Susan K. Howards: Working For Justice

For over 20 years, Brookline-based defense attorney Susan K. Howards has represented clients all over the country and has notably worked on historical, high-profile cases to help domestic abuse victims. Her journey into law and supporting the underrepresented find justice is just as compelling as the prominent legal cases she has argued.

Howards received her bachelor’s degree in political science and history from Boston University in 1963 and eventually went on to obtain a doctorate of philosophy in education from Boston College. Howards’s first forayed into law after working was as a professor at the Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology at Hellenic College. She became interested in obtaining a law school education to work on the Hellenic College’s corporation counsel. While she received her Juris Doctor degree from Suffolk University School of Law in 1989, the transition was not without its challenges.

“I was the sole caretaker of my dad who was sick for a long time,” she said. “Balancing his care and law school was really tough.” Also, Howards has already spent over 20 years into her professional career. When asked what advice she had for individuals considering career transitions later in their professional lives, she said simply, “If you have a dream, follow it moving one foot in front of the other. You will find a way to make it happen.”

After finishing law school, serving as a defense attorney felt more natural to her than a prosecutor. “I had thought that I wanted to be a prosecutor, but I realized that I just couldn’t participate in sending people to prison. Even though prisons are necessary, they seemed like warehouses to me.”

The first major mark in her legal career was the Framingham Eight case in the early nineties. The Framingham Eight was a milestone case where eight women, convicted of murdering their abusive husbands and partners, partitioned the state to be free of murder charges by self-defense. Howards represented one of these women, Eugenia Moore, pro-bono. Moore had been found guilty of stabbing her ex-boyfriend to death after he repeatedly beat and stalked her. At her original case, the judge refused to allow evidence of what is now known as battered women’s syndrome. As Moore’s attorney, Howards was able to successfully commute her sentence after she had served eight years in prison. Then-governor Bill Weld even changed the law to make commutation possible and subsequently passed anti-stalking legislation. Howards became very well-versed in domestic violence law and went on to take a number of cases in this area, representing both accusers and perpetrators.

Howard’s career took an especially high-profile turn in the late nineties when she represented Mary Kay Letourneau, a Seattle teacher who was convicted for having a relationship (and subsequently two children) with her then-thirteen-year-old student. Howards had been working as a legal commentator on a major cable television network when one of Letourneau’s friends contacted her. Howards flew out to Seattle and agreed to represent her.

“I was initially interested in her case because we had both been educators,” Howards said. “She was a wonderful client.” When asked about what was it like handling such a high-profile case, she said: “It was overwhelming. There was just so much press attention and notoriety surrounding this case.” Howards has no regrets though. She developed a community and a network in Washington State that she is connected with to this day.

In this current political climate, Howards plans to take on more civil rights and immigration legal issues. “I have a fabulous mentor Jeremiah Friedman, an immigration attorney who has been amazing. I am impressed with the immigration attorneys I have met who have offered to help me unsolicited.” Howards recently represented a battered woman protected under the Violence Against Women Act. She hopes to continue related cases into the future.

Howards describes balancing her career with her personal life as well as solely managing her private practice as the biggest challenge she navigates, yet she would not change anything. “I am always learning on this job — learning from my client, learning for the court, learning from the judge. Being a lawyer is both a commitment and a journey. I get to be another person’s voice, and that is a real privilege.”

Howards is a no-nonsense type of person. She has no intention of resting on her laurels and is loathe acknowledging her vast accomplishments. “I don’t think I’ve done anything yet; I certainly haven’t done enough,” Howard stated plainly for the record. “As long as I have my health, I’m going to be working for my clients.”

By Alicia Landsberg

BrooklineHub.com is a 501C3 non-profit dedicated to reporting and commenting on life, culture and community in Brookline. As part of our mission, we advocate for non-profits vital in making this a better place to live, and by sponsoring and supporting events that promote community-building. We hold the belief that as a community, we should foster the well-being of all, remaining mindful of our young people, seniors, and underprivileged.