“If you stopped someone on the steps of the library and asked what the mission of Harvard Law School is, few people would tell you that it’s to help the poor and disenfranchised, to see that justice would be done,” he said. “Right now they’re saying, ‘You can be in corporate law, you can be a public relations lawyer, you can be a clerk.’ That’s a much more neutral message. Harvard can do better than it has.”

Bonifaz works with his father, who specializes in international, human rights and environmental law.

The firm typically takes on cases for people from developing countries against multinational corporations, such as a case brought by people from several South American countries against Texaco.

Bonifaz also founded and works with the National Voting Rights Institute, which seeks to accomplish campaign finance reform by often filing suit on the grounds that campaign donations directly interfere with people’s voting rights.

Bonifaz remembers Ogletree—who serves on the Institute’s board—as one of few professors who encouraged him to pursue public interest law.

Ogletree shares warm recollections of Bonifaz as well.

“He is one of my favorite all-time students,” Ogletree said who has served on the Institute’s board. “He’s someone who’s deeply committed to public service and the rights of all citizens.”