CORI often traps people in a cycle of poverty and unemployment. During the COVID-19 pandemic, this cycle is now fiercer than ever.

Learn the skills needed to volunteer at the BBA's CORI Sealing Clinic, a project that the BBA launched in partnership with Greater Boston Legal Services. At the clinic, low-income clients who have questions about their Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) records are connected with volunteer attorneys who can help.
Clients can receive assistance with obtaining and reviewing their records, and, if advised and if the client is eligible under Massachusetts law, sealing or expunging them.

As CORI records can present a significant barrier to housing, employment, and educational opportunities, assisting clients with sealing is an important way that attorney volunteers can make a difference in someone's life.

Everyone who attends this free training should commit to volunteering during at least one session of the BBA CORI Sealing Clinic.

Following the training, attendees will be able to volunteer at the CORI Sealing Clinic, which will now take place online. Please note that when you intake clients during the clinic, you will be expected to follow up with them to continue helping them with the sealing process on a pro bono basis. This training is open only to barred attorneys.

Attendees will learn about:

• CORI and the various levels of access to CORI by employers and others
• The waiting periods to seal records
• How to seal criminal and juvenile records through the administrative process
• How to seal criminal records in court
• How to expunge records and how expungement differs from sealing
• New FBI provisions in the law related to CORI
• How to effectively assist clients at the clinic, fill out forms properly, and offer clients good legal advice