
Julie A. Dahlstrom
Associate Dean for Experiential Education
Clinical Associate Professor of Law
BA cum laude, Boston College
JD cum laude, Boston College School of Law
Biography
Julie Dahlstrom assumed her role of Associate Dean of Clinical & Experiential Education on July 1, 2023, after over ten years teaching and supervising student attorneys in the experiential program at BU. Dahlstrom began her clinical teaching career as the founder and director of the Human Trafficking Clinic, which was named one of the most innovative law clinics by preLaw magazine in 2014. In 2017, she became the Director of the Immigrants’ Rights and Human Trafficking Program, where students represent indigent clients and engage with policy-related projects to address systemic injustice. At BU Law, Dahlstrom has been deeply committed to building community and resources for public interest students. She chaired the Public Service Committee, spearheaded efforts to develop the public interest concentration, and oversaw the creation of the public interest retreat.
As Associate Dean of Experiential Education, Dahlstrom understands the incredible value of experiential education in building the next generation of lawyers and leaders. She views experiential programs as a powerful force in developing innovative responses to the most pressing legal issues of our time, including racial justice, climate change, immigrants’ rights, civil rights issues, and other issues. Experiential offerings—from clinics to practicums to externships—offer an important bridge between the community and the legal profession, allowing grass roots efforts to inform legal change and shape the next wave of law students and leaders within the legal profession. Dahlstrom’s primary priorities are to ensure that law students have the training to confront bias, racism, and oppression within the legal system and legal profession. She is committed to strengthening intersectional and interdisciplinary responses to systemic bias by encouraging partnerships among experiential programs and the broader University.
Dahlstrom writes and speaks as an expert on issues related to gender-based violence, human trafficking, public interest law, and immigrants’ rights. She has been a leader on issues of victims’ rights nationally and locally. In 2022, she was awarded the Access to Justice Award in by the Massachusetts Office for Victim Assistance, and in 2015, she received the Case Award from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for her legal representation of a survivor of labor trafficking. She has served on the U.S. Attorney’s Office Civil Rights Task Force, was appointed by Governor Deval Patrick to the Massachusetts Interagency Human Trafficking Task Force, and now is a member of the Commonwealth Anti-Trafficking Task Force. She has used her voice to advocate for critical legislative efforts, testifying in support of criminal legal reform and critical legislation to improve the rights of immigrants in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. She co-counseled first-of-its kind litigation arguing that the Plymouth County Sheriff’s Office cannot arbitrarily deny U visa certification to an immigrant detainee who was violently assaulted.
Dahlstrom speaks nationally on the topic of human trafficking, immigration law, and clinical legal education. She has published law review articles in leading journals, including the California Law Review, Florida Law Review, UC Davis Law Review, and UC Irvine Law Review. She regularly presents at academic conferences and has published opinion pieces in The Hill, Cognoscenti, and The Los Angeles Times. She also has been quoted in articles from VICE News, NBC News, the Boston Globe, Radio Boston, WBUR, and the Washington Post.
Dahlstrom initially joined the BU Law clinical faculty as a clinical fellow in 2012, and she became a Clinical Associate Professor and the Director of the Immigrants’ Rights and Human Trafficking Program in 2017. She served previously as a senior staff attorney at Casa Myrna Vazquez, where she represented survivors of labor and sex trafficking, and as managing attorney of the Immigration Legal Assistance Program at Ascentria Care Alliance, where she handled a wide range of humanitarian immigration cases. Dahlstrom founded the U and T Visa Working Group of the Immigration Coalition and is a member of the Human Trafficking Subcommittee of the Delivery of Legal Services Committee. She previously served as the co-chair of the Public Service Subcommittee of the Immigration Committee of the Boston Bar Association and is an advisory committee member of the Civil Legal Aid to Victims of Crime (CLAVC) advisory Committee.
- Profile Types
- Associate Deans, Clinical & Experiential Programs, Faculty, Full-Time Faculty, and Professors & Clinical Instructors
- Areas of Interest
- Gender-based Violence, Human Trafficking Law & Policy, and Immigration Law & Policy
- Profiles
- Julie A. Dahlstrom
Publications
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Julie A. Dahlstrom, Commentary on Chy Lung v. Freeman, in Feminist Judgments: Rewritten Immigration Law Opinions (Kevin Lapp and Kathleen Kim,2023)
Scholarly Commons -
Julie A. Dahlstrom, The New Pornography Wars 75 Florida Law Review (2023)
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Julie A. Dahlstrom, Empathic Solidarity on the Frontline 40 Boston University International Law Journal (2022)
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Julie A. Dahlstrom, Trafficking and the Shallow State 12 UC Irvine Law Review (2021)
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Alexandra Bonazoli, Julie A. Dahlstrom, Emily Leung, Sarah Leidel, Jennifer Ollington, Ashleigh Pelto & Jamie Sabino, A Guide for Certifying Agencies: MGL 258F Certification for Victims of Violent Crime and Human Trafficking (2021)
Scholarly Commons -
Julie A. Dahlstrom, Trafficking to the Rescue? 54 U.C. Davis Law Review (2020)
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Julie A. Dahlstrom, The Elastic Meaning(s) of Human Trafficking 108 California Law Review (2020)
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Julie A. Dahlstrom & Christina Tousignant-Miller, Working in the Shadows: Child Labor Trafficking in Massachusetts (2017)
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Brief of Amici Curiae Ascentria Care Alliance, Coalition Against Trafficking in Women, Children’s Advocacy Center of Suffolk County, Demand Abolition, EVA Center, and My Life My Choice in Support of Plaintiff-Appellee on the Constitutionality of An Act Relative to the Commercial Exploitation of People, Commonwealth of Massachusetts v. Tyshaun McGhee, et al.
Scholarly Commons
In the Media
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Bloomberg Law September 18, 2023
Salesforce Petition Reignites Sex-Trafficking Liability Fight
Julie Dahlstrom is quoted.
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Eagle-Tribune June 10, 2023
Human Trafficking Victims Getting Help with Visas
Julie Dahlstrom's research is featured.
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The Brink May 9, 2023
Is Suing Visa the Best Way to Shut Down Pornhub?
Julie Dahlstrom pens an opinion.
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GBH April 5, 2023
Charges in Woburn Restaurants Case Upgraded to Labor Trafficking, Forced Labor
Julie Dahlstrom is quoted.
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New England Weekend February 25, 2023
Sold: Inside the World of Human Trafficking (Part 2), and Project New Hope Helps Veterans Heal
Julie Dahlstrom is a guest on a podcast.
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GBH January 20, 2023
‘Working like a Slave’: Why Human Trafficking in Restaurants Is Underreported
Julie Dahlstrom is quoted.
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OnlineEducation January 4, 2023
National Human Trafficking Prevention Month: An Expert’s Advocacy Guide
Julie Dahlstrom authors a piece.
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Oxford Human Rights Hub January 2, 2023
Denying Access to Immigration Protections for Survivors of Human Trafficking
Julie Dahlstrom authors an opinion.
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The Hill December 7, 2022
How Trump’s Human Trafficking Efforts Failed Immigrant Survivors
A piece authored by Julie Dahlstrom.
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GBH
New Report Exposes Dramatic Shortfall of Visas for Victims of Trafficking
Julie Dahlstrom is quoted.
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WGBH October 24, 2022
For Labor Trafficked Immigrants, T-visas Are A Life-saving But Flawed Relief
Julie Dahlstrom is quoted.
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GBH News October 19, 2022
Greater Boston Full Episode: Oct. 19, 2022
Julie Dahlstrom’s Work on Labor Trafficking is Recognized.
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Mass.gov October 13, 2022
AG Healey’s Office Receives $1.5 Million in Federal Grants to Expand Human Trafficking Work
Julie Dahlstrom and the Law’s Immigrants’ Rights and Human Trafficking Program is referenced.
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CBS News September 23, 2022
The Facts behind the Republican Effort to Send Migrants to Democratic-led Cities
Julie Dahlstrom is quoted.
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CBS News
The Facts behind the Republican Effort to Send Migrants to Democratic-led Cities
Julie Dahlstrom is quoted.
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Stories from The Record


Denial of Justice for Trafficking Survivors
December 7, 2022
Immigrants’ Rights Win for BU Law Clinic & Coalition
November 9, 2021
How BU Professors Are Integrating the #MeToo Movement into Curriculum
May 9, 2019
Offering a Helping Hand to Migrants Waiting to Enter the US
January 15, 2019
Boston-Area Volunteers Offer Legal Advice To Migrants In Tijuana
December 17, 2018
Meghan Poole (’19) Awarded Douglass Fellowship from the Human Trafficking Institute
August 27, 2018