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News Archive

2004

Alums in Congress Work to Improve Homeland Security: Christopher Cox '76 ('77) and Jane Harman '69 sit on different sides of the aisle, but the urgent threat of terrorism unites them. (From the Fall 2004 Harvard Law Bulletin.) [Thu, 23 Dec 2004]
Law in a Time of Terror: Four HLS professors consider whether the old rules apply when the enemies don't wear uniforms and are willing to die with their victims. [Mon, 20 Dec 2004]
Professor Heymann Talks Terror: Professor Philip Heymann '60 first taught an HLS course on terrorism in the late 1980s. Later, as deputy attorney general in the Clinton administration, he supported the prosecution of Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman for the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center. He is the author of "Terrorism, Freedom, and Security: Winning Without War" (MIT Press, 2003). [Fri, 17 Dec 2004]
Women's Refugee Project: Family Is a Protected Unit: The Harvard Immigration and Refugee Clinic's Women Refugees Project has submitted an amicus curiae brief in the case of Thomas v. Ashcroft. The brief urges the court to allow asylum in the United States based upon family membership. The case, which was heard by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday, involves a woman whose family was subjected to attacks and whose lives were threatened because of racist actions taken by her father-in-law. [Wed, 15 Dec 2004]
Charles Fried Offers Straight Talk on Con Law: In his latest book, "Saying What the Law Is: The Constitution in the Supreme Court" Professor Charles Fried takes on federalism, separation of powers, free speech, religion and other thorny topics to explain the principles underlying rulings that often seem inconsistent. [Mon, 13 Dec 2004]
Ask the Professor: Fallon Comments on Medical Marijuana Case: The U.S. Supreme Court recently heard arguments in a tug-of-war between the states and the federal government over drug policy. Professor Richard Fallon comments on the relevant constitutional issues raised by Ashcroft v. Raich. [Thu, 09 Dec 2004]
Article on 'Freeze-outs' Creates Wall Street Buzz: A recent article by Professor Guhan Subramanian '98 has people in the M-and-A world talking -- and the article has yet to be published. Although it has a decidedly academic title, "Post-Siliconix Freeze-Outs: Theory, Evidence, and Policy," Subramanian’s paper has received significant coverage in legal and business trade journals such as The American Lawyer, The Deal and Corporate Control Alert. [Wed, 08 Dec 2004]
In the Classroom: Negotiating Ethnic Conflict: On a day when Israeli and Palestinian forces clashed in Gaza and negotiations in the region were at a standstill, a group of Harvard Law students in a classroom half a world away examined some of the challenges that have made the negotiation process so difficult in the Middle East and other lands torn by ethnic and religious strife. [Tue, 07 Dec 2004]
From Veritas to Semper Fi: HLS Student Reports for Duty: Scott Smith was living in Ames Hall in early 2003 when he got a call that sent him to his room to pack his things and leave school immediately. "I had 48 hours to report for duty," said Smith, who was then a captain in the Marine Reserves. "I was packing all my stuff and people kept coming by my room, saying, 'Where are you going?' When I said I was mobilized, they were shocked." [Mon, 06 Dec 2004]
Did the Internet Change Politics in 2004?: On Dec. 10, leaders of the internet campaigns for President George W. Bush and Senator John Kerry will debate the influence of the web in the 2004 election. This discussion is part of a three-day conference—Votes, Bits and Bytes—hosted by Harvard Law School's Berkman Center for Internet and Society to take a skeptical look at whether online technologies have changed political participation, citizenship, and governance, both in the United States and worldwide. [Thu, 02 Dec 2004]
Statement by Dean Elena Kagan on the Solomon Amendment: On the basis of yesterday's decision by the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals enjoining the enforcement of the Solomon Amendment, Harvard Law School will return to its prior policy on employers' use of our Office of Career Services (OCS)... [Tue, 30 Nov 2004]
Professor Stuntz on Churches, Universities, and the Political Divide: Writing in Tech Central Station, Bill Stuntz observes: "... I think that if my church friends and my university friends got to know each other, they'd find a lot to like and admire. More to the point, the representatives of each side would learn something important and useful from the other side. These institutions may be red and blue now. But their natural color is purple." [Tue, 30 Nov 2004]
International Justice: The Roots and Legacies of the Nuremberg Trials: On Wednesday, December 1, John Barrett, biographer of Justice Robert Jackson; Richard Sonnenfelt, author, lecturer, and translator at the Nuremberg Trials; and Helen Stacy, senior research scholar at the Stanford Institute of International Studies, will discuss the roots and legacies of the Nuremberg Trials. This discussion is part of a series of events at HLS this year examining international justice. [Mon, 29 Nov 2004]
Editors of Indian Law Handbook Convene: A team of Indian law experts met recently at Harvard Law School to finalize updates to Felix Cohen's landmark "Handbook of Federal Indian Law." Scholars consider the Cohen handbook--published in 1941--to be the leading text on federal Indian law. Cohen wrote the first edition while serving as an assistant solicitor in the Interior Department during the Roosevelt administration. [Tue, 23 Nov 2004]
Bebchuk on Making Directors Accountable: After a decade of soaring to unprecedented levels, executive compensation is the subject of an intense debate. In their just published "Pay without Performance: The Unfulfilled Promise of Executive Compensation," HLS Professor Lucian Bebchuk LL.M. '80 S.J.D. '84 and UC Berkeley School of Law Professor Jesse Fried '92 explore the causes and consequences of flawed compensation arrangements. [Fri, 19 Nov 2004]
Professor Minow Offers a Bipartisan Approach to Middle East Peace: Professor Martha Minow, in an op-ed co-written by Newton Minow, writes: "The president of the United States can offer an honest broker if he creatively abandons partisanship and reaches for a bipartisan approach untried in recent years.... President Bush should send former President Bill Clinton to the Middle East as his representative to renew the discussions ended four years ago." [Mon, 15 Nov 2004]
Should Software Developers Pay When Users Violate Copyrights?: On Tuesday, Nov. 16, the Harvard Journal of Law and Technology will host a debate between spokespeople from the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Recording Industry Association of America regarding the legitimacy of contributory copyright infringement liability for sellers of software and devices that consumers can use to violate copyright law. [Mon, 15 Nov 2004]
HLS Grad Gonzales Nominated for Attorney General: President Bush has nominated Harvard Law graduate Alberto Gonzales to be the next U.S. attorney general, the nation's top law enforcement officer. A member of the HLS class of '82, Gonzales has served as the White House counsel for the past four years. If confirmed by the Senate, Gonzales will be the 10th Harvard Law graduate to serve as attorney general. [Thu, 11 Nov 2004]
Professor Stuntz on America's East-West Political Divide: Professor William Stuntz writes: The conventional wisdom holds that America is and always has been divided between North and South. Actually, there is a bigger and deeper divide: between East and West. The West is winning, hands down. [Thu, 11 Nov 2004]
Olin Center Hosts Law and Economic Program for Spanish Students and Academics: Last month, Harvard Law School's John M. Olin Center for Law, Economics and Business hosted a week-long law and economics program for Spanish law students and academics. The program attracted 30 attendees, all from Spain, and included courses on torts, fairness versus efficiency, litigation, risk, contracts, corporate governance, bankruptcy, antitrust, and crime and law enforcement. [Fri, 05 Nov 2004]
Alumni Score Victories in Congressional Races: Harvard Law alumni from both political parties won elections yesterday to gain or retain seats in the U.S. House and Senate. [Wed, 03 Nov 2004]
Hay to Direct Pulitzer Prize-Winning Play 'Proof': On November 5, Harvard Law School will kick off four performances of David Auburn's Pulitzer Prize-winning play "Proof." Performances will be held on Nov. 5, 6, 12 and 13 at 7:30 p.m. in Ames Courtroom in Austin Hall. Tickets, which are $6 for the general public and $5 for students, can be purchased at the door or reserved ahead of time by emailing hay@law.harvard.edu. [Mon, 01 Nov 2004]
Richard Holbrooke Receives the Great Negotiator Award: Richard Holbrooke was the premier architect of the 1995 peace agreement that ended the war in Bosnia and a skillful negotiator credited with resolving the bitter dispute over dues owed in arrears by the United States to the United Nations. Last night, at a dinner held in his honor, the former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations received the prestigious 2004 Great Negotiator Award, presented by the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School. [Fri, 29 Oct 2004]
Professor Stuntz on the Presidential Election: Professor Bill Stuntz finds interesting comparisons between this year's race for the White House and the 1948 Truman vs. Dewey contest. [Thu, 28 Oct 2004]
Webcast: Charles Fried on the Supreme Court: In a provocative lecture, Professor Charles Fried, a former solicitor general, asks: Is the Supreme Court going down the drain? [Tue, 26 Oct 2004]
HLS Convenes Global Finance Experts: From Oct. 22 to Oct. 24, leaders of the financial systems of the United States and Japan convened in Portsmouth, NH to discuss issues affecting the global financial system. The occasion was the seventh annual Symposium on Building the Financial System of the 21st Century: An Agenda for Japan and the United States, sponsored by the Harvard Law School Program on International Financial Systems, in cooperation with The International House of Japan. [Mon, 25 Oct 2004]
International Justice: An Examination of Key Issues: On October 25, Gary Bass, author of "Stay the Hand of Vengeance", and Samantha Power, author of "A Problem from Hell: American and the Age of Genocide", will discuss key issues in international justice. The event, which is free an open to the public, is the first in a series of five lectures this year that will consider the promise and limitations in past, present, and future pursuits of justice and human rights internationally. The event will begin a 4:30 p.m. in Pound 101. [Fri, 22 Oct 2004]
Professor Fried on a Muddled Supreme Court: In a New York Times op-ed, Professor Charles Fried writes: "This pattern, defending principles in theory but abandoning them in fact, points to a court that has lost its will to protect and explain the nuanced doctrinal constructions that have threaded their way past opposing extremes. At the same time, the court has lacked the energy to substitute some new and intelligible vision." [Thu, 21 Oct 2004]
Negotiation Conference Examines Israeli Settlements: Just days before the Israeli government submitted to the Knesset—Israel’s 120-member parliament—draft legislation to authorize the evacuation of Jewish settlers from the West Bank and Gaza Strip, the Harvard Law School Program on Negotiation held a two-day conference titled, “Past, Present, and Future of the Jewish West Bank and Gaza Settlements: The Internal Israeli Conflict.” [Thu, 21 Oct 2004]
Professor Stuntz on Terrorism and Organized Crime: Professor William Stuntz writes: "No one is willing to wait for a nuclear weapon to blow away an American city and then prosecute the conspirators who survived the blast. Nor does it make sense to devote massive resources to building cases for small-potatoes crimes that will put away would-be murderers for a year or two, after which they can resume their homicidal careers. Perhaps that is why military and intelligence services have played such a large role in the war on terrorism." [Wed, 20 Oct 2004]
Human Rights Program Turns 20: This weekend, Harvard Law School's Human Rights Program (HRP) will mark its 20th anniversary with a gathering principally of alumni and a full slate of speeches and discussions. And in many ways, the celebration also honors the movement it embraces. [Fri, 15 Oct 2004]
Bebchuk's Book on Executive Compensation Focus of Conference: On October 15, a new book on executive pay and corporate governance by HLS Professor Lucian Bebchuk and Jesse Fried, Harvard Law School class of 1993, will be the focus of symposium at Columbia Law School. [Thu, 14 Oct 2004]
Military Commissions and the Global War on Terrorism: On Wednesday, October 13, Colonel Will A. Gunn, chief defense counsel for the Office of Military Commissions, will speak on "Military Commissions and the Global War on Terrorism: The Chief Defense Counsel's Perspective." Col. Gunn's remarks will begin at 6 p.m. in the Langdell South classroom. [Wed, 13 Oct 2004]
Dukakis to Speak on 2004 Election: On Wednesday, October 13, former Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis will reflect on his experience working with Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry and offer his thoughts on the 2004 election. The speech, which is free and open to the public, will begin at 7 p.m. in the Austin West classroom. [Wed, 13 Oct 2004]
Memorial Service for Archibald Cox: On Friday, October 8, a memorial service will be held for Professor Emeritus Archibald Cox, the famed Watergate special prosecutor and former solicitor general, who died in May. The service, which is open to the public, will begin at 2 p.m. in Harvard's Memorial Church. [Wed, 06 Oct 2004]
Kuehl Presented with Cox, Richardson, Coleman Award: At a ceremony on Oct. 4, Harvard Law School Dean Elena Kagan presented the Cox, Richardson, Coleman Award to California State Senator Sheila Kuehl. Named for three of Harvard Law School's most distinguished graduates, Archibald Cox, Elliot Richardson and William Coleman, the award honors graduates for distinguished service in government. [Tue, 05 Oct 2004]
Prof. Mnookin and PON Managing Director Hackley on Negotiating with Terrorists: Professor Robert Mnookin and PON Managing Director Susan Hackley write: "Talking to terrorists is different from giving in to them. Sometimes it may be good practice to know what they are thinking, or, as a line in 'The Godfather' goes, it is important to 'keep your friends close but your enemies closer.'" [Mon, 04 Oct 2004]
Harvard Law School Announces New Professorship Dedicated to Accounting and Statistics: James S. Reid, Jr. of Cleveland, Ohio has made a gift to Harvard Law School to endow a professorship dedicated to the teaching of accounting, statistics and related subjects. Income generated from the gift--which totals $3 million and includes funds given by Reid, John D. Drinko and others who were encouraged to contribute--will support the salary, benefits and research endeavors of a tenured Harvard Law professor. [Thu, 30 Sep 2004]
Webcast: Dean Kagan's State of the School Address: View the webcast of HLS Dean Elena Kagan's annual State of the School address. [Mon, 27 Sep 2004]
Students and Faculty Connect in First-Year Reading Groups: This semester, many first-year students at HLS are reading more than the typical load of cases and books on legal doctrine. The newly minted 1Ls are signing up for new first-year reading groups that cover everything from cyberlaw to the laws of war. Designed in part to foster student-faculty interaction in the 1L year, the new program consists of faculty members holding reading groups in their spare time with about a dozen students who sign up for specific subjects. [Thu, 23 Sep 2004]
Clinical Program in Human Rights Expanded to Meet Student Demand: A recent surge in student demand for human rights clinical work has led to a major expansion of the HLS Human Rights Program's Clinical Advocacy Project. Beginning this year, students will have greater opportunities to do hands-on, advocacy work in the human rights field. [Mon, 20 Sep 2004]
Harvard Gazette: Big Plans Highlight Dean Kagan's 2L Year: As she enters her sophomore year as dean of Harvard Law School, Elena Kagan lays out an ambitious agenda for her tenure. Her immodest plans include expanding the faculty, changing the face of the campus, improving the student experience, and reviewing a curriculum that has served the school for well over a century. [Thu, 16 Sep 2004]
HLS Student Seeks to Reform Presidential Debates: When the 2004 presidential debates begin this month, few will be watching more closely than George Farah '05. Indeed, he's worried that most American voters will be dozing before the first question is asked or, worse, "voting with their remotes" by clicking over to something more entertaining, like major league baseball. [Wed, 15 Sep 2004]
Professor Arthur Miller on His Teaching Career and the State of the Legal Profession: A member of the HLS faculty since 1971, Professor Arthur Miller '58 discusses his teaching career, the state of the legal profession and "My Cousin Vinny." [Fri, 10 Sep 2004]
Three Professors Join Tenured Faculty: The Harvard Law School faculty has added three tenured professors to their ranks, a move that will broaden the school’s coverage of different subject areas and bring increased depth and diversity to existing subjects. The additions include two new hires and the promotion of an HLS assistant professor. [Wed, 08 Sep 2004]
Ogletree statement concerning corrections in All Deliberate Speed: I write to express my profound apologies for serious errors I made during the final days of the research and production process for my recent book -- errors which resulted in several paragraphs from another book appearing in my own, without quotation marks or other attribution. The errors were avoidable and preventable, and I take full and complete responsibility for them. [Fri, 03 Sep 2004]
Jonathan Zittrain on the Google IPO: Assistant Professor Jonathan Zittrain writes in a Boston Globe op-ed: "Thanks to Google's desire to align profits with the valuation of the investing public whose imagination and loyalty it has largely captured, a Silicon Valley 6-year-old's opening roar has rattled Wall Street. But as the IPO's opening bell fades, the clash between Google's contradictory egalitarian and elitist impulses are certain to make it a volatile investment as soon as next week, not to mention for years to come." [Thu, 26 Aug 2004]
Oldest Living Harvard Graduate Visits Campus: Walter Seward, Harvard University's oldest known living alumnus, may be 107 years old, but he still shudders at the mention of rival Yale and still marvels that he graduated at all. Seward, who finished Harvard Law School in 1924, visited campus yesterday as an early celebration for his 108th birthday in October. [Tue, 24 Aug 2004]
Harvard Law School Chooses Architect for Northwest Corner: Harvard Law School has chosen Robert A.M. Stern Architects as the principal design firm to prepare a planning framework for the Law School campus and to provide the architectural design for the initial development on the School’s northwest corner. [Wed, 04 Aug 2004]
Prof. Fisher on the History of Intellectual Property: Over the course of American history, the law of intellectual property has gradually become fragmented into industry-specific subfields. Until now, this trend has been largely inadvertent and uncoordinated. Should it be applauded and pursued deliberately or resisted? [Wed, 21 Jul 2004]
Boston Globe Op-Ed: Professor Guinier on Access to Higher Education: In a Boston Globe op-ed, Professor Lani Guinier writes: "Today higher education is defaulting on its egalitarian and its public-minded role. Too many universities use their admissions criteria to consolidate privilege rather than expand opportunity. Meanwhile, as tuition and costs skyrocket, higher education becomes less accessible to the poor and even the middle class; students work and still graduate with crushing debts." [Fri, 09 Jul 2004]
Professor Minow Opens Textbooks for Children with Disabilities: Even if a child cannot hold a textbook or see the words on its pages, the law says she must still have access to the same education as her classmates. The good news, says Professor Martha Minow, is that once a book has been digitized, the technology exists to open up the curriculum to children with a wide range of disabilities. The challenge, she says, is that "every opening up of the text leads to a copyright violation." [Thu, 08 Jul 2004]
Wall St. Journal Op-Ed: Professor Tribe on the Supreme Court and Rights of Detainees: In the July 1, Wall Street Journal, Professor Laurence Tribe writes: "With luck, the world's understanding of America will be shaped as well by what our Supreme Court, in three landmark decisions rendered this Monday, declared about the rights of those whom U.S. military authorities detain -- whether at Abu Ghraib, in Guantanamo or in a naval brig in South Carolina." [Thu, 01 Jul 2004]
NY Times Op-Ed: Professor Stuntz on Sentencing Guidelines: In a New York Times op-ed co-authored by Yale Law Professor Kate Stith (HLS class of 1977), Professor William Stuntz writes: "Congress has the power to untie these legal knots while also restoring a system of checks and balances in federal criminal sentencing. It should amend the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 (which established the sentencing commission and made its rules binding on judges) to change the commission's many rules into recommendations." [Tue, 29 Jun 2004]
NY Times Op-Ed: Professor Fisher on Music Downloading: In a New York Times op-ed, Professor William Fisher writes: "To its credit, the industry has started to participate in paid music download services like iTunes, but a better solution would be to institute a monthly licensing fee paid by Internet users. History suggests that the record industry, and society at large, would be better off in the long run if it approached this new challenge with more open minds." [Fri, 25 Jun 2004]
Summer Harvard Law Bulletin Now Online: The Summer Harvard Law Bulletin is now available online. This issue, the intellectual property issue, delves into topics including music downloading, the history of IP and efforts to make textbooks accessible to disabled students. [Tue, 22 Jun 2004]
Scott Testifies Before Committee on Financial Services: Harvard Law School Professor Hal S. Scott, director of the school's Program on International Financial Systems, testified on June 17 before U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Financial Service on the United States and the European Union informal Financial Markets Regulatory Dialogue. [Fri, 18 Jun 2004]
HLS Professors Urge Congress to Review Interrogation Policy, Hold Executive Branch Accountable: A group of more than 450 professors of law, international relations, and public policy--led by Harvard Law School faculty members--today sent a letter calling on Congress to hold accountable, through impeachment and removal if appropriate, civilian officials from the top of the Executive Branch on down for policies developed at high levels that have facilitated the recent abuses at Abu Ghraib. [Wed, 16 Jun 2004]
Global Finance Experts to Gather in China: From June 11 to 13, leaders of the financial systems of the United States and China will gather in Beijing to discuss issues affecting the financial relationship between the two countries. The occasion is the inaugural Symposium on Building the Financial System of the 21st Century: An Agenda for China and the United States, organized by the Harvard Law School Program on International Financial Systems and the China Development Research Foundation. [Thu, 10 Jun 2004]
Live Webcast: Harvard University Commencement Exercises: Commencement Day webcast will available for viewing beginning at 8:45 a.m. on Thursday, June 10. [Thu, 10 Jun 2004]
Stuntz Receives Teaching Award; Shabecoff Receives Staff Honor: On Wednesday, June 9, Professor Bill Stuntz will receive the 2004 Sacks-Freund Teaching Award. The presentation will occur at the Class Day ceremonies beginning at 2:30 p.m. on the steps of Langdell Hall. In addition, the staff appreciation award will be given to Alexa Shabecoff, assistant dean for public interest advising. [Tue, 08 Jun 2004]
Tribe Named University Professor: Harvard Law School Professor Laurence H. Tribe has been named the Carl M. Loeb University Professor. Tribe, a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School who has been on the Law School faculty since 1968, is the author of "American Constitutional Law," widely regarded as the leading treatise on the subject. [Mon, 07 Jun 2004]
Berkman Center Brief Influences Music Industry Lawsuit: Harvard Law School's Berkman Center for Internet and Society recently submitted an amicus brief that has played a pivotal role in a recent lawsuit regarding music downloading. The case, Capitol Records, et al. v. Alaujan, et al., joins 55 suits filed in Boston by the recording industry against individuals accused illegal file-sharing on peer-to-peer networks. [Mon, 07 Jun 2004]
Professor Emeritus Archibald Cox Dead at 92: Professor Emeritus Archibald Cox, the famed Watergate special prosecutor and former solicitor general, died yesterday in his home in Brooksville, Maine. He was 92. [Sun, 30 May 2004]
Corporate Law Professors Honored: Articles by Professors Lucian Bebchuk, John Coates, Guhan Subramanian and Allen Ferrell will be named among the top ten corporate and security law articles of 2003 in an upcoming issue of the Corporate Practice Commentator, a quarterly journal that reprints articles about corporations law. The articles were selected based upon a survey of corporate and securities law teachers across the nation. [Mon, 24 May 2004]
Human Rights and Immigration Advocates Hail Inter-American Commission Decision: The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has affirmed the fundamental right of all asylum seekers--including those interdicted on the high seas--to seek and receive asylum. The Harvard Law Student Advocates for Human Rights and the Harvard Immigration and Refugee Clinic, along with the Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center, filed the action with the Inter-American Commission on behalf of Haitian refugees in March. [Mon, 24 May 2004]
Bagenstos Scores Supreme Court Victory: Earlier this week, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Tennessee v. Lane that states can be sued under provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Harvard Law School Assistant Professor Samuel Bagenstos drafted the plaintiff’s brief for the case, which involved a paraplegic man who had to abandon his wheelchair and crawl up the stairs of the state courthouse to attend his own arraignment. [Fri, 21 May 2004]
Boston Globe Profiles Ogletree on Brown Anniversary: Some anniversaries have a bittersweet tinge, and that seems to be the case with Brown v. Board of Education. It's the main point of Harvard Law School professor Charles J. Ogletree Jr.'s new book, "All Deliberate Speed: Reflections on the First Half-Century of Brown v. Board of Education." [Mon, 17 May 2004]
Meltzer Elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences: Professor Daniel Meltzer has been named a fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, an interdisciplinary society of scholars based in Cambridge, Mass. A scholar of the American legal and political system, Meltzer joins 19 other current HLS professors who have been selected to become academy fellows in previous years. [Thu, 13 May 2004]
Q & A: Professor Ogletree on the Brown v. Board Decision: Professor Charles Ogletree Jr. '78, whose new book "All Deliberate Speed" explores the impact of the Brown v. Board of Education decision, discusses the landmark case, public education in America and the change in HLS from the time he was a student. [Mon, 10 May 2004]
HLS Researcher: High School Players Benefit by Turning Pro Early: High school players that declare for the NBA draft are likely to earn millions more over the course of their careers than had they gone to college, according to a new study by Michael McCann, a Harvard Law School visiting researcher. McCann, a member of Ohio State running back Maurice Clarett's legal team, also finds that these players are the most successful group of players in the NBA. [Fri, 07 May 2004]
Bebchuk Named Guggenheim Fellow: Harvard Law School Professor Lucian Bebchuk has been named a 2004 Guggenheim fellow. The award, which honors "exceptionally impressive achievement in the past and exceptional promise for future accomplishment," will help Bebchuk write a book on the need to empower corporate shareholders. [Thu, 06 May 2004]
iLaw to Tackle Internet Challenges, Controversies and Opportunities: Five of the most distinguished faculty in cyberlaw will convene at Harvard from May 13 to 15 to teach about the challenges, controversies and opportunities that today’s Internet has created. [Fri, 30 Apr 2004]
Webcast: Discussion of David Kennedy's Book on the 'Dark Sides of Virtue': On April 21, a panel of legal scholars, including Harvard Law School Dean Elena Kagan and Professors Bill Alford, Ryan Goodman and Duncan Kennedy, explored issues raised in Professor David Kennedy's new book, The Dark Sides of Virtue: Reassessing International Humanitarianism. A webcast of the discussion is now available on the HLS Webcast page. [Thu, 29 Apr 2004]
International Coalition Organized to Monitor Internet Censorship: An international team of academics from Harvard Law School's Berkman Center for Internet and Society, the University of Cambridge and the University of Toronto has begun monitoring worldwide Internet censorship and surveillance. [Mon, 26 Apr 2004]
HLS Student Takes on the Presidential Debates: Rather than providing insight into the candidates' views, the presidential debates are intentionally designed to limit the danger to the major party candidates, according to a new book from second-year Harvard Law student George Farah. [Fri, 23 Apr 2004]
HLS Wins U.S. Moot Court Championship: Harvard Law School recently captured the U.S. championship of the 2004 Phillip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition, defeating the University of Georgia and Columbia University in elimination rounds. The HLS team consisted of second-year students Naomi Loewith and Hugo Torres, first-year student Erica Fung, and third-year student Nathaniel Stankard. [Thu, 22 Apr 2004]
'The Crucible' to Open Tonight: Starting tonight, April 20, Harvard Law School will kick off five productions of The Crucible, Arthur Miller’s provocative 1953 play about the Salem witch trials. Professor Bruce Hay will direct a cast of Harvard students in a version of the play that will incorporate a scene not often used in previous productions. Tonight's opening performance will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Ames Courtroom. [Tue, 20 Apr 2004]
Ogletree Appointed Director of New Harvard Institute: Professor Charles J. Ogletree Jr., the Jesse Climenko professor of law and vice dean for Clinical Programs at Harvard Law School, has been appointed director of the new Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice. [Sun, 18 Apr 2004]
Learning & Mentorship Project Makes an Impact: LAMP, a school-based mentoring program that matches law students with local high school students, is a result of that commitment. The basic goal of LAMP is to reverse the trend of underachievement particularly, but not exclusively, among students of color. [Thu, 15 Apr 2004]
Islamic Legal Studies Program to Explore Islamic Law in Modern Indonesia: On April 17 and 18, the Islamic Legal Studies Program will present a conference on Islamic Law in modern Indonesia as part of its year-long focus on Indonesia and the application and understanding of Islamic law there. The conference, which will begin at 9 a.m. in Pound 101, is free for Harvard affiliates. There is a $25 registration fee for the general public. [Thu, 15 Apr 2004]
Williston Competition Winners Honored: The winners of Harvard Law School's 51st annual Williston competition were recognized in a reception in Pound Hall on Tuesday, April 6. The competition, sponsored by the Board of Student Advisers, offers first-year students the opportunity to practice negotiation and contract drafting. Forty-two teams of two students participated in the competition. [Wed, 14 Apr 2004]
Harvard To Celebrate 50th Anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education: Harvard University is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the landmark United States Supreme Court decision in the case, <I>Brown v. Board of Education</I>, with a weeklong series of lectures and panel discussions sponsored by Harvard Law School, and the Harvard Graduate School of Education, beginning Monday, April 12 through Saturday, April 17. Events are free and open to the public, and will be held on the campus of Harvard Law School, Cambridge, Mass. [Thu, 08 Apr 2004]
HLS Wins National Trial Advocacy Competition: Last week, a team of Harvard Law students won first place at the 14th annual National Criminal Justice Trial Advocacy Competition in Chicago. The competition, which is co-sponsored by the Criminal Justice Section of the American Bar Association and John Marshall Law School, was held on April 1-3. [Tue, 06 Apr 2004]
Dershowitz on the Tyco Mistrial: Writing in the Wall Street Journal, Professor Alan Dershowitz considers the Tyco mistrial. "The mistrial declared in the Tyco case reflects at once a vulnerability and a strength of our jury system…. Had this case been tried in one of the several states that have abolished the unanimity requirement -- a 9-3 verdict is acceptable in some of those states -- there probably would have been a conviction days before the mistrial was declared. But New York has retained the unanimity requirement..." [Tue, 06 Apr 2004]
Berkman Center Study Considers iTunes' Future: Though iTunes has offered a promising model for selling music online, the service could face obstacles as it considers expanding beyond U.S. markets, according to a new study from the Berkman Center for Internet and Society. [Thu, 01 Apr 2004]
Olin Center Hosts Conference on Law and Economics: Harvard Law School's John M. Olin Center for Law, Economics, and Business recently hosted a conference at which authors presented their chapters for a forthcoming two-volume Handbook of Law and Economics. The Handbook, which will be edited by HLS Professor Steven Shavell and A. Mitchell Polinsky of Stanford Law School, is part of a prestigious series of handbooks in economics under the overall editorship of Stanford University Professor Kenneth Arrow, a Nobel laureate in economics. [Tue, 30 Mar 2004]
Alford Advocates for Special Olympics in China: Showing that pro bono work knows no national boundaries, Harvard Law School Professor Bill Alford is engaged in the development of the Special Olympics movement in China. Recently, this work took Alford to Beijing, where, with Special Olympics founder Eunice Kennedy Shriver and CEO Tim Shriver, he met with Chinese President Hu Jintao to discuss ways to enhance opportunities for individuals with intellectual disabilities in the world's most populous nation. That meeting was followed by the signing of an agreement to hold the 2007 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Shanghai. [Mon, 29 Mar 2004]
Bebchuk Testifies in Favor of SEC Rule Change: Harvard Law School Professor Lucian Bebchuk recently testified before the Securities and Exchange Commission as it considers whether to adopt a rule proposal to permit shareholders to place candidates on the company ballot in certain situations. [Fri, 26 Mar 2004]
HLS Alums to Gather in London: Harvard Law School alumni will gather in London from June 17-24 for the third worldwide alumni congress. The congress will feature academic tracks, social and cultural activities, CLE credit and the HLSA Award presentation. [Thu, 25 Mar 2004]
Panel to Explore Disability Rights, Legislation: Leaders in the field of disability will speak about whether disability rights fit into the traditional civil rights paradigm, how recent government action has affected the situation of people with disabilities, and a variety of other topics during the Albert Schweitzer Fellowship Panel on Disability at Harvard Law School. The panel, which will take place in Austin East on March 23 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., will bring together speakers from several different disciplines to reflect on current pressing issues in the disability community. [Mon, 22 Mar 2004]
HLS Students Hear Case Before High Court Does: Harvard Law School, long a training ground for many of the nation's sharpest legal minds, last week (March 9) coached some seasoned lawyers preparing a case that's on its way to the U.S. Supreme Court later this month. For the members of the legal defense team arguing the case, the moot court provided a realistic and informative platform for honing their arguments [Fri, 19 Mar 2004]
JOLT Symposium on Technology, Media and the Law: Janet Jackson and TiVo. Weblogs and presidential politics. Howard Stern and Clear Channel. Decency vs. Censorship. Newspapers online. The Drudge Report. Video-phones imbedded with troops in Iraq. Comcast and Disney. FCC rules on trial in Philadelphia. All access, all the time, to anything, for everyone. All of this, and so much more has emerged within the framework of rapid advances in the technology of print and broadcast media—those sources from which we derive so much of our news and information. A quick glance at the news, and one thing becomes evident—the news IS news. Who owns it? Who has access to it? What is it? How will the law react to and regulate these rapid changes? Should the law react to and regulate these rapid changes? [Fri, 19 Mar 2004]
'The Crucible' to be Performed in Ames Courtroom: On April 20, Harvard Law School will kick off five productions of The Crucible, Arthur Miller’s provocative 1953 play about the Salem witch trials. Professor Bruce Hay will direct a cast of Harvard students in a version of the play that will incorporate a scene not often used in previous productions. [Thu, 18 Mar 2004]
New Program to Examine the Legal 'Industry': To better understand the transformation of legal practice from a profession traditionally made up of small independent firms to a multi-billion dollar global business, Harvard Law School has established the Program on Lawyers and the Professional Services Industry, the first program of its kind in the nation. [Wed, 17 Mar 2004]
Student Group Seeks to Clear Path to the Ballot: In an effort to prevent the confusion and mistakes that marked the 2000 election, a group of Harvard Law School students have launched a project to ensure that 2004 presidential election voters are given proper access to the ballot. The new group, Just Democracy, plans to recruit and place more than 1,000 law students with expertise in election law at what they believe could be high-risk polling places around the nation. [Tue, 16 Mar 2004]
Symposium on Filibusters and Minority Caucuses: Two panels of academic experts, practitioners and activists from across the nation will gather for the Harvard Law School Journal on Legislation’s Spring Symposium on March 15, 2004, at 1:30 p.m. in the Austin West auditorium at Harvard Law School. The event is free and open to the public [Mon, 15 Mar 2004]
Conference on the Asian Pacific American Movement: On March 12 and 13, the Asian Pacific American Law Students Association at Harvard Law School and the Asian American Policy Review at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government will be hosting the 10th Annual National Asian Pacific American Conference on Law & Public Policy. The conference, entitled "Border Crossings: Globalizing the Asian Pacific American Movement for the 21st Century," will feature the presentation of the inaugural Yuri Kochiyama Award for Social Justice to life-long human rights activist Yuri Kochiyama, who will also give the keynote address. [Fri, 12 Mar 2004]
HLS Library Unveils Legal Portraits Exhibit: The Harvard Law School Library has announced the opening of a new exhibition entitled "The Legal Portrait Project Online." The exhibition is the culmination of an 18-month project to catalog, digitize and make available the law school's 4,000-item portrait collection of lawyers, jurists, and legal thinkers dating from the Middle Ages to the late twentieth century. The exhibition, which is on display in the Caspersen Room of the library, is open to the public from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. until March 31. [Wed, 10 Mar 2004]
Blunkett on Human Rights and the Terrorist Threat: On Monday, March 8, British Home Secretary and Member of Parliament The Right Honorable David Blunkett will give an address entitled, "Human Rights and the Terrorist Threat: Defending the Democratic State and maintaining Liberty--Two Sides of the Same Coin." The speech, which is sponsored by the Harvard University Committee on Human Rights Studies, will begin at 5 p.m. in the Ames Courtroom. [Mon, 08 Mar 2004]
WLJ to Host Conference on Emotion and the Law: On Saturday, March 6, the Harvard Women's Law Journal will hold a conference exploring the role of emotion in the law. The conference, which is free and open to the public, will feature a keynote address by Professor Kathryn Abrams of the Boalt School of Law and four panel discussions focusing on different aspects of the intersection of emotion and law. Registration for the daylong conference will begin at 9:30 a.m. in Pound 102. [Thu, 04 Mar 2004]
BLSA to Host 'Aggressive Advocacy' Conference: The Harvard Law School Black Law Students Association and Professor Charles J. Ogletree Jr. are hosting members of the Congressional Black Caucus at the 21st annual BLSA spring conference entitled "Aggressive Advocacy: Our Role in the Courtroom, the Corporation, and the Halls of Congress Fifty Years After Brown v. Board of Education." The three-day conference will begin on March 5. [Tue, 02 Mar 2004]
Prof. Mnookin and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Harvard Magazine profiles Professor Robert Mnookin and the Program on Negotiation's Resettling the Settlers: Laying the Foundation initiative. [Fri, 27 Feb 2004]
Spring Harvard Law Bulletin Now Online: The Spring Harvard Law Bulletin is now available online. Feature stories on Dean Elena Kagan; Professor Elizabeth Warren's new book; Harvard Law's first gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender reunion; and the law school's fundraising campaign. [Wed, 25 Feb 2004]
Harvard Law Review Elects New President: The Harvard Law Review has elected second-year student Thiru Vignarajah as its 118th president. Vignarajah was elected from a slate of ten candidates. [Mon, 23 Feb 2004]
Jesse Jackson Reflects on '84 Campaign: The Reverend Jesse Jackson Sr. speaks about his 1984 presidential campaign and analyzes the 2004 presidential race. [<a href="http://media.law.harvard.edu:8888/ramgen/saturday_school/spring_04/2004-02-16_ames_1000-0100a.rm">Opening Remarks</a> | <a href="http://media.law.harvard.edu:8888/ramgen/saturday_school/spring_04/2004-02-16_ames_1000-0100b.rm">Panel Discussion 1</a> | <a href="http://media.law.harvard.edu:8888/ramgen/saturday_school/spring_04/2004-02-16_ames_0200-0500b.rm">Panel Discussion 2 and Closing Remarks</a>] (Please note: The RealOne Player is required to view these webcasts.) [Tue, 17 Feb 2004]
Halley to Hold Workshops on Crucial Texts: Beginning today, February 12, Harvard Law School Professor Janet Halley will hold a series of workshops to reexamine notable--and often controversial--books. Entitled "Book Trouble 2004," these discussions will explore the role specific books play in the development of people's professional roles, historical crises, social alliances and social movements. [Thu, 12 Feb 2004]
Berkman Center Launches 'AudioBerkman' Project: The Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard Law School has launched a new project, AudioBerkman, which will spotlight controversial issues related to the Internet, technology and the law. With one click, listeners can hear what industry experts and decision makers have to say about the subjects that are making news in cyberspace. [Wed, 11 Feb 2004]
Pozen on Savings Plans and Social Security: Writing in the New York Times, Visiting Professor Robert Pozen argues that Congress should not approve the president's new private savings accounts proposal unless it is accompanied by Social Security reforms. [Sun, 08 Feb 2004]
HLS Clinic Files Brief for Women Seeking Asylum: The Harvard Law School Immigration and Refugee Clinic at Greater Boston Legal Services is filing a friend of the court brief this week asking the U.S. attorney general and the Department of Homeland Security to treat women refugees seeking asylum protection fairly and consistently with its own rules and precedents. The clinic is submitting the brief in the case of Rodi Alvarado, a woman who is facing deportation back to Guatemala after suffering 10 years of human rights violations by her husband from which the Guatemalan government did not protect her. The brief, endorsed by more than 100 scholars, law professors and organizations, maintains that the violence and Guatemalan government’s failure to protect is grounded in Alvarado’s gender and her status as a married woman. [Wed, 04 Feb 2004]
Student Wins Soros Justice Advocacy Fellowship: Third-year Harvard Law School student O. Grace Bankole has been selected as a 2004 Soros Justice Advocacy Fellow. The fellowship funds lawyers, advocates and organizers who initiate litigation, public education, grassroots organizing and advocacy projects that will have a measurable impact on a host of criminal justice issues. Bankole intends use the two-year fellowship to create a program, Families Empowering Families, that will provide intensive legal and advocacy training to friends and families of Louisiana’s incarcerated children. [Wed, 28 Jan 2004]
Student Group Urges Investigation of Missing Sikhs: Harvard Law Student Advocates for Human Rights, a student group that works closely with the law school’s Human Rights Program, has recently filed a friend of the court brief with the Indian National Human Rights Commission regarding the disappearance of thousands of Sikhs in Punjab by the Indian government in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The brief argues that international law requires the government to investigate thoroughly all allegations of disappearances and to accept and consider a wide variety of evidence in making its determinations. [Mon, 26 Jan 2004]
Civil Rights Project on Residential Segregation: Residential segregation in Metro Boston remains very high for African-Americans and is rising for Latinos, yet the underlying causes are complex. There are many different theories about why segregation exists. Differing abilities to afford homes and obtain mortgages, preferences and attitudes about living near someone of a different race or pioneering integration, and overt discrimination in real estate markets are much-cited factors. New evidence on each of these theories is presented in three studies to be released at a conference today. [Fri, 23 Jan 2004]
Amanda Leiter Named First Beagle Fellow: Amanda Leiter has been named the first recipient of the Beagle/Harvard Law School fellowship. A 2000 graduate of HLS, Leiter will begin her fellowship at the conclusion of her current clerkship with U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens. [Fri, 16 Jan 2004]
Faculty Submit Brief on Military Recruiting: Yesterday 54 members of the Harvard Law faculty filed a friend of the court brief in support of the Forum for Academic and Institutional Rights, the Society of American Law Teachers and other plaintiffs in their challenge to the Solomon Amendment as enforced by the Department of Defense. In 2002, the Department of Defense had threatened to withdraw federal funding from universities that did not provide access to law students by military recruiters. [Tue, 13 Jan 2004]
Tribe Submits Brief in Support of Gay Marriage: Harvard Law School Professor Laurence Tribe today submitted a friend of the court brief urging the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court to reject calls for a civil union law. The brief argues that the court's language in its recent decision in Goodridge v. Department of Public Health was unambiguous in its conclusion that state law could no longer prohibit gay marriages. Additionally, the brief contends that an advisory opinion allowing that prohibition to remain in effect but allowing "civil unions" instead would harm the court's credibility and hurt its ability to preserve the rule of law. Ninety of the nation's most distinguished constitutional scholars and legal historians signed the brief. [Mon, 12 Jan 2004]
Dershowitz on Democrats and the Jewish Community: Alan Dershowitz writes in The Forward: "But the voices of those who say the time has come for Jewish voters to end their historic alignment with the Democratic Party are growing louder and louder. They point to the steadfast friendship President Bush has shown toward Israel and his aggressive prosecution of the war against terrorism; they say that he deserves the support of Jewish voters. Some will surely agree, but I, for one, have no plans to abandon the Democrats and throw my support to President Bush." [Fri, 09 Jan 2004]
Glendon on SJC Gay Marriage Ruling: The alternative, roughly stated, is this: Reaffirm and clarify the current marriage statute to define marriage as between one man and one woman. Include within the re-enactment express legislative findings, stating clearly the rational bases for reserving the status of marriage to one man and one woman. We believe that the SJC, by its own language and the limited nature of its reasoning in Goodridge, invites just this response as an alternative to recognizing same-sex marriages. [Thu, 08 Jan 2004]