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March 2009

Minow in Boston Globe: Keeping stimulus spending in check

The following op-ed, “Keeping stimulus spending in check,” by HLS Professor Martha Minow appeared in the March 1, 2009, edition of The Boston Globe.
Scott and Maxwell Jenkins ’11: The US Treasury is a public, not a private, investor

HLS Professor Hal S. Scott and Maxwell Jenkins ’11 co-wrote the following op-ed, “The US Treasury is a public, not a private, investor,” that appeared in the March 2, 2009, edition of the Financial Times.
Berkman Center launches crowd-sourcing tool for mapping global site inaccessibility

The Berkman Center for Internet & Society has launched Herdict Web, which allows users to report site inaccessibility around the world. The website aggregates reports in real time, so that users can see whether inaccessibility is a shared problem. Trends can be viewed over time, by site and by country.
Nancy-Ann DeParle ’83 and Jeremy Bash ’98 join Obama administration

Two more HLS alumni have been named to high-level posts in the Obama Administration. Nancy-Ann DeParle ’83 has been appointed director of the White House Office for Health Reform, and Jeremy Bash ’98 will be CIA Director Leon Panetta’s chief of staff.
Palfrey and Gasser Win Library Journal Prize

Born Digital, a book by HLS Professor John Palfrey ’01 and Urs Gasser L.L.M. ’03, executive director of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society, was named a Best Science and Technology Book of 2008 by the Library Journal, in March.
Benkler in The New Republic: On the effects of media diversification and competition

HLS Professor Yochai Benkler ’94 wrote “Correspondence: A New Era of Corruption?,” in The New Republic online on March 4. The piece— on the effects of media diversification and competition on the traditional model of regional newspapers and democracy—was a response to an article by Paul Starr, “Goodbye to the Age of Newpapers (Hello to a New Era of Corruption.”
Greenwald receives HLS Lambda Leadership Award

Robert Greenwald received the HLS Lambda Leadership Award on February 28 at the organization’s annual conference on legal advocacy issues for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. Greenwald is a lecturer on law and is the director of the health law clinic and the LGBT family law clinic at the WilmerHale Legal Services Center.
Kayyem appointed to post in Department of Homeland Security

Juliette Kayyem ’95 will be assistant secretary for intergovernmental programs in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Secretary Janet Napolitano announced today. In her new role, Kayyem will coordinate the department’s efforts with state, local, tribal, and territorial governments.
Palfrey on Ars Technica: On the future of online obscenity and social networks

On March 6, HLS Professor John Palfrey ’01, vice dean, library and information resources at HLS, and Adam Thierer, a senior fellow at The Progress & Freedom Foundation and director of its Center for Digital Media Freedom, participated in an online debate on Ars Technica on the Communications Decency Act and whether ISPs and social networking sites should be more liable for the things their users post. The debate, The Future of online obscenity and social networks, is included below.
Responsibility to Protect Takes Center Stage

The Harvard Human Rights Journal brought leading scholars and practitioners to campus on February 20 for a symposium on the doctrine known as Responsibility to Protect (R2P).
Senate takes up Warren's proposed Financial Product Safety Commission

Harvard Law School Professor Elizabeth Warren was on hand in Washington, D.C. this week as U.S. senators introduced legislation to create a new government agency, the Financial Product Safety Commission, to help consumers obtain financial products and services without predatory or deceptive financial practices.
Renovated interior at HLS receives highest rating for environmentally friendly design

A recently renovated office suite at Harvard Law School has been awarded a platinum rating—the highest possible certification—under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building rating system for commercial interiors.
HLS team reaches semifinals of environmental law moot court competition

A team of Harvard Law School students advanced to the semifinals of the National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition held in February at Pace Law School in Albany, NY. The team was comprised of Ed Roggenkamp ’09, Kim Smaczniak ’09, and Rachel Evans ’10.
International Law Journal hosts symposium on ‘The International Lawyer's Guide to Development’

On Friday, March 6, the Harvard International Law Journal brought together business and nonprofit leaders and academics from a wide range of international legal practices for a conference on “The International Lawyer’s Guide to Development: Current Problems, Future Solutions.”
Berkman Center launches new website on media trends

The Berkman Center for Internet & Society launched a new Web site called ‘Media Cloud’ in conjunction with Thomson Reuters in July. The goal of Media Cloud is to provide a new search tool that illustrates the nature of news and how information flows between blogs and more traditional news outlets like newspapers.
Strossen, Rosenfeld debate the regulation of pornography

HLS Lecturer Diane Rosenfeld ’96 and New York Law School Professor Nadine Strossen ’75 debated the question “Should Pornography Be Regulated?” in a packed Ames Courtroom on March 10.
Obama names three more alumni to key posts

President Obama has named three more Harvard Law School graduates to new posts. Tom Perez ’78 has been nominated to be assistant attorney general in charge of the civil rights division in the Department of Justice; Demetrios Marantis ’93 has been nominated to become deputy U.S. trade representative; and Emily Hewitt ’78 has been nominated to become the new chief judge on the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.
At HLS, a conference on the free market mindset

On Saturday, March 7, Harvard Law School’s Program on Law and Mind Sciences held its third annual conference, “The Free Market Mindset: History, Psychology and Consequences.”
Fried discusses AIG’s contractual obligations to employees in the NYT

The following is excerpted from a March 17, 2009, post entitled, “When Bonus Contracts Can be Broken,” which appeared on the New York Times Blog, “Room for Debate: A Running Commentary on the News.”
Berkman Center launches new website to help fight viruses, spyware

StopBadware.org, a project sponsored by the Berkman Center for Internet and Society, and Consumer Reports WebWatch announced today the full launch of BadwareBusters.org, a new online community for people looking for help preventing and countering viruses, spyware, and other “badware” on their computers and web sites.
Feldman in NYT: A Prison of Words

Has the Obama administration changed the legal rules for detaining suspects in the war on terrorism, or is it continuing in the footsteps of the Bush administration? HLS Professor Noah Feldman explores the question in an op-ed, “A Prison of Words,” that appeared in the March 19 edition of The New York Times.
Scott Blake Harris ’76 will be general counsel at U.S. DOE

Scott Blake Harris ’76, managing partner of Harris, Wiltshire & Grannis in Washington, D.C., has been nominated by President Barack Obama ’91 to be general counsel at the U.S. Department of Energy.
Bebchuk in WSJ: AIG still isn’t too big to fail

The following op-ed, “AIG still isn’t too big to fail,” by HLS Professor Lucian A. Bebchuk, director of the corporate governance program at HLS, appeared in the March 20 issue of The Wall Street Journal. This op-ed is based on his forthcoming paper, “Is AIG Too Big To Fail?”
Glendon to receive Laetare Medal from Notre Dame

LS Professor Mary Ann Glendon, former U.S. ambassador to the Vatican, will be honored by the University of Notre Dame with its Laetare Medal.
Brian Aune ’10 and Jennifer Dein ’11 win student elections

Brian T. Aune ’10 and Jennifer D. Dein ’11 won the top two spots in the HLS 2009-2010 student government elections held on March 18 and 19. Aune was elected president and Dein was elected vice-president.
Warren on Dateline: A look inside the financial fiasco

On March 22, HLS Professor Elizabeth Warren appeared on NBC’s Dateline in a three-part investigative series “Inside the Financial Fiasco,” on how risky home loans helped cause a chain reaction that led to failures on Wall Street and the near collapse of the American economy.
Koh named State Department legal adviser; Stith will be acting dean of Yale Law

Dean of Yale Law School Harold Hongju Koh ’80 has been named legal adviser of the U.S. Department of State, President Barack Obama ’91 has announced. Kate Stith ’77 has been appointed acting dean of Yale Law School.
Levey named undersecretary of the Treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence

President Barack Obama ’91 has reappointed Stuart A. Levey ‘89 as undersecretary of the Treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence.
HLS establishes the Morris L. Cohen Fellowship in American Legal Bibliography and History

The Harvard Law School Library has announced the creation of the Morris L. Cohen Fellowship in American Legal Bibliography and History.
Torino gathering addresses challenges to U.S.-EU markets

Leaders from the financial sectors of Europe and United States have gathered in Torino, Italy, this week to examine issues affecting their financial markets.
Kanovsky ’76 nominated as HUD general counsel

President Barack Obama ’91 has nominated Helen R. Kanovsky ’76 as general counsel, Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Bebchuk in Washington Post: A fix for Geithner’s plan

The following op-ed by Harvard Law School Professor Lucian Bebchuk LL.M. ’80 S.J.D. ’84, “A fix for Geithner’s plan,” appeared in the March 31, 2009, edition of the Washington Post.
Sitkoff delivers Trachtman Lecture to American College of Trust and Estate Counsel

Robert Sitkoff, John L. Gray Professor of Law at HLS, gave this year’s Joseph Trachtman Memorial Lecture at the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel in Los Angeles in March.