Academic Resources

Workshops & Colloquia

Legal Writing Workshops | Byse Workshops | Colloquia

The Graduate workshops and colloquia, led by the Byse Fellows, by Graduate Fellows and by Graduate Program administrators, are non-credit offerings that meet approximately every two weeks during the course of a semester or the year. In the case of workshops, discussion is generally organized around reading materials and/or an exposition by a workshop participant or guest speaker. For colloquia, the perspectives of the student participants contribute to the direction and content of the series. Schedules of meetings can be obtained by contacting the workshop or colloquium leader.

Byse Workshop participants who wish to write a paper in conjunction with the workshop can receive one credit for the paper as long as (a) the paper is at least 25 pages long, and (b) a faculty member acts as the formal supervisor of the paper.

Specific workshops and colloquia for 2008-2009 are described below:

LEGAL WRITING WORKSHOP

Dr. Jane Fair Bestor - Full Year

The LL.M. Writers' Workshop is a voluntary, non-credit workshop that supports students in completing the LL.M. written work requirement. All LL.M. students must satisfy the written work requirement for the LL.M. degree. The workshop is open to all LL.M. students interested in learning about the process of writing an academic paper in an American law school.

Workshop Objectives:

• Help students conceptualize, research, and write an LL.M. Paper or Thesis.
• Introduce students to basic legal research skills (both U.S. and international) and American legal writing techniques.
• Facilitate advising relationships between LL.M. students and an S.J.D. candidate, and with library research staff.
• Help structure and set deadlines for researching and writing LL.M. Papers.
• Provide guidance and other non-technical support for LL.M. writing projects.

BYSE WORKSHOPS

Law and Money: Five Theories For Understanding Money Conceptually and Legally, Iain Frame, Fall 2009, Friday 11:00am - 12:30pm, Contact: iframe@law.harvard.edu

From Athens to E-Democracy: The Promise and Perils of a Participatory Governance, Jennifer Shkabatur, Spring 2010, Time TBD, Contact: jshkabatur@law.harvard.edu

Byse Workshops are named in honor of Byrne Professor of Law Emeritus Clark Byse, and meet approximately every two weeks during the course of a semester. The Workshops, which are open to J.D., LL.M. and S.J.D. students alike, are led by selected S.J.D. students, and provide an in-depth treatment of some aspect of their dissertation scholarship. Participants who wish to write a paper in conjunction with the workshop may be eligible to receive one credit for the paper as long as (a) the paper is at least 25 pages long, and (b) a faculty member acts as the formal supervisor of the paper. The Graduate Program can provide students with further information about how to make such arrangements. There is no need to register for a Workshop in advance.

For more information, please contact Ms. Nancy Pinn (npinn@law.harvard.edu) or the individual Workshop leaders, identified below.

COLLOQUIA

Law Teaching Colloquium - Christopher Taggart, ctaggart@law.harvard.edu - Full Year

The Law Teaching Colloquium is a year long series of presentations sponsored by the Graduate Program and the J.D. program, and organized by the S.J.D. community. Sessions promote discussion amongst students and professors from HLS, Harvard University and beyond, about the nature, structure and aims of legal education. Topics range from methods of teaching and the hiring process to the internationalization of law schools and visions of legal education. The Colloquium is open to all members of the Harvard community.