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November 09

Coates in The Financial Times: A costly lesson in the rule of ‘loser pays’

HLS Professor John Coates' article “A costly lesson in the rule of ‘loser pays’ appeared in the Nov. 1, 2009, edition of The Financial Times. On September 3, Coates joined more than 20 other corporate law and finance professors in filing an amici curiae brief in the case of Jones et al. v. Harris Associates, now pending before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Bartholet to testify before Inter-American Commission on Human Rights regarding international adoption policies

Harvard Law School Professor Elizabeth Bartholet ’65 will testify before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights on November 6 regarding the “Human Rights of Unparented Children and International Adoption Policies” in the Americas. The hearing comes after a request made by the HLS Child Advocacy Program (CAP) and the Center for Adoption Policy.
HLS wins National Criminal Justice Trial Advocacy Competition

A team of Harvard Law students won first place at the 4th National Puerto Rico Trial Advocacy Competition in San Juan. The prestigious “invitation only” competition was sponsored by the Inter-American University of Puerto Rico School of Law and was held at the Old San Juan District Courthouse Oct. 31-Nov. 1.
HLS student Jeremy Haber selected as finalist in Washington Post pundit contest

Jeremy Haber ’13, a joint J.D./M.B.A. student at Harvard Law School and Harvard Business School, has been named a finalist in the Washington Post’s “America’s Next Great Pundit” contest. Haber is one of ten finalists, selected from over 4,800 entries.
Lanni, Stephenson gain tenure, Gregory appointed assistant clinical professor of law

Adriaan Lanni and Matthew Stephenson ’03 have been promoted to tenured professorships of law at Harvard Law School, and current Lecturer on Law Michael Gregory ’04 has been appointed as an assistant clinical professor of law.
Bebchuk: Should Bondholders be Bailed Out?

A year after the United States government allowed the investment bank Lehman Brothers to fail but then bailed out AIG, and after governments around the world bailed out many other banks, key question remains: when and how should authorities rescue financial institutions?
Samuel J. Heyman ’63 [1939—2009]

Samuel J. Heyman ’63, who established the Heyman Fellowship Program at Harvard Law School to encourage graduates to pursue careers in federal service, died on November 7 in New York City. Heyman, who was also a member of the Dean’s Advisory Board, was 70.
Fried co-chairs ABA task force on lobbying regulations

Harvard Law School Professor Charles Fried will serve as one of two Republican co-chairs of a new bi-partisan ABA Administrative Law Section task force examining possible improvements to lobbying regulation. The task force will look at deficiencies in current rules governing lobbying and suggest ways to strengthen the rules.
Ramanathan named executive director of HLS’s Program on the Legal Profession

Erik D. Ramanathan ’96 was named executive director of the Harvard Law School Program on the Legal Profession and its Center on Lawyers and the Professional Services Industry. Professor David Wilkins, faculty director of the program since 1991, was recently appointed by Dean Martha Minow as the new vice dean for Global Initiatives on the Legal Profession.
International Human Rights Clinic suit against former Bolivian president and minister of defense moves forward

The U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Florida has ruled that the claims for crimes against humanity and extrajudicial killings could move forward in two related U.S. cases against former Bolivian President Gonzalo Daniel Sánchez de Lozada Sánchez Bustamante (Sánchez de Lozada) and former Bolivian Defense Minister Jose Carlos Sánchez Berzaín (Sánchez Berzaín). The International Human Rights Clinic at Harvard Law School is part of the legal team that filed the two complaints against Sánchez de Lozada and Sánchez Berzaín.
American Constitution Society hosts “The Constitution in 2020”

On Nov. 4, the American Constitution Society of HLS sponsored “The Constitution in 2020,” a panel discussion featuring Professors Yochai Benkler ’94, Frank Michelman’60, Mark Tushnet, and Noah Feldman, all contributors to a recently published book of the same name. The book’s goal is to contest the conservative idea that constitutional law should not be influenced by contemporary understandings of law and the political landscape.
Shugerman receives Cromwell Prize for outstanding article in legal history

Harvard Law School Assistant Professor Jed Shugerman has received the prestigious American Society for Legal History Cromwell Prize for his Ph.D. dissertation, “The People’s Courts: The Rise of Judicial Elections and Judicial Power in America.” The award was presented at the Society’s annual conference this past weekend.
Sitkoff Reappointed to Uniform Law Commission

Harvard Law School Professor Robert Sitkoff has been reappointed to serve a new five-year term on the Uniform Law Commission by Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick. Sitkoff is one of three commissioners representing the Commonwealth. He has served as an interim commissioner since March of 2008.
Anker named 2009 Woman of Justice

Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, the Massachusetts Association of Women Lawyers and the Women’s Bar Association have recognized Professor Deborah Anker, LL.M. ’84, one of the world’s leading scholars and practitioners of immigration law, as a 2009 Woman of Justice.
Kennedy co-chairs China task force

HLS Professor David Kennedy ’80, Faculty Director of the new Institute for Global Law and Policy at Harvard Law School, co-chaired a major conference on financial regulation in China on October 29 and 30, at Peking University in Beijing.
Minow honored by Massachusetts Advocates for Children

Harvard Law School Dean Martha Minow was honored at the 40^th Anniversary Celebration of the Massachusetts Advocates for Children (MAC) on November 13, along with Marian Wright Edelman, president of the Children’s Defense Fund, and the late Senator Edward Kennedy.
Goldsmith in Washington Post: Holder’s Reasonable Decision

Reasonable minds can disagree about Attorney General Eric Holder's decision to prosecute Khalid Sheik Mohammed and four other alleged Sept. 11 perpetrators in a Manhattan federal court. But some prominent criticisms are exaggerated, and others place undue faith in military commissions as an alternative to civilian trials.Gold
Sitkoff in WSJ on Cadbury-Hershey

Milton Hershey had no children so he said he would make the “orphan boys of the United States” his heirs.
To that end, the chocolatier founded the Milton Hershey School, which today serves 1,700 underprivileged children and has an endowment of $6.2 billion. In 2005, Hershey had the nation’s fifth largest endowment, which was about half the size of Princeton’s and Stanford’s but larger than that of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Gotbaum nominated as director of Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp.

President Barack Obama ’91 has nominated Joshua Gotbaum ’78 to head the U.S. Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. This government-sponsored corporation is responsible for financially backing up the pensions of more than 44 million Americans.
Scott: Foreign suits reward plaintiffs that discriminate against U.S. firms

This year's outbreak of the H1N1 influenza has demonstrated that contagions know few boundaries and spread wherever they can find an available host. Likewise, because of their broad jurisdictional rules, U.S. courts can be easy targets for "forum shopping" by foreign plaintiffs seeking redress against American companies for torts they claim have taken place abroad.
Giving thanks to those who serve, Harvard Law students serve a Thanksgiving meal

An estimated 400 Harvard Law School students, faculty and staff gathered in Pound Hall for a “Thanksgiving for the Troops” on November 18, raising money and collecting items for soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.