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Client Message

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Client Message

                                                                                                   February 20, 2008

Dear Clients of the HLS Events Office:

It’s another busy new year for the HLS Events Office.  The 400 room reservation requests we received in January surpassed last January’s record 333 requests.  Currently, we have over 200 pending requests for this spring.  We’re looking forward to working with you on these events and hope the following information will be helpful in planning or executing your events:

Using the Furniture Request Form for Ordering Furniture for Individual Classes:
We’ve created a new request form for furniture requests for classes – for example, if you need extra chairs delivered or tables set up for class refreshment please use https://internal.law.harvard.edu/events/furniture/.   We’ve come up with this form because we’ve had difficulty with class requests being buried among thousands of email messages received.

Classes not Meeting Weekly:
            With the ever-growing demand for meeting space at HLS, we ask that you notify the Registrar’s office if there are dates when a seminar or reading group will not meet so the space can be released for use by others.

Duplicate Requests:
If you haven’t heard from us yet, please know that we are working 7 days a week to process requests in the queue. We’ve noticed an increase in the number of duplicate requests received this semester which causes confusion as we sort out which requests are indeed duplicates, thereby taking time away from confirming original requests. Please refrain from using the on-line form to check the status of your requests.

Class Block:  
            The busiest class block is 5-7 pm Mondays through Thursdays; there are 79 courses meeting during this time compared to 61 courses during the same period last fall.  Please plan to begin your week night meetings at 7:30 pm.   

Events Office Web Site:
            Our web site (http://www.law.harvard.edu/administration/eventsoffice/ ) has been updated to provide information we hope you’ll find useful. Among the improvements and additions:

Availability of Space during Exam Period:
We are not permitted to book classroom space, including the small conference rooms, during exam periods. We are restricted to assigning function space only -- Pound 335, 334, 332, Ropes Gray and John Chipman Gray -- during the following dates:
April 29-May 11, 2008 --  2L/3L Spring Term Exam Period
May 8-14, 2008 --  1L Spring Term Exam Period
NOTE:  Weekend days are included during the exam period.

Events Staffing:
            You may know that I’ll be taking off a few months for maternity leave beginning in the next week or two.  The Events Office is in great hands - Event Coordinator Laura Hambleton will be acting Manager for the balance of the spring term, and we have hired Jane Burdis as a Temporary Event Coordinator who will cover Laura’s current position.   Leedie Wales and Jessica Pittenger will continue in their roles as Coordinators and Michael Fournier as Department Staff Assistant.  As is usual, we will hire several temporary staff members to help with bookings and event coverage.

IMPACT OF Northwest Corner Construction for Long-range Event Planning
We continue to work closely with HLS Major Capital Projects staff to minimize disruptions from the NorthWest Corner Project.  We were recently informed of future dates that certain spaces will be off-line for events and want you to have this information for long-range planning purposes:
Hauser 1st Floor rooms, Kumble Plaza, Jarvis Field and Harkness Terrace Patio

The Harkness, Ropes Gray and John Chipman Gray spaces would be off-line for events

Please call the Construction Mitigation Hotline at 617-496-0857 or email nwcorner@law.harvard.edu with questions or to learn more about the construction activity.  

We look forward to a great spring semester filled with conferences, lectures and other meetings and events at HLS.  Please give us your suggestions on how we can best serve all of our Events clients in the busy upcoming months.

Sincerely,
Shannon Parker
Events Office Manager
on behalf of the Events office staff: Jane Burdis, Michael Fournier, Laura Hambleton, Jessica Pittenger, and Leedie Wales