Bills Filed to Lift Kids Out of Deep Poverty By 2024 – Campaign Launch Event January 26
For Immediate Release Media Contact: Christine Dunn, Seven Letter christine@sevenletter.com 617.646.1044 BOSTON, MA (January 18, 2023) – The Lift Our Kids Coalition today announced that Representative Marjorie Decker (D-Cambridge) and Senator Sal DiDomenico (D-Everett) have accelerated the timetable for lifting kids out of Deep Poverty with the filing of House and Senate bills (HD 507, […]
New Report Surveys the Reasons for Tenant Defaults in Housing Court Eviction Cases
Massachusetts Law Reform Institute (MLRI) and the Justice Center of Southeast Massachusetts (JCSEM) have released an innovative report analyzing the high rate of eviction cases where tenants default, or do not appear, at a court hearing. Statewide, tenants are defaulted in nearly 25% of eviction cases, with often disastrous results. The Massachusetts Access to Justice […]
Celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2023
As we celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day today, we are taking inspiration from Dr. King’s lifelong commitment to economic justice. Dr. King’s anti-poverty advocacy is often glossed over in the pursuit of a simple, sanitized story of King and his legacy – but there is no doubt his dream of justice included the eradication […]
Celebrating 2022 Advocacy Successes

The Massachusetts Law Reform Institute has been fighting to build a just and equitable Commonwealth for over 50 years. This year was no different — along with our partners, we’ve continued advocating for those who are most often overlooked when navigating shifting realities.
MLRI Applauds Congressional Action to Replace Stolen SNAP Benefits and Improve EBT Protections for Low-Income Households
Boston MA (December 21, 2022) – Thousands of low-income households across the nation have had their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, also known as food stamps) benefits stolen by criminals who use a “skimming” device to capture the households’ account information. Most states, including Massachusetts, have refused to replace the stolen benefits because the federal […]
Q&A with Iris Gomez, Senior Immigration Attorney

Mass Law Reform is powered by our advocates – talented and committed individuals who work together to fight for the needs of low-income people. Our second advocate is Iris Gomez, a Senior Staff Attorney in Immigration. Iris Gomez joined MLRI as an immigration attorney in March 1992. A nationally-recognized immigration law expert, she directs MLRI’s […]
Massachusetts Law Reform Institute Class Action Lawsuit Seeks Restoration of Stolen SNAP Food Benefits
Thousands of Low-Income Massachusetts SNAP Families Victimized by Theft Seek Justice BOSTON, MA (November 4, 2022)– The Massachusetts Law Reform Institute filed a class action lawsuit today on behalf of thousands of low-income families whose Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) food benefits were stolen from their accounts. The Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA), which administers […]
Mass Legal Answers Online Hits New Milestones During Pro Bono Month
More than 8,000 questions have now been answered by over 300 volunteer attorneys on Mass Legal Answers Online (MLAO), the Massachusetts home of the American Bar Association’s Free Legal Answers project. This milestone was hit just as lawyers from across the country celebrate October as Pro Bono month to shine a light on important pro […]