HL Central seeks to promote a positive environment of cooperation and collaboration among the students of Harvard Law School. HL Central works to realize the vision of its founder, T.J. Duane: “A school that produces the nation’s leaders and legal scholars should also produce the nation’s role models for compassion and community.”

HL Central will realize this goal through activities designed by individuals and groups of students to promote community on the Harvard Law School campus and build community throughout Boston. By keeping all students informed and connected through the on-line student center, HLcentral.com, and by organizing student activities that foster camaraderie, the HL Central team will do all that it takes to ensure that student satisfaction remains high throughout each student’s time at the Harvard Law School. In so doing HL Central hopes to send students away from the Harvard Law School with an increased desire to work together with their fellow man, to show compassion for those who may not be as fortunate, and to foster strong communities around them wherever they may go.

What is HL Central?

HL Central is an independent corporation comprised entirely of Harvard Law School students who seek to enhance their student community as well as the broader Boston community through online services, real world events, and a positive social experience. HL Central accomplishes this goal through the comprehensive web portal HLCentral.com and through student members who work in focus groups to build community and engage in community service. HL Central operates independently of Harvard Law School and Harvard University. Though we synchronize our efforts with the appropriate law school offices and the group is comprised of Harvard Law School students, the school does not provide funding for HL Central.

Overview of HLCentral.com

The online portion of HL Central offers the following community building services:

• An automated events registration service and calendar
• Academic resources – course outlines, textbooks exchanges, legal research tools, etc.
• Student organization webpages
• Exchange forums and e-markets
• Discussion forums
• A 1L survival guide
• Dining and Entertainment guides
• Online Contests
• Links to all relevant information on the official Harvard Law School web page

Overview of HL Central Focus Groups and Student Involvement

HL Central operates on a grassroots philosophy: it engages students in the Harvard Law community and provides a forum for them to enhance their own quality of life as well as that of their classmates and community members. The HL Central Focus Groups are grassroots structures through which students with similar community-building interests come together to promote student satisfaction. The organization is intended to function as a true community with all students having input on decisions. Each focus group determines its amount of involvement and implements ideas generated within the group. There are no elections and students are welcome to participate in any focus group they wish. The board of directors, comprised of the HL Central founders, selects the organization president, treasurer, and Focus Group facilitators each year through an application process. The focus groups include:

HL Central Section Reps are the main community building force within the first year sections. These students develop camaraderie within their 80 person sections by coordinating online class outline exchanges, recognizing students’ birthdays, and coordinating various "feel-good" activities such as in-class breakfasts and academic prep sessions.

Social Focus Group members plan weekly social events for all Harvard Law students to come together and relax at the end of the week. Members also plan large-scale fundraisers with students from other Boston area graduate schools, allowing students to meet, network and raise money for charity. This group works closely with many student organizations to sponsor community building activities both on and off campus.

Faculty Focus Group members work with each first year section’s professors to ensure that students are getting the most out of class and to enhance the professors’ experiences with the students. They accomplish this by meeting on a regular basis with the faculty member to exchange feedback between students and the professor. Members also organize brown bag lunches and receptions, giving students the opportunity to discuss professors' interests outside of the classroom and to meet faculty from different first year sections. By enhancing the classroom experience, HL Central hopes to contribute positively to the overall law school experience.

The Community Service Group plans and executes a variety of community service projects in the greater Boston area. These projects accomplish the goal of HL Central by not just building community within the ivy-covered walls, but also working to strengthen the surrounding community. By sharing in a common charitable cause, students are able to strengthen the bonds of friendship and mutual respect that are vital to any community.

Web focus members work to maintain and constantly improve HLCentral.com, the online presence for HL Central and the main student web portal. These individuals also work with the official student organizations at the Harvard Law School to create and host their web pages and online services.

Working with law firms recruiting on the Harvard Law School campus, the Firm Focus group members organize and publicize positive firm recruiting events and help to promote those firms on campus. This accomplishes the goals of HL Central by ensuring that students get the most out of the recruiting process and have exposure to the variety of career opportunities available to them.

HL Central Revenue

HL Central generates all revenue through donations by sponsoring organizations. In recognition of their contribution HL Central provides advertising on HLCentral.com, and recruiting services.

HLCentral.com operates similarly to any other publication or web resource, but is especially attractive to advertisers because the target market is concentrated and well defined. The primary users and beneficiaries of the site are Harvard Law School students. HL Central works with legal service companies (such as Lexis and Law.com), law and consulting firms, and other law student oriented companies who make substantial donations to the organization to ensure that students are aware of the companies services, web presence, and opportunities through both online content and print promotion.

Employers wishing to visit campus for recruiting purposes must go through the Office of Career Services to arrange all aspects of recruiting with the exception of event planning and promotion. HL Central assists the career service process by assigning each employer who wishes to use the HL Central services a student representative who then serves as the employer’s connection to the student body. This student works with the employer on planning, producing and promoting the employer’s social recruiting events and keeps the employer abreast of opportunities for exposure and recruiting at other campus events. In addition to this the student promotes the firm through mailbox stuffing, emailings, and general word of mouth event promotion.

Revenue Use

The revenue that is generated from advertising and recruiting event services is used to fund the HL Central community building projects at the Harvard Law School. In addition to expenses, the primary uses of funding are:

• Events
• Community Service Projects
• Web Development
• Scholarships
• Student for Student Support

Funding is necessary for all HL Central student events including weekly social nights, student trips, events planned with other student organizations, student dinners, and faculty-student forums and lunches. The events maintain a community focus and involve numerous students and student organizations in the planning process. In addition to this HL Central will purchase services to be used by the student body including transportation services for events and holiday travel, as well as discount services to be used by students throughout the year.

HL Central engages in community service projects throughout the year in Cambridge and Boston. In addition the organization supports student and community organizations engaging in charitable activities.

Funding also goes towards costs of web development and upkeep, hosting services, and physical equipment required to run and maintain the site and services.

Scholarships are awarded to students who make significant contributions to the positive development of the Harvard Law School community. Additional funding is also used to provide scholarships to undergraduate students considering a career in law or policy who exhibit considerable community development ambitions.

HL Central will also reserve a portion of revenue for graduate students who may be in financial distress as the result of a tragedy. Fire, theft, and medical situations can leave students in need of additional short term funding, and HL Central will make an effort to provide some measure of assistance.