Janet taught in Puerto Rico.

Janet is a member and past president of the board of the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute (MLRI).  She is also a long-term board member and past president of the board of the Women’s Bar Foundation (WBF), which recruits and trains volunteer attorneys to address legal issues that disproportionately affect low-income women and children.  The Women’s Bar Association has honored Janet with its Pro Bono Publico Award for her leadership in pro bono initiatives and its Lelia J. Robinson Award, conferred for serving as a mentor and role model to other women attorneys.  Janet has also been honored for her public interest work by other entities, including the Rappaport Center for Law and Public Service and the Middlesex District Attorney/Law Firm Partnership, and has been listed among the Top Women of Law by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly.  Janet has been an adjunct faculty member at Northeastern University School of Law and Suffolk Law School and a guest speaker at other Boston area law schools and community organizations.

For her fellowship, Janet will work with the Access to Justice Fellows Program at the Lawyers Clearinghouse to help create a blueprint for the future of the Program and a method to articulate the impact of the Access to Justice Fellows Program.  She will continue her board work with MLRI where she is on the Strategic Planning and the Governance & Development committees. She will also continue her work with the Pro Bono and Development committees of the WBF board and continue to train and mentor its volunteer attorneys.