MARGARET B. DREW, an associate law professor and director of clinics and experiential learning at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth School of Law, was recently named the recipient of the 2025 Access to Justice Lifetime Achievement Award by the Massachusetts Bar Association. The award recognizes attorneys who have dedicated their careers to advancing access to justice in the commonwealth. Before joining UMass Law in 2014, Drew practiced law in Massachusetts for 25 years, focusing on family, probate and residential real estate law.
What does receiving this award mean to you? I am honored and surprised to receive the award. Dean [Sam] Panarella nominated me, for which I am grateful. I was surprised to learn how many lawyers supported my receiving this award. I am touched that they recognize the work I have done on behalf of marginalized people, particularly survivors of intimate partner abuse. So many others have likewise devoted their careers to this work.
What was the impetus for you to advocate through law for those who experience domestic violence? When I opened my solo practice, one of the first clients who called for representation was in an abusive relationship. Up until then, I had no experience with intimate partner abuse. She taught me a great deal about survival and what strategies would make her more safe or less safe. After a successful result, this client sent many clients to me, and I continued to learn about the field.
How did you implement the Violence Against Women Act and get attorneys to represent domestic violence survivors through your work as chair of the American Bar Association’s Commission on Domestic and Sexual Violence? The ABA Commission on Domestic and Sexual Violence is the premier organization for training lawyers in domestic violence. The commission has a wide network of legal services and pro bono attorneys to assist survivors nationwide. The lawyers utilize the provisions of the Violence Against Women Act as one tool to help keep survivors safe.
What critical aspect of law is most important that you teach students and why?The most important aspect of teaching students is to respect and enforce boundaries. Whenever we do nothing to stop abusive behavior, that behavior is going to become worse. We need to change our culture that turns away from challenging those who engage in bullying and other abusive behavior.
What new, if any, advocacy/law initiatives are you working on? The recognition of coercive control is a major legal breakthrough. Many believe that domestic violence includes physical only. In fact, the vast majority of abuse [that] targets suffer is nonphysical: threats, raging, stalking [and] diminishing the target to their children are some of the insidious methods of control that do not involve physical violence. Recognition of the prevalence of intimate partner abuse in the LGBTQ+ community is another area in need of additional advocacy. These are two initiatives I work on with my students and beyond.
