HLS 2007: The Year in Review
A note from the Dean: This is an exciting—even historic—time in HLS history, and in this “Year in Review” I’m delighted to share my perspective on some of the most significant developments of this past (or any) year. As always, I’m tremendously grateful for your interest and support and hope to see you in Cambridge or elsewhere in the not-too-distant future. Happy New Year! – EK
Introducing Our New First-Year Curriculum
This fall marked the launch of our new first-year curriculum, the most comprehensive reform in this area since Harvard initiated what became the standard law school curriculum more than 100 years ago.
This year’s entering J.D. students—members of the Class of 2010—are the first to benefit from the 1L reforms, which reflect the results of several years of planning and consultation with lawyers, law professors, and scholars from other academic fields and professional schools. The new 1L courses are designed to prepare students for the realities of law in the 21st century, including the heightened role of legislatures and administrative agencies and the increasingly global nature of modern legal practice. 1Ls are now enrolled in a course in Legislation and Regulation, which addresses the basic materials of law produced by legislatures and agencies. In addition, they are selecting from a menu of new courses, specially designed as foundational, that will locate U.S. law in an international context, highlighting sources, institutions, history, and politics.
The unanimous approval of the new 1L program and the excitement of faculty members who are deeply engaged in the reforms are two important clues to the power and promise they represent. Another sign is the large number of inquiries from other law schools showing interest in what we are doing—and how we moved the reform process forward.
Even someone as wise and far-sighted as HLS Dean Christopher Columbus Langdell, who gave us our standard curriculum back in 1870, couldn’t possibly have predicted what the next hundred years would hold—or the skills and knowledge that would prove critical to 21st-century lawyers. I’m immensely proud of this Law School’s efforts to build on his legacy, keeping the best of our heritage while moving us into the future.
Our Fast-Growing Clinical Programs
The growth of our clinical programs in recent years has been nothing short of spectacular, and last year—as in past years—we had a number of exciting additions to our clinical line-up.
One of the most significant developments is the launch of our new Environmental Law and Policy Clinic, through which students work on cutting-edge projects covering the spectrum of environmental issues including climate change, alternative energy, water protection, smart growth, and the intersection between public health and the environment. Professor Jody Freeman continues as the leading light of our burgeoning Environmental Law Program, which will host a major conference on carbon trading in the spring, and Wendy Jacobs, a member of the HLS Class of 1981, was appointed director of the Environmental Law Clinic, coming to us from a distinguished career in environmental law at the Department of Justice and the Boston law firm of Foley Hoag, where she was a partner. Other notable additions to our clinical programs include a Negotiation and Mediation Clinic, a year-long Supreme Court Practice Clinic, and a Washington D.C. Winter Term in conjunction with our Government Lawyer class.
Meanwhile, existing programs continue to flourish with record numbers of students participating in clinics that range from international human rights and children’s advocacy to small business and non-profit work. It’s significant that roughly two-thirds of our students now opt to enroll in clinical work at some point during law school—a testament both to the importance of hands-on legal education and to our success in devising programs that reflect the extraordinary diversity of our students’ interests and concerns.
HLS Faculty Hits Record High
With eleven outstanding new appointments, the HLS faculty became the largest—and strongest—in the Law School’s history, with a total of 92 full-time tenured, tenure-track, and clinical professors as of this September. Last year’s arrivals, all superb scholars and committed teachers, bring added depth and scope to a number of key areas, including intellectual property, international law, constitutional law, law and economics, trusts and estates, civil procedure, and clinical instruction.
A few words about each of them:
Professor Yochai Benkler ’94, a renowned scholar of information law and policy, communications law, and intellectual property, came to us from Yale Law School. Professor Benkler also serves as a key participant in our extraordinary Berkman Center for Internet and Society, and it’s fitting that his appointment coincided with the Center’s tenth anniversary. In addition to his Harvard J.D., he also holds an LL.B. degree from Tel-Aviv University.
Assistant Professor Gabriella Blum LL.M. ’01 S.J.D. ’03, an international law scholar whose interests include conflict management and counter-terrorism operations, previously served in the Israel Defense Forces’ International Law Department. Along with Harvard LL.M. and S.J.D. degrees, she holds an LL.B. degree from Tel-Aviv University.
Professor Noah Feldman, a prominent scholar of constitutional law with deep knowledge of comparative law and international issues, came to us from New York University School of Law. Professor Feldman has written important works on law and religion, as well as on Iraq and the Islamic world. He holds a J.D. from Yale Law School and a D. Phil. in Islamic Political Thought from Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes Scholar.
Assistant Professor D. James Greiner, whose scholarship focuses on applying quantitative thinking to legal issues, recently completed his Ph.D. in statistics at Harvard. Before embarking on his doctoral work, he was an associate at Jenner & Block, served as a trial attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice, and clerked for Judge Patrick Higginbotham of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Along with his Ph.D., Professor Greiner holds a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School.
Clinical Professor David Grossman ’88 is director of the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau, the oldest student-run legal services office in the country. Previously, he served as a staff attorney and clinical instructor in the WilmerHale Legal Services Center.
Clinical Professor Brian K. Price is director of the WilmerHale Legal Services Center, the Law School’s largest clinical facility. Professor Price also has been a senior clinical instructor in the Center’s Community Enterprise Project, and he holds a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.
Professor William Rubenstein ’86, an expert in civil procedure with a special interest in class action law, came to us from the UCLA School of Law. Before entering academia, Professor Rubenstein enjoyed a distinguished career with the national office of the American Civil Liberties Union, where he spent nearly a decade litigating sexual orientation and AIDS discrimination cases.
Professor Robert H. Sitkoff, an eminent scholar of trusts and estates, came to us from New York University School of Law. Combining rigorous legal analysis and empirical grounding, Professor Sitkoff’s scholarship is the finest now being written in this important field, and his presence will restore Harvard’s traditional preeminence in this area. He holds a J.D. from the University of Chicago.
Professor Kathryn Spier, an expert in law and economics with a particular focus on liability, strategic contracting, and litigation strategy, came to us from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and School of Law. Professor Spier enhances HLS’s already top-notch law and economics faculty. She holds a Ph.D. in economics from MIT.
Clinical Professor Ronald Sullivan ’94 is faculty director of the Criminal Justice Institute. He came to us from Yale Law School, where he was an associate clinical professor and founding director of the Samuel and Anna Jacobs Criminal Defense Clinic. Previously, he was director of the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia.
Clinical Professor Alex Whiting leads our clinical offerings relating to domestic and international prosecution. A former assistant U.S. attorney in Boston, he came to us from The Hague, where he was a senior trial attorney in the prosecutor’s office for the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. He holds a J.D. from Yale Law School.
I can’t imagine a more impressive group of scholars and teachers, and I’m thrilled that they have chosen to join our community. Their talents will enrich and shape this school for decades to come.
The Northwest Corner: An Update
If you’ve paid a recent visit to campus, you may have found yourself a bit disoriented. What happened to Wyeth Hall? Where’s Baker House?
The fact is, it was quite a busy year, as we embarked on the most ambitious building project in HLS history. The highlight—captured on film by TV crews and now showing on our website—was the relocation of three 19th-century wood-frame buildings (including Baker House) to a site a few blocks up the street, a process that involved closing Mass Ave to traffic one weekend to make way for the structures. One of our architects described the scene this way: “If the purpose of art is to change one’s perception of reality, then seeing these large houses—symbols of permanence and immobility—being transported to a new home, was an artistic moment.” The historic buildings now sit adjacent to North Hall—which some of you will recall in its previous incarnation as a Holiday Inn—and are now being renovated as dormitories.
As I’ve said many times before, the Northwest Corner Development reflects a vision of legal education where students come first. When completed, the 250,000-square-foot structure will bring together the vast range of student activities, creating a bustling all-hours hub for living, learning, and working, with beautiful new spaces for classes, clinical education, student organizations, and socializing. It will transform both our campus and the student experience.
It’s been a privilege and a pleasure to help move this historic project forward, and I hope you’ll have a chance to see it when it’s finished several years from now. (To learn more about the project, including what the completed building will look like, visit our Northwest Corner Project website at www.law.harvard.edu/about/nwc.)
Looking Ahead
While much has been accomplished in the past year, we continue to look ahead to an even brighter future, thanks to the sound foundation we now have to build on. I hope you will find time to return to campus in the year ahead—whether for a reunion or other special event (such as our upcoming Celebration of Public Interest and Celebration 55: The Women’s Leadership Summit, discussed in the enclosed letter) or for a more informal visit.
As always, I look forward to your suggestions, thoughts, and ideas about how to make HLS the best possible law school. (You can reach me by email at elenakagan@law.harvard.edu.) Once again, I am deeply grateful for your interest and support of this—your—law school.