Know Your Rights - Manisha Bhatt on How Her Legal Career Enables Her to Be a Voice to the Voiceless
“I’ve always felt the importance of helping others and using whatever skills and abilities that I have been blessed with in the highest way possible.” Today’s woman dreamer, Manisha Bhatt, has truly served as voice to the voiceless throughout her legal career. A senior attorney at Greater Boston Legal Services and Past President of South Asian Bar Association, Manisha shares her leadership journey in the Know Your Rights program, and her thoughts on what makes a strong lawyer. Enjoy her story below!
You have the drive to be the voice of the voiceless, and you carry that mentality in your legal career, working with cases of family law, domestic violence and more. Tell us your story. How do you give people in vulnerable situations a voice?
I’ve always felt the importance of helping others and using whatever skills and abilities that I have been blessed with in the highest way possible. I’ve been fortunate to work for an agency that serves some extremely vulnerable people without concern for how they can compensate us for our services to them. I give my clients a voice by simply sharing their story with those that need to hear it so that they can get the services that they need.
2. You knew you wanted to be a lawyer from the age of 14, from a high school mock trial. What 3 characteristics do you think make a strong female lawyer?
I think a strong lawyer is someone who knows the law, has experience with how the legal system works and has the confidence to tell their clients about the interplay between the two. Since I never charge my clients for my services, I am able to tell them honestly what my assessment of their case is. If they wish to follow my advice and continue with me as their lawyer, then it is my pleasure to serve them. If what I am advising does not sound right to them and they prefer that another lawyer represent them, that is absolutely fine with me as well- my feelings are not hurt whatsoever.
3. What was your first case, or most memorable case. How did that experience your perspective as a lawyer, and as a woman?
My most significant case so far has been a case where my client was murdered by her husband. That experience taught me that domestic violence is very serious and has significant consequences upon families and young children. That experience propelled me to my current job where I work with domestic violence survivors.
4. Tell us more about your Know Your Rights program. What inspired this, and what were some success stories/key learnings that came from that?
The Know Your Rights program is a twelve part lecture series where I educate my participants on their legal rights in various areas of law: employment, immigration, finances, health, family, criminal, discrimination, etc. My intention is to educate people about their legal rights in as broad a spectrum as is possible so that they can not only know where to turn if they ever need legal help, but help people within their own networks access timely legal help when the need arises. As a lawyer, I know my rights and I know where to go if I feel my rights are being violated. Not everyone has the benefit of my experience. I wanted to change that and offer this lecture series free of charge so that our community can benefit. One of the moments that I cherish from this class is when one of my students (who is a software engineer by profession) told me that she had no idea that the legal profession could be so noble, and that had she known this, she would have became a lawyer rather than a software engineer!
Bio: MANISHA H. BHATT is a senior attorney with Greater Boston Legal Services where she practices domestic relations law. The majority of her clients are survivors of domestic violence and intimate partner sexual assault. Manisha is a past president of the South Asian Bar Association of Greater Boston and currently serves on its Advisory Board. Manisha was awarded India News New England’s Woman of the Year Award in 2017. Manisha has volunteered for Saheli and has served on Saheli’s advisory committee for many years. Manisha is a graduate of Boston College and Suffolk University School of Law.