HLS News 2010

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  Lanni on Reconciliation after Mass Atrocity: Lessons from Ancient Athens

  On Dec. 14, Harvard Law School Professor Adriaan Lanni gave the annual Kyriakos Tsakopoulos Lecture on Aristotle and the Moderns at Columbia University. The title of the talk was “Reconciliation after Mass Atrocity: Lessons from Ancient Athens.”

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  Machen nominated to serve as U.S. Attorney for D.C.

  On December 24, President Barack Obama ’91 nominated Ronald Machen ’94 to serve as U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, pending confirmation by the Senate. Currently a partner at Wilmer Hale in Washington, D.C., Machen devotes his practice to complex civil litigation, white-collar criminal defense, and internal corporate investigations.

• 

  Obama names Hauser and Campos to Intelligence Advisory Board

  President Barack Obama ’91 has appointed Rita Hauser ’58 and Roel Campos ’79 to serve on the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board (PIAB). As members of the PIAB, Hauser and Campos will provide the President with independent advice on the effectiveness of the U.S. intelligence community.

• 

  Lessig receives honorary doctorate from University of Amsterdam

  Harvard Law School Professor Lawrence Lessig received an honorary doctorate from the University of Amsterdam on January 8 for his well-known efforts to foster informational and cultural liberty on the Internet.

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  Soap Opera Stars Get Assist from HLS Negotiation and Mediation Clinic

  With the future of television soap operas looking grim, a group of actors participated in a day-long training with HLS’s Negotiation and Mediation Clinic to learn negotiation skills for dealing with networks during tough economic times and a changing daytime TV industry.

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  Stern in the Washington Post: Myths about terrorists

  “Five myths about who becomes a terrorist,” was written by HLS Lecturer Jessica Stern, the Academic Director of the Program on Terrorism and the Law at HLS. The op-ed appeared in the Jan. 10, 2010 edition of the Washington Post. 

• 

  The Green Bag honors HLS faculty and alumni for exemplary writing

  The Green Bag, a quarterly journal devoted to readable, concise, and entertaining legal scholarship, has named a number of HLS faculty members and alumni to its “Exemplary Legal Writing 2009” list.

• 

  Dispatches from Port-au-Prince: Pooja Bhatia '06

  “Haiti’s Angry God,” an op-ed by Pooja Bhatia ’06, appeared in the Jan. 14 edition of the New York Times. Bhatia is currently living in Port-au-Prince as a fellow at the Institute of Current World Affairs. A former Wall Street Journal reporter, Bhatia is also filing reports and was interviewed by The Wall Street Journal.

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  Zittrain in the New York Times: On Internet censorship and what web sites can do

  On Jan. 15, The New York Times included commentary by HLS Professor Jonathan Zittrain ’95 on “What web sites can do” in the wake of Google’s recent announcement that it would no longer censor search results in China.

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  President Obama taps Walter C. Jones ’88 for African Development Bank post

  President Barack Obama ’91 has appointed another HLS alumnus to a key post in his administration.  Walter Crawford Jones ’88 will serve as the United States executive director of the African Development Bank.

• 

  WEBCAST: Bebchuk testifies before House Financial Services Committee

  HLS Professor Lucian Bebchuk testified before House Financial Services Committee at a hearing entitled “Compensation in the Financial Industry,” on Friday, Jan. 22.

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  Bartholet on NPR and France 24 (video): On Haitian Orphans

  The op-ed “Amid Disaster, Haitian Orphans Find Homes,” co-written by HLS Professor Elizabeth Bartholet ’65 and Paulo Barrozo S.J.D. ’09, an assistant professor of law at Boston College, appeared Jan. 21, 2010 on NPR.org. Bartholet was also interviewed on France 24's International News  Program.

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  Petrie-Flom Center brings pharmaceutical executives and academics together at clinical trials summit

  On January 19, Harvard Law School Assistant Professor Glenn Cohen welcomed participants to the Multi-Regional Clinical Trials Industry Summit at Harvard.

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  Corporate consequences of the Supreme Court’s speech decision last week: an op-ed by Mark Roe

  Professor Mark Roe assesses the Supreme Court's decision (in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission) permitting more corporate spending for and against political candidates. The decision, says Roe, may ultimately be bad for the economy.

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  Bebchuk in Project Syndicate: The CEO Pay Slice

  “The CEO Pay Slice,”  an op-ed co-written by HLS Professor Lucian Bebchuk, appeared in Project Syndicate on January 18, 2010.

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  Robert D. Joffe ’67 (1943 – 2010)

  Robert D. Joffe ’67, former presiding partner of Cravath, Swaine & Moore and an active member of the HLS alumni community, died Thursday, Jan. 28.  He was 66.

• 

  Lucy Koh ’93 nominated to serve as federal district court judge

  Lucy Koh ’93 has been nominated by President Obama on to serve on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

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  Goldsmith in Washington Post: Can we stop the global cyber arms race?

  “Can we stop the global cyber arms race?,” an op-ed by Harvard Law School Professor Jack Goldsmith, appeared in the February 1, 2010, edition of the Washington Post.

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  Nanda in The American Lawyer: History Rhymes

  “History Rhymes,” an article by Harvard Law School Professor of Practice Ashish Nanda, appeared in the January 29, 2010, edition of The American Lawyer.

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  Bartholet in the NYT: Put children’s safety first

  “Put children’s safety first,” an op-ed by Harvard Law School Professor Elizabeth Bartholet ’65 about the adoption crisis in the wake of the Haiti earthquake, appeared in the Feb. 1 edition of the New York Times Room for Debate Blog.

• 

  Tribe testifies before House subcommittee about the future of campaign finance reform

  Constitutional expert and Harvard Law School Professor Laurence Tribe ’66 testified before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties today regarding the future of the First Amendment and campaign finance reform in the wake of the Citizens United case.

• 

  Greenwald appointed to the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS

  Robert Greenwald, lecturer on law and director of the health law clinic and the LGBT family law clinic at the WilmerHale Legal Services Center, was appointed to the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA).

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  Zittrain in FT: A fight over freedom at Apple’s core

  “A fight over freedom at Apple’s core,” an op-ed written by Harvard Law School Professor Jonathan Zittrain ’95, appeared in the February 3, 2010 edition of The Financial Times.

• 

  Scott testifies before Senate Banking Committee regarding Volcker Rules

  Harvard Law School Professor Hal Scott testified before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs on February 4 regarding the Volcker Rules, which aim to address some failings in the financial regulatory structure brought to light by the recent financial crisis.

• 

  Schauf elected president of the Harvard Law Review

  Zachary Schauf ’11 was elected the 124^th president of the Harvard Law Review on January 30. He succeeds Joanna Huey ’10.

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  Lessig in The New Republic: Google, copyright and our future

  HLS Professor Lawrence Lessig wrote about Google, copyright and our future in an op-ed “For the Love of Culture” that appeared in the Jan. 26, 2010, edition of The New Republic. He is faculty director of the Edmond J. Safra Foundation Center for Ethics. His latest book, “Remix,” was published in paperback in 2008.

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  Souter to speak at 359th Harvard Commencement

  David H. Souter ’66, a native New Englander and Harvard alumnus who served nearly two decades on the U.S. Supreme Court before stepping down in 2009, will be the principal speaker at the Afternoon Exercises of Harvard’s 359th Commencement.

• 

  Klarman and Mack on race and the Supreme Court

  Harvard Law School Professors Michael Klarman and Kenneth Mack ’91 both participated in the SCOTUS Blog’s commentary on Race and the Supreme Court. The Blog’s program is in celebration of Black History Month.

• 

  Warren in the WSJ: Wall Street’s race to the bottom

  In an op-ed, “Wall Street’s race to the bottom,” that appeared in the Feb. 9, 2010, edition of the Wall Street Journal, Harvard Law School Professor Elizabeth Warren makes the case for the proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency. Warren is the chair of the TARP Congressional Oversight Panel.

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  Harvard Law School launches new Public Service Venture Fund

  Harvard Law School today announced the creation of the Public Service Venture Fund, which will start by awarding $1 million in grants every year to help graduating J.D. students pursue careers in public service.

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  Goldsmith in The New Republic: The accountable presidency

  In an essay in the Feb. 1, 2010, edition of The New Republic, “The accountable presidency,” HLS Professor Jack Goldsmith reviews two recent books on the presidency of George W. Bush: “Crisis and Command: A History of Executive Power from George Washington to George W. Bush,” by John Yoo, and “Bomb Power: The Modern Presidency and the National Security State,” by Garry Wills. Goldsmith, who served as an assistant attorney general in the Bush administration, is the author of “The Terror Presidency.”

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  Harvard Black Law Students Association sweeps Northeastern Regional Trial Advocacy Competition

  In January, two teams of Harvard Law School students won first place and second place at the Northeastern Regional BLSA Trial Advocacy Competition. The prestigious competition was held over three days, in Syracuse, N.Y. This is Harvard’s second consecutive year winning first place at the competition.

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  International Human Rights Clinic files Supreme Court amicus brief on behalf of Somali torture survivor

  The HLS International Human Rights Clinic (IHRC), under the direction of Clinical Director Tyler Giannini and Lecturer on Law Susan Farbstein, recently filed an amicus curiae brief in the U.S. Supreme Court case Samantar v. Yousuf. 

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  Former South African Justice Albie Sachs looks back at the strange alchemy of life and law

  He survived repeat imprisonment, a car bombing that resulted in the loss of his arm, and vision in one eye, but through it all, Albie Sachs counts himself lucky to have played a pivotal role in his country’s history.

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  Lessig in The Nation: How to get our democracy back

  In an essay, “How to get our democracy back,” that appeared in the Feb. 3, 2010, edition of in The Nation, Professor Lawrence Lessig argues that if Americans want to change, they have to change Congress.

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  Robert Anderson, expert in federal Indian law, appointed Visiting Professor at Harvard Law School for five-year term

  Robert Anderson, associate professor of law and Director of the University of Washington School of Law’s Native American Law Center, will be the Oneida Nation Visiting Professor of Law at Harvard Law School for five years, a term that begins in the fall of 2010.

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  Mnookin in Foreign Policy: Bargaining with the devil

  An op-ed by Harvard Law School Professor Robert Mnookin, “Bargaining with the devil,” appeared in the February 17, 2010, edition of Foreign Policy magazine.

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  At immigration law conference, participants discuss localization and enforcement

  “Localization of Immigration Law” was the subject of a Feb. 5 HLS symposium featuring speakers who took divergent views on the current American immigration enforcement scheme and its reliance on state and local law enforcement.

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  Jody Freeman to return in March after serving in the White House

  Professor Jody Freeman will return to the Harvard Law School faculty in March 2010, after serving in the White House as Counselor for Energy and Climate Change since January, 2009.

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  Scott named co-chair of new Council on Global Financial Regulation

  Harvard Law School Professor Hal Scott has been named co-chair of the newly-organized Council on Global Financial Regulation.

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  Cluster Munitions Ban to Enter Into Force

  For five years, Harvard Law School’s International Human Rights Clinic, in collaboration with Human Rights Watch, has advocated for the development and implementation of the Convention on Cluster Munitions. On Feb. 16, ratifications of the Convention by Burkina Faso and Moldova triggered the treaty’s entry into force.

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  Tribe named Senior Counselor for Access to Justice

  Professor Laurence Tribe ’66 has been named Senior Counselor for Access to Justice in the Department of Justice, and he will lead a newly launched initiative aimed at improving access to civil and criminal legal services.

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  Bebchuk: Corporate political speech is bad for shareholders

  “Corporate political speech is bad for shareholders,” an op-ed by HLS Professor Lucian Bebchuk LL.M ’80 S.J.D. ’84, is the latest installment of his monthly column in Project Syndicate.

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  Vermeule in The New Republic: States of Detention

  Harvard law School Professor Adrian Vermeule ’93 wrote the book review “States of Detention,” which appeared in The New Republic on March 1, 2010. 

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  Ralph Nader and Bruce Fein unite to call for eye on government

  Former presidential candidate and consumer advocate Ralph Nader ’58 and former Deputy Attorney General and FCC General Counsel Bruce Fein ’72 come from somewhat different places ideologically, but both agree that lax oversight has allowed government to run amok.

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  Three HLS Students Recognized for Outstanding Writing

  Harvard Law School has awarded prizes for outstanding written work to Cassandra Barnum ’10, Jonathan Bressler ’10 and Ryan Park ’10.

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  Faculty Scholarship: Cohen on Medical Tourism and the Patient Protective-Argument

  Professor I. Glenn Cohen ’03, co-director of the Petrie-Flom Center, has written a working paper titled “Protecting Patients with Passports: Medical Tourism and the Patient Protective-Argument.” The working paper examines the growth of “medical tourism” – travel of patients who are residents of one country to another country for medical treatment. 

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  Citizen Media Law Project and Cyberlaw Clinic File Amicus Brief in Illinois SLAPP-suit matter

  The Citizen Media Law Project, joined by the Public Participation Project, the Online News Association, and the Chicago Current, submitted an amicus curiae brief to the Illinois Supreme Court this week, urging the Court to reject two lower courts’ narrow interpretations of the state’s Anti-SLAPP statute.

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  Committee on Capital Markets Regulation proposes Fed-regulated clearinghouses to reduce systemic risk

  “Meaningful financial regulatory reform depends on reducing the risks posed by over-the-counter derivatives,” said Harvard Law School Professor Hal Scott, president and director of the Committee on Capital Markets Regulation (CCMR). In a 28-page letter dated Mar. 4, the committee advocated for increased oversight of derivatives by the Federal Reserve.

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  Minow will deliver lectures at Notre Dame and Yale Law

  This month, Harvard Law School Dean Martha Minow, the Jeremiah Smith, Jr. Professor, will deliver the 16th annual Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh Lecture in Ethics and Public Policy at the University of Notre Dame  and the Robert M. Cover Lecture in Law and Religion at Yale Law School.

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  Dershowitz in NYT: Representing the despised

  In today’s New York Times, Alan M. Dershowitz, the Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, contributed a post, “Representing the Despised,” in response to the recent release of a video by a conservative advocacy organization, Keep America Safe, which takes aim at lawyers who have represented Guantánamo detainees and are now working in the Justice Department.Dershowitz’s post is one of four commentaries that appeared as part of the Times’ Room for Debate blog post “Attacking Lawyers from the Right and Left.” Dershowitz is the author of many books, including, “Rights from Wrongs: A Secular Theory of the Origins of Rights.”

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  At HLS, Perrelli details DOJ efforts to stop violence against women

  On March 8, Associate Attorney General Tom Perrelli ’91 returned to Harvard Law School to discuss the Department of Justice’s new violence against women initiative. Perrelli’s visit  marked the first stop on a month-long college campus tour sponsored by DOJ.

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  Faculty scholarship: Vermeule on Intermittent Institutions

  Professor Adrian Vermeule ‘93 recently published “Intermittent Institutions” as part of the Harvard Law School Public Law and Legal Theory Working Papers series. 

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  Bordone: health care reform negotiation process has been flawed (video)

  Negotiations between the White House and Congressional leaders of both parties have been undermined by mistakes that could have been avoided by using a better negotiation process, says Robert Bordone, Clinical Professor of Law and Director of the Harvard Negotiation and Mediation Clinical Program at Harvard Law School.

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  Harvard Law Faculty Lead SSRN Rankings

  Harvard Law School’s faculty earned the top ranking for the number of academic papers authored and downloaded on the Social Science Research Network (SSRN), according to cumulative statistics recently released for 2009.

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  Grainne de Burca, noted scholar in EU law and transnational governance, will join HLS faculty

  Grainne de Burca, a leading expert in European Union law, European human rights law, and European and transnational governance, will join the Harvard Law School faculty as a tenured professor of law on July 1.

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  Fried op-ed: What Liz Cheney doesn’t get about lawyers

  HLS Professor and former Solicitor General ('85-'89) Charles Fried co-wrote an op-ed “What Liz doesn’t get about lawyers,” with Gregory Fried, chairman of the philosophy department at Suffolk University. Their op-ed, which appeared March 15, 2010, on The Daily Beast, criticizes Liz Cheney’s group, Keep America Safe, for unfairly attacking the lawyers who have defended terrorists. 

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  Minow, four other law school deans urge Armed Services Committees to support ending "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy

  Harvard Law School Dean Martha Minow and four other law school deans have urged key lawmakers on Capitol Hill to end the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. “The effects of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ are marginalization, exclusion, and denigration,” wrote the law school deans in a March 18 letter to the Armed Services committees in the House and Senate.

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  A small act, multiplied (video)

  As an impoverished youth in Kenya, Chris Mburu LL.M.’93 was threatened with expulsion from his primary school because he couldn’t afford the fees. A woman named Hilde Back decided to help, and wrote a check for $15 dollars to sponsor the Kenyan student for one term. Little did she know just how much Mburu’s life would be changed.

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  Q&A with Chris Mburu LL.M. ’93 on the film “A Small Act”

  Chris Mburu LL.M. 93 is the subject of a new documentary, “A Small Act,” which chronicles his search for a benefactor, Hilde Back, whose sponsorship allowed him to remain in school in Kenya. The film follows Mburu as he embarks on a mission to reciprocate her philanthropy with a scholarship fund of his own.

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  Minow, Levi confirmed to board of Legal Services Corporation

  The U.S. Senate confirmed Harvard Law School Dean Martha Minow’s appointment to the board of the Legal Services Corporation, a bi-partisan, government-sponsored organization that provides civil legal assistance to low-income Americans, today. Minow was joined by five other nominees in the confirmation by Executive Session, including John Levi '72 LL.M. '73.

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  Goldsmith in Washington Post on the trials of the 9-11 conspirators

  The op-ed “The best trial option for KSM: Nothing” was co-written by HLS Professor Jack Goldsmith, a former assistant attorney general in the Bush Administration, and Benjamin Wittes, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. Their op-ed appeared in the March 19, 2010, edition of the Washington Post.

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  Benkler in NYT: Ending the Internet’s trench warfare

  HLS Professor Yochai Benkler ’94 wrote “Ending the Internet’s trench warfare,” an op-ed that appeared in The New York Times on March 21, 2010. Last summer, Benkler, the Berkman Professor of Entrepreneurial Legal Studies at Harvard and faculty co-director of the Berkman Center, conducted a major independent review of existing literature and studies about broadband deployment and usage throughout the world, following a request by the Federal Communications Commission.

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  Harvard Law School Program on the Legal Profession partners with Danish law firm Plesner

  Harvard Law School’s Program on the Legal Profession (PLP) and leading European law firm Plesner announced a strategic collaboration today. Plesner will become the first European affiliate and supporter of PLP’s Center on Lawyers and the Professional Services Industry, which conducts and sponsors empirical research on the central questions facing the legal services industry.

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  Dershowitz in WSJ: Obama’s legacy and the Iranian bomb

  The following op-ed by HLS Professor Alan Dershowitz, “Obama’s legacy and the Iranian bomb,” appeared in the March 23, 2010, edition of the Wall Street Journal.

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  Faculty scholarship: Sachs on enabling employee choice

  The Harvard Law Review published “Enabling Employee Choice: A Structural Approach to the Rules of Union Organizing,” by Professor Benjamin Sachs on January 19, 2010.

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  Bebchuk, Cohen, and Spamann in Project Syndicate: Paid to fail

  "Paid to Fail," an op-ed co-written by HLS Professor Lucian Bebchuk LL.M. ’80 S.J.D. ’84, Visiting Professor Alma Cohen, and Lecturer on Law Holger Spamann S.J.D. ’09 appeared in Project Syndicate on March 18, 2010. It is the latest installment of Professor Bebchuk's monthly column for the syndicate.

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  Mack in the Boston Globe: A measure of history

  "A measure of history," an op-ed by Professor Kenneth Mack '91, appeared in the Mar. 25 issue of the Boston Globe.

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  CCMR Report: Competitiveness of U.S. public equity markets improved slightly in ’09

  The Committee on Capital Markets Regulation, an independent and nonpartisan research organization dedicated to improving the regulation and enhancing the competitiveness of U.S. capital markets, said today that year-end 2009 data presents evidence of mild improvement in the competitiveness of U.S. public equity markets.

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  HLS's Houston Institute files amicus brief in school-to-prison pipeline case

  The HLS Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice recently filed, along with a host of other organizations, an amicus curiae brief in the North Carolina Supreme Court on a school-to-prison pipeline case. 

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  Goldsmith and Lessig in Post: Anti-counterfeiting agreement raises constitutional concerns

  HLS Professors Jack Goldsmith and Lawrence Lessig  co-wrote “Anti-counterfeiting agreement raises constitutional concerns,” an op-ed that appeared in the March 26 edition of the Washington Post. Goldsmith is co-author of "Who Controls the Internet?" Lessig is the author of "Remix: Making Art and Commerce Thrive in the Hybrid Economy."

• 

  Minow delivers 2010 Hesburgh lecture at Notre Dame (video)

  The 16^th annual Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C., lecture in Ethics and Public Policy was delivered by HLS Dean Martha Minow at Notre Dame University on March 16^th. Her talk focused on education as a tool in preventing violent conflict, as well as the role of the International Criminal Court in jumpstarting and promoting education as a tool in fostering coexistence and peace.  

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  HLS cited for impact on corporate governance

  HLS’s Program on Corporate Governance—and many individuals affiliated with HLS—are among the most influential leaders in the study of corporate governance, according to a recent review by Directorship magazine. Thirty-four HLS-affiliates made the Directorship 100 list – an annual list of the 100 most influential directors, professors, regulators, politicians, and advisers who have made a lasting impact on corporate governance.

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  Annette Gordon-Reed awarded National Humanities Medal (video)

  Annette Gordon-Reed ’84 was awarded the National Humanities Medal in February for her significant and innovative research on Thomas Jefferson’s slaves and the life of Sally Hemings, and for illuminating a chapter in American history that had previously been given little recognition.

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  HLS garners top awards at Massachusetts' 1st annual Legal Food Frenzy

  In a contest that put law schools, law firms and other legal organizations in competition with one another to collect food and funds for the Greater Boston Food Bank, Harvard Law School won top honors among law schools by collecting a combination of food and monetary donations, totally the equivalent of 21,728 pounds in donations. Approximately 16,714 meals will be served with HLS's donation. 

• 

  Ten from Harvard Law School named "The Decade’s Most Influential Lawyers"

  The National Law Journal released this week the names of attorneys they’ve identified as “The Decade’s Most Influential Lawyers.” Ten of the 40 attorneys selected for the list hail from HLS.

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  The greening of the Law School

  Every unit, division, and School at Harvard is in a race to meet a pledge: Reduce greenhouse gas emissions 30 percent by 2016, with 2006 as the baseline year. Harvard Law School is gaining ground on its goal. Buildings on its campus now use about 22 percent less energy than four years ago. The result is a 15 percent drop in greenhouse gas emissions between fiscal year 2006 and fiscal year 2009.

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  At HLS symposium, Harold Koh '80 discusses international dispute resolution

  Harvard Law School students interested in international law had an opportunity to hear a diverse array of speakers with first-hand experience at the 2010 Harvard International Law Journal Symposium Friday, April 2.

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  Sports law symposium brings officials from NFL, NBA and MLB to HLS (video)

  As the three most popular sports leagues in the United States all confront the end of their collective bargaining agreements in 2011, industry representatives previewed the key issues affecting negotiation, during the second annual Sports and the Law Symposium held on March 26.

• 

  Levi, Minow elected Chair and Vice Chair of Legal Services Corporation

  Harvard Law School Dean Martha Minow, John Levi ’72 LL.M. ’73, and four other presidential appointees to the Legal Services Corporation’s Board of Directors were sworn in to office on April 7. At the LSC’s inaugural Board meeting, the members elected Levi, a partner in the Chicago office of Sidley Austin, as chairman, and Minow as vice chair.

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  Lawrence Lessig and Mark McKinnon: How to sober up Washington

  "How to sober up Washington," an op-ed co-written by HLS Professor Lawrence Lessig and Daily Beast contributor Mark McKinnon, appeared in the Apr. 6 edition of the online publication. 

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  At HLS, Gawande discusses effects of long-term solitary confinement

  Solitary confinement in federal prisons is detrimental to the human brain and to the overall health of prisoners: This was the assessment of Dr. Atul Gawande, a surgeon at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and associate professor at Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Public Health.

• 

  Lecturer William Lee elected to Harvard Corporation

  William F. Lee, a Boston-based intellectual property expert and Eli Goldston Lecturer on Law at HLS this winter term, has been elected to become the newest member of the Harvard Corporation, the University announced on Apr. 11.

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  Mark Wu, expert in international trade and intellectual property law, to join HLS faculty

  Mark Wu will join the Harvard Law School faculty in July, Harvard Law School Dean Martha Minow announced today. With broad-ranging experience in international intellectual property and trade, his academic interests include international trade, international law, intellectual property law, and Chinese law.

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  Jason Iuliano ’11 publishes articles in the West Virginia Law Review and the Journal of Food Law and Policy

  Jason Iuliano ’11 will have two articles published in forthcoming editions of the Journal of Food Law and Policy and the West Virginia Law Review. Students rarely have articles published in law reviews and journals though they regularly contribute brief notes; Iuliano’s dual contribution is exceptionally notable.

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  'War Don Don,' a film by Rebecca Cohen '07, to play at Boston Independent Film Festival

  "War Don Don," a film directed Rebecca Richman Cohen '07, will be shown at this year’s Independent Film Festival in Boston on April 24 at 2:30 p.m. at the Somerville Theater. The film examines the aftermath of the civil war in Sierra Leone and how the international justice system tries to address the atrocities that were committed, documenting the trial of Issa Sesay, a former rebel leader who eventually played a role in the peace negotiations.

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  In NYT and on NPR, Bartholet assesses the fallout from the Russian adoptee controversy (audio)

  "Suspending Adoption Is Not the Answer," an op-ed by HLS Professor Elizabeth Bartholet, faculty director of the Child Advocacy Program (CAP) at Harvard Law School, was published in the New York Times 'Room for Debate' blog on Apr. 15. Bartholet also appeared on NPR's 'On Point with Tom Ashbrook' to discuss the increased scrutiny on international adoption in light of the recent story about a 7-year-old Russian boy sent back to Moscow alone by his adoptive mother. 

• 

  Fried in New Republic: Everyone's dean

  In The New Republic,  HLS Professor Charles Fried wrote "Everyone's Dean: Why Elena Kagan has earned the respect of conservatives, like me," an article which appeared in the April 19 edition of the magazine.  Fried teaches constitutional law and contracts at HLS, and he was solicitor general of the United States during the second Reagan administration.

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  Edith Ramirez ’92 sworn in as FTC commissioner

  Edith Ramirez ’92 was sworn in as a commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission in April. Nominated by President Barack Obama ’91, she joins a five-member commission that works against deceptive advertising and enforces adherence to antitrust law.

• 

  Winners of the 57th Williston Competition

  Winners of Harvard Law School’s 57^th annual Williston Competition, Harvard’s annual contract negotiation and drafting competition for first-year law students, were announced on April 5. 

• 

  Three receive Gary Bellow Public Service Awards

  Harvard Law School students Michael Admirand ’10, Cori Crider ’06, and Jacob Howard ’09 each received the Gary Bellow Public Service Award for their commitment to public interest and social justice work at an award ceremony on April 9.

• 

  Sumner M. Redstone '47 establishes Redstone Fellowships for post-graduate public service at HLS

  Sumner M. Redstone '47 has donated $1 million to be used by Harvard College and Harvard Law School to establish scholarships for 30 students committed to public service. 

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  Neuman, Goldsmith, and five HLS alumni elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences

  Harvard Law School Professors Gerald L. Neuman ’80 and Jack Goldsmith are amongst the new class of members elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

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  Committee on Capital Markets Regulation proposes blueprint for compromise on financial reform

  On April 26, the Committee on Capital Markets Regulation (CCMR), led by Harvard Law School Professor Hal Scott, sent congressional leaders a proposed blueprint for a compromise that would achieve practical and effective financial reform legislation.

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  Lessig in NYT: A better chance at justice for abuse victims

  The op-ed “A better chance at justice for abuse victims,” by Professor Lawrence Lessig, appeared in the April 27, 2010, edition of the New York Times.

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  Power selected to be 2010 Class Day speaker

  Senior Foreign Policy Adviser in the Obama Administration and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Samantha Power ’99 will be the 2010 Class Day speaker at HLS. Selected by this year’s Class Marshals, Power will address graduates on May 26 as part of Class Day.

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  Annette Gordon-Reed ’84 to join the Harvard faculty

  Award-winning historian Annette Gordon-Reed J.D. ’84 will join the Harvard faculty in July 2010 as a Professor of Law at Harvard Law School and a Professor of History in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Gordon-Reed will also be the Carol K. Pforzheimer Professor at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study.

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  Minow, Sunstein and Tribe elected to American Philosophical Society

  Harvard Law School Professors Martha Minow, Cass R. Sunstein ’78, and Laurence Tribe ‘66 are among the new class of members elected to the American Philosophical Society.

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  Sports superagent Ron Shapiro ’67 on the secret to successful negotiation

  Sports agent Ronald M. Shapiro ’67 has a dream roster of clients that includes more baseball Hall of Famers than any other agent, including Cal Ripken Jr., Brooks Robinson, Eddie Murray, Kirby Puckett, and such future Hall of Fame probables as 2009 American League MVP Joey Mauer, for whom Shapiro recently negotiated a $184 million contract with the Minnesota Twins.

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  Harvard Law students assist with Supreme Court brief on corporate Alien Tort Statute

  Harvard Law School’s International Human Rights Clinic submitted an amicus brief to the Supreme Court in support of a petition for certiorari in a major corporate Alien Tort Statute case, Presbyterian Church of Sudan v. Talisman Energy, Inc. The Clinic served as counsel on behalf of international law scholars and jurists to argue that those who knowingly aid and abet egregious human rights violations can be held liable under customary international law.

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  Elhauge receives Jerry S. Cohen Award for best antitrust scholarship of 2009

  Harvard Law School Professor Einer Elhauge ’86 has been selected to receive the Jerry S. Cohen Award for Antitrust Scholarship for his article “Tying, Bundled Discounts, and the Death of the Single Monopoly Profit Theory” (123 Harvard Law Review 397, 2009).

• 

  Roe analyzes Senate financial reform bill in Wall Street Journal

   The following op-ed by Professor Mark Roe, “Derivatives Clearinghouses are No Magic Bullet,” appeared in the May 6, 2010, edition of the Wall Street Journal. Roe looks at the Senate financial overhaul bill, part of which is built around an emerging Washington consensus that a clearinghouse for derivatives could stem a financial crisis such as that which we just experienced.  Roe argues that while a clearinghouse can be a useful step in the right direction, it's incomplete, with other legal improvements needed to make it work well.

• 

  Coates testifies before House committee in support of Disclose Act (webcast)

  Harvard Law School Professor John C. Coates IV testified before the Committee on House Administration yesterday regarding the Disclose Act (H.R. 5175), legislation that was created in the wake of the Citizens United v. FEC Supreme Court ruling.

• 

  Faculty scholarship: Benkler on blogospheres

  In April, the Berkman Center for Internet & Society announced a major research release: “A Tale of Two Blogospheres: Discursive Practices on the Left and Right.” The study, based on research by HLS Professor Yochai Benkler ’94 and Berkman Research Fellow Aaron Shaw, examines the discursive practices of major U.S. political blogs on the left, right, and center during the summer of 2008.

• 

  Harvard Law School awards 27 fellowships for post-graduate public service work

  Harvard Law School has selected 26 graduating 3Ls and one recent graduate to receive fellowships enabling them to pursue public service work, Dean Martha Minow announced today.  

• 

  Students in Supreme Court Litigation Clinic assist in brief-writing and case summaries

  During the winter term, 10 Harvard Law students participated in the school’s Supreme Court Litigation Clinic, led by Lecturers Thomas Goldstein, Amy Howe, and Kevin Russell—all of whom are leading Supreme Court practitioners and experts on appellate litigation. The clinic gave students the opportunity to spend the month of January in Washington, D.C., working on actual cases that would be heard before the Court.

• 

  Elizabeth Warren named one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in 2010

  Time Magazine has named Harvard Law School Professor Elizabeth Warren one of the 100 Most Influential People in 2010. Warren is listed in the Thinkers category of the annual TIME 100 issue naming the people who most affect our world.

• 

  Cohen on PBS: Why patients are going abroad for medical care (video)

  Assistant Professor I. Glenn Cohen ’03, co-director of the Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology and Bioethics, recently appeared on the PBS television show "Inside E-Street" to discuss his recent work on medical tourism. 

• 

  Fried in Boston Globe: Health care law’s enemies have no ally in Constitution

  The op-ed “Health care law’s enemies have no ally in Constitution” was written by Harvard Law School Professor Charles Fried. It appeared in the May 21, 2010, edition of the Boston Globe.

• 

  The Supreme Court limits life sentences for juveniles, citing Houston Institute brief

  On May 16, 2010, the Supreme Court ruled that juveniles who commit crimes in which no one is killed may not be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Justice Anthony Kennedy ’61 wrote the opinion for a 6-3 Court, citing a brief submitted by the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute at HLS, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

• 

  Class of 2010 Averages 553 Hours of Pro Bono Service Per Student

  Two graduating students who each contributed more than 2,500 hours of free legal services while at Harvard Law School will share this year’s Andrew L. Kaufman Pro Bono Service Award, while the Class of 2010 surpassed the HLS record for pro bono hours, performing a total of 329,934 hours, an average of 553 hours per student.

• 

  In Class Day address, Power urges graduates to "make hope and history rhyme" (video)

  Senior adviser in the Obama Administration and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Samantha Power ’99 was the 2010 Class Day speaker at HLS. Power addressed a law school audience in Holmes Field on May 26, the day before Commencement, urging graduates to make the most of their law school degrees and of every moment of their lives.

• 

  Judith Murciano Wins Richardson Award

  Judith Murciano, fellowship director in the Bernard Koteen Office of Public Interest Advising at Harvard Law School, received the Suzanne L. Richardson Staff Recognition Award during Class Day exercises.

• 

  Klarman receives 2010 Sacks-Freund Teaching Award (video)

  During Class Day exercises on May 26, Professor Michael Klarman received the Class of 2010’s Sacks-Freund Teaching Award in honor of his teaching ability, openness to student concerns, and contributions to student life at HLS.

• 

  Minow to the Class of '10: "We can build mechanisms of order and rescue …"

  As the 761 members of the Class of 2010, were about to start their journey onto the next step in their lives, Dean Martha Minow took a moment to talk to them about another journey.

• 

  Souter offers an experienced view of how judges should approach Constitutional interpretation

  In a Commencement Day speech to Harvard’s newest graduates, former U.S. Supreme Court Justice David Souter ’66 said Thursday (May 27) that judges have no choice but to interpret the U.S. Constitution beyond its plain language, and he criticized those who argue that its meaning “lies there … waiting for a judge to read it fairly.”

• 

  Mack on History News Network: Rethinking the Rand Paul controversy

  "Rethinking the Rand Paul controversy," an op-ed written by HLS Professor Kenneth Mack, appeared on the History News Network on May 31, 2010.

• 

  Goldsmith in Washington Post: The cybersecurity changes we need

  “The cybersecurity changes we need,” an op-ed, co-written by Harvard Law School Professor Jack Goldsmith and Melissa Hathaway of the Harvard Kennedy School,  appeared in the May 29, 2010, edition of the Washington Post.

• 

  Ogletree, Tribe bestowed with honorary degrees

  Professors Laurence H. Tribe ’66, and Charles J. Ogletree both received honorary degrees at law school commencement ceremonies this spring.

• 

  Suk Awarded Herbert Jacob Prize for outstanding book on law and society

  Jeannie Suk, an assistant professor of law at Harvard Law School, has been awarded the Herbert Jacob Prize for her book, “At Home in the Law,” by the Law and Society Association. The prize, awarded for the most outstanding book in law and society of the year, was presented to Suk at the Association’s annual meeting in Chicago on May 29.

• 

  Greenwald and Alsentzer recognized for their work helping people living with HIV/AIDS

  In April, Dorothée Alsentzer ‘05, senior clinical fellow at the Health Law and Policy Clinic at Harvard Law School’s WilmerHale Legal Services Center, and Lecturer on law Robert Greenwald, founding director of the clinic, received the Positive Leadership Award from the National Association of People with AIDS, during AIDS Watch, a federal grassroots HIV/AIDS advocacy event held in Washington, D.C.

• 

  Committee on Capital Markets Regulation releases data showing that U.S. public equity markets deteriorated in Q1 2010

  The Committee on Capital Markets Regulation, directed by Harvard Law School Professor Hal S. Scott, reported that Q1 2010 data demonstrates deterioration in the competitiveness of U.S. public equity markets. Scott said, “Q1 2010 reverses the trend of mild improvement from the last two years.”

• 

  Volume 2, Issue 1 of the Journal of Legal Analysis now available online

  The Journal of Legal Analysis—the broad-focused, faculty-edited journal launched by Harvard Law School Professors J. Mark Ramseyer ’82 and Steven Shavell, in February 2009—is now available online. The journal is designed to provide the best legal scholarship from all disciplinary perspectives and styles, covering the span of the legal academy.

• 

  Warren on NPR: new financial regulation could have "no real impact" (audio)

  As Congress considers legislation to reform Wall Street, Harvard Law School Professor Elizabeth Warren remains on the front lines of the fight as chair of the Congressional Oversight Panel. In a June 7 interview with NPR On Point host Tom Ashbrook, Warren said that lawmakers could end up with a bill that has “no real impact.”

• 

  Bebchuk in Project Syndicate: Rating the raters

  “Rating the Raters,” by HLS Professor Lucian Bebchuk LL.M ’80 S.J.D. ’84, appeared in Project Syndicate on May 24, 2010. It is the latest installment of his monthly column for the publication. Bebchuk is a professor of law, economics, and finance, and director of the Program on Corporate Governance at Harvard Law School.

• 

  S.J.D. candidate wins Trudeau Scholarship

  Lisa Kelly LL.M. ’08 was recently awarded a Trudeau Foundation Doctoral Scholarship. Annually, 15 doctoral candidates are awarded up to $180,000 each over a three-year period to support research “of compelling present-day concern” to the Trudeau Foundation, which was established in 2001 to honor the former prime minister of Canada.

• 

  CCMR offers views on six "critical points" in reconciling House and Senate financial reform bills

  The Committee on Capital Markets Regulation (CCMR), which is led by Harvard Law School Professor Hal S. Scott, sent Congressional leaders a letter on June 14 urging them to consider its positions on six “critical points” as they begin the final task of reconciling the two financial reform bills passed by the House and the Senate.

• 

  HLS Human Rights Clinic study shows need for legal reform in British Columbia

  The special rights guaranteed to First Nations receive inadequate attention in British Columbia when compared to mining interests, the International Human Rights Clinic (IHRC) at Harvard Law School said in a report released on June 7.

• 

  Mack receives honorary degree

  Harvard Law School Professor Kenneth Mack ’91 received an honorary Doctor of Public Service degree from Harrisburg University of Science and Technology during a commencement ceremony on May 20 in Harrisburg, Pa. Mack also delivered the commencement address.

• 

  Sixty-nine law school deans, including HLS Dean Martha Minow, endorse Kagan's nomination to the Supreme Court

  Harvard Law School Dean Martha Minow joined 68 other law school deans from around the country in a letter endorsing the nomination of Elena Kagan ’86 to a seat on the United States Supreme Court. The letter, which was addressed to the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, was distributed widely on Tuesday, June 15.

• 

  "It is easier to build strong children than fix broken men:" At HLS summit, Edelman says we must move from punishment to justice (video)

  For ten of thousands of young people, childhood can consist of a pipeline to prison. On Thursday, April 29, 2010, the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice at Harvard Law School hosted a conference addressing the issue locally: “Coming Together to Dismantle the Cradle to Prison Pipeline in Massachusetts: A Half-Day Summit of Community, Faith and Policy Leaders.”

• 

  Five HLS alumni, including Susan Farbstein ’04, selected as finalists for 2010 Trial Lawyer of the Year award

  Five Harvard Law School alumni, including Lecturer on Law and Clinical Instructor at the Human Rights Project Susan Farbstein ’04, have been selected as finalists for the 2010 Trial Lawyer of the Year Award, which is presented each year by the Public Justice foundation to an attorney or team of attorneys who have made the most outstanding contribution to the public interest through precedent-setting litigation.

• 

  Nine from HLS receive Dean’s Award for Excellence (video)

  HLS Dean Martha Minow presented nine staff members with the 2010 Dean’s Award for Excellence at an awards ceremony in Ames Courtroom, Austin Hall, on June 10.

• 

  Disability rights victory in Europe won by alum with help from HPOD

  On May 20, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that blanket disenfranchisement of people with disabilities is contrary to the European Convention of Human Rights.

• 

  Go Green: New bike shelters installed near Pound Hall

  On Earth Day, the Wasserstein Hall, Caspersen Student Center, Clinical Wing project gained a set of new bicycle shelters at the Lewis Lot, south of Pound Hall. There are 26 bicycle racks within the two enclosures. Additionally, four new bicycle racks have now been added under the Pound Hall overhang facing Lewis International Law Center, and three new bicycle racks now sit under the Holmes Hall west entrance. All the bicycle racks are ready for use.

• 

  Supreme Court Litigation Clinic wins hat trick

  Harvard Law School students participating in this year’s Supreme Court Litigation Clinic wound up winning a hat trick this year, with the Supreme Court ruling in their favor in all three cases in which the clinic’s students were involved.  

• 

  Bebchuk in New York Times: 'Don't gut proxy access'

  In an op-ed in The New York Times, entitled “Another view: Don’t gut proxy access,” Harvard Law School Professor Lucian Bebchuk LL.M. ’80, S.J.D. ’84, argues that Congress should reject attempts to impose severe limits on the ability of shareholders to place candidates on the corporate ballot.

• 

  Bruce E. MacDonald LL.M. '92 to oversee military commission process

  Retired Navy Vice Admiral Bruce E. MacDonald LL.M. ’92 was appointed to the position of convening authority for military commissions, created by Congress in the Military Commissions Act. The appointment was made by Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates.

• 

  Program on International Financial Systems co-sponsors China-U.S. Symposium

  The annual China-U.S. Symposium on Building the Financial System of the 21st Century took place in Nanjing, China from June 18-20.  Co-sponsored by the Harvard Law School  Program on International Financial Systems (PIFS) and the China Development Research Foundation (CDRF), this gathering annually convenes approximately 120 senior financial and government leaders from the United States and China to address key issues relating to capital markets, financial regulation and the China-U.S. economic and financial relationship.

• 

  Over 900 legal scholars join colleagues nationwide to urge Senate to confirm Elena Kagan as Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court

  A bipartisan group of over 900 law professors from 152 law schools across the country have joined together to urge the confirmation of Solicitor General Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court of the United States.

• 

  Jonathan Zittrain Named Professor of Computer Science in the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences

  Harvard Law School Professor Jonathan Zittrain ’95, a leading scholar on the legal and policy issues surrounding the Internet, adds to his law school post a joint appointment to the faculty of the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) as Professor of Computer Science. Zittrain is a co-founder of the university’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society.

• 

  Martin D. Ginsburg '58 (1932 – 2010)

  The distinguished tax law expert Martin D. Ginsburg ’58, a tax law professor at Georgetown University and of counsel at Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson, died Sunday in Washington, D.C. He was the husband of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

• 

  Freeman and Smith appointed to faculty chairs

  Two Harvard Law School professors have been appointed to faculty chair positions: Jody Freeman LL.M. ’91 S.J.D. ’95 is the Archibald Cox Professor of Law, and Henry Smith is the Fessenden Professor of Law. Freeman and Smith took their new chairs on July 1.

• 

  Freeman in NYT: The good driller award

  "The Good Driller Award,” an op-ed by Professor Jody Freeman LL.M. ’91 S.J.D. ’95, appeared in the July 1, 2010 edition of the New York Times.

• 

  Feldman in NYT: The triumphant decline of the WASP

  “The Triumphant Decline of the WASP” by HLS Professor Noah Feldman appeared in the June 28, 2010, edition of the New York Times. Feldman is the author of the forthcoming book “Scorpions: The Battles and Triumphs of F.D.R.’s Great Supreme Court Justices.”

• 

  HLS library digitizes Justice Brandeis' unpublished free speech dissent

  In Ruthenberg v. Michigan, Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis LL.B. 1877 first formulated the principles surrounding the exercise of free speech that would appear in his later opinion in Whitney v. California (1927). The Louis D. Brandeis Papers held by the Harvard Law School Library include seven folders of drafts written by Brandeis for Ruthenberg, which have now been digitized and are available on the law school website.

• 

  Richard Lazarus '79 named executive director of national oil spill commission

  Environmental law expert Richard Lazarus ’79 has been appointed the executive director of a new bipartisan commission created by President Barack Obama ’91 to examine the causes of the ongoing oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

• 

  Zittrain wins broadcast debate arguing for realities of a cyber threat (audio)

  In a debate broadcast from Washington, D.C., HLS Professor Jonathan Zittrain ’95 argued that the “Cyber War Threat” is a real and present danger. Zittrain was teamed with former Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell, against Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, and Bruce Schneier, an internationally renowned security technologist.

• 

  Harvard recognized as one of the world's top three open-access institutions

  Harvard University was recognized as one of the world’s top three open-access institutions of the year by BioMed Central, an international publisher of journals in science, technology, and medicine and a pioneer in open-access publishing. Harvard Law School was given special recognition for being one of four schools at Harvard to introduce its own open-access mandates.

• 

  Faculty Scholarship: Bebchuk, Cohen and Spamman on Executive Compensation at Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers

  A recent study, “The Wages of Failure: Executive Compensation at Bear Stearns and Lehman 2000-2008,” by Professor Lucian A. Bebchuk LL.M. ’80 S.J.D. ’84, Visiting Professor Alma Cohen and Lecturer on Law Holger Spamann S.J.D. ’09 refutes the widespread assumption that the wealth of the top executives at Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers was largely wiped out when their companies collapsed. According to the authors, many have used this account to dismiss the view that pay structures caused excessive risk-taking, but, they say, that standard narrative turns out to be incorrect.

• 

  Whiting to join International Criminal Court

  Alex Whiting, an assistant clinical professor of law at Harvard Law School, will join the International Criminal Court (ICC) as the investigation coordinator this December. Serving as the deputy to the chief of investigations, he will be responsible for managing and providing legal guidance and direction to all of the ICC’s investigations in this new post.

• 

  Harvard Negotiation and Mediation Clinical Program trains students to resolve conflicts

  The day after Elaine Lin ’10 finishes taking the Bar Exam in California this summer, she’ll be on a plane to Belfast. Two days later, she’ll be working with dozens of young people who have lost loved ones to terrorism—from Israel, Palestine, Ireland, Spain, India, and the U.S.—in a camp where she will teach them skills for resolving conflict.

• 

  HLS International Human Rights Clinic files complaint against Guantanamo psychologist

  On behalf of four Ohio citizens, Harvard Law School’s International Human Rights Clinic filed a complaint with the Ohio Psychology Board on July 7, calling for an investigation into the conduct of Ohio-licensee Dr. Larry C. James, former chief psychologist of the intelligence command at the U.S. Naval Station in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.

• 

  Amy Berman Jackson '79 nominated to a seat on U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

  President Barack Obama ’91 nominated Amy Berman Jackson ’79 to a seat on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Jackson was one of three nominations Obama announced on June 17, also including Judge James E. Boasberg and Justice Sue E. Myerscough.

• 

  Judge reduces penalties in file-sharing case defended by Nesson

  A Boston University graduate student who is being  represented pro bono by Harvard Law School Professor Charles R. Nesson ’63 in a much-publicized copyright dispute will face a drastically reduced penalty for his illegal file-sharing activity, a federal judge has ruled.

• 

  Benkler on NPR: Newspaper of the Future (audio)

  HLS Professor and faculty co-director of the Berkman Center for Internet and Society Yochai Benkler recently appeared on NPR's On The Media to discuss the future of the production and exchange of information in our society. 

• 

  Alstott in Boston Review: Don’t accept injustice

  The article “Don’t accept injustice,” by Harvard Law School Professor Anne Alstott, appeared in the July/August 2010 edition of the Boston Review.

• 

  Corporate Governance Network debuts new E-Journal

  The Social Science Research Network recently announced the distribution of a new e-journal on Bankruptcy, Financial Distress, & Reorganization provided by Corporate Governance Network (CGN).

• 

  Wilkins in USA Today: USDA official victim of ‘high-tech lynching’

  Today’s edition of USA Today includes an op-ed by HLS Professor David B. Wilkins '80, “USDA official victim of ‘high-tech lynching,’” on the firing of U.S. Department of Agriculture official Shirley Sherrod. Wilkins is the Lester Kissel Professor of Law at Harvard and the director of the Program on the Legal Profession.

• 

  Susan L. Carney ’77 nominated to U.S. Court of Appeals

  Susan Carney ’77 has been nominated by President Barack Obama ’91 to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

• 

  David Pogue interviews John Palfrey in NYT

  The following column by David Pogue, “Q & A: Rumors, Cyberbullying, and Anonymity,” appeared in the New York Times on July 22, 2010 and featured a q & a with Harvard Law School Professor John Palfrey.

• 

  Steiker in The National Law Journal: Kagan and the legacy of Marshall

  HLS Professor Carol Steiker wrote an op-ed in The National Law Journal on former HLS Dean Elena Kagan and the legacy of Supreme Court Associate Justice Thurgood Marshall. Steiker, the Howard and Kathy Aibel Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, served as a co-clerk with Kagan for Justice Marshall during the 1987-1988 term of the Supreme Court. Her op-ed, "Kagan and the legacy of Marshall," appeared in the July 26, 2010, edition of the Journal.

• 

  Whiting interviewed on WBUR radio about new ICC post (audio)

  Alex Whiting, an assistant clinical professor of law at Harvard Law School, will join the International Criminal Court (ICC) as the investigation coordinator this December. On Monday, July 26, he spoke with WBUR radio about his new post.

• 

  Ogletree in Washington Post: After Shirley Sherrod, we all need to slow down and listen

  HLS Professor Charles J. Ogletree Jr. co-wrote an op-ed, “After Shirley Sherrod, we all need to slow down and listen,” with Johanna Wald, that appeared in the July 25, 2010, edition of the Washington Post. Ogletree is the executive director of the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice and the author most recently of "The Presumptions of Guilt: The Arrest of Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and Race, Class, and Crime in America." Johanna Wald is director of strategic planning at the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice.

• 

  ScotusBlog: Dean Minow on her new book “In Brown’s Wake”

  Harvard Law School Dean Martha Minow’s new book, “In Brown’s Wake,” which examines the legacies of Brown v. the Board of Education, was released last week by Oxford University Press. In an interview on ScotusBlog, Minow discusses the book and the reverberations of Brown in American schools.

• 

  Fried in Boston Globe: Obama should give Warren a recess appointment

  In a Boston Globe op-ed, “Obama should give Warren a recess appointment,” HLS Professor Charles Fried supports an interim appointment for Elizabeth Warren to head the new Consumer Financial Protection Agency. Warren is the Leo Gottlieb Professor of Law and chair of the Congressional Oversight Panel on the Troubled Asset Relief Program. Fried served as solicitor general in the second Reagan administration and as a justice on the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts. His op-ed appeared in the July 29, 2010, edition of the Boston Globe.

• 

  Former students endorse Elizabeth Warren

  One hundred sixty-two former students of Harvard Law School Professor Elizabeth Warren sent a letter to the White House on July 28, urging President Barack Obama ’91 to appoint her as director of the newly created Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.

• 

  A roundup of recent fellowship and scholarship winners at Harvard Law School

  Here is a roundup of fellowships and scholarships awarded this year to Harvard Law School students and recent graduates to pursue domestic and international work or educational opportunities. The list includes the names of the recipients, their grants, and the places where they will be working.

• 

  Vermeule in TNR: An assessment of two different views of the ‘living Constitution’

  In the Aug. 2 issue of New Republic online, HLS Professor Adrian Vermeule ’93 reviews two new books: “Keeping Faith with the Constitution” by Goodwin Liu, Pamela S. Karlan, and Christopher H. Schroeder and “The Living Constitution” by David Strauss. Vermeule’s latest book is Law and the Limits of Reason (Oxford University Press 2009).

• 

  Bebchuk in Project Syndicate: How to pay a banker

  Lucian Bebchuk, Harvard Law School Professor of Law, Economics, and Finance, and Director of the Corporate Governance Program at Harvard Law School, wrote the op-ed "How to pay a banker," which appeared in the July 27 edition of Project Syndicate. It is part of his "Rules of the game" series written for the website.

• 

  Zittrain on NPR: Copyright decision not a get out of jail free card (audio)

  Harvard Law School Professor Jonathan Zittrain recently appeared on NPR’s “On The Media” to discuss the recent decision by the Librarian of Congress that “jailbreaking” a smart phone is not in violation the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which was enacted in 1998 to prevent the unauthorized distribution of copyrighted material via new media.

• 

  Docherty in Reuters Blog: international cluster bomb ban a milestone, but there's a long road ahead

  Harvard Law School Lecturer on Law Bonnie Docherty '01 recently wrote a post for Reuters' "The Great Debate UK" blog, as the first international cluster bomb treaty entered into force. Docherty is also a clinical instructor in the International Human Rights Clinic at Harvard Law School and a senior researcher in the Arms Division at Human Rights Watch.

• 

  Tribe to judges: take action on poverty issues

  Harvard Law School Professor Lawrence Tribe ’66, now a senior Justice Department counselor, received a standing ovation from the nation’s state chief justices last week after challenging them to take immediate steps to improve access to justice for juveniles, the poor and the middle class. An article by Tony Mauro in the National Law Journal reported on Tribe’s address, including his proposals for reform.

• 

  VIDEO: Barack Obama '91 honors Elena Kagan '86

  President Barack Obama '91 hosted a White House reception in honor of Elena Kagan '86, who was confirmed to be the next Justice on the United States Supreme Court on August 5, 2010. The Senate confirmed the former Harvard Law School Dean and Solicitor General by a vote of 63-37. With her confirmation, Kagan becomes the 20th Harvard Law School alumnus to serve on the Court. 

• 

  Minow in the Boston Globe: Also confirmed: Marshall’s legacy

  Harvard Law School Dean Martha Minow’s op-ed, entitled “Also confirmed: Marshall’s legacy,” appeared in the August 8, 2010, edition of The Boston Globe. According to Minow, the appointment of Elena Kagan’86 to the Supreme Court serves as a reminder of Marshall’s enduring legacy and most significant contribution to American law: his successful argument of Brown v. Board of Education.

• 

  Goldsmith in the Washington Post: The New START Treaty and Foreign Policy

  Harvard Law School Professor Jack Goldsmith recently published an op-ed in the Washington Post on the effects the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) could have on the Senate’s role in foreign policy.

• 

  Massachusetts enacts landmark foreclosure protections drafted by Harvard Law School students (video)

  Groundbreaking legislation originally drafted by students from the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau (HLAB) to protect tenants from losing their homes after foreclosure was signed into law on August 7 by Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick ’82, former president of HLAB.

• 

  Zittrain on 'All Things Considered:' The Pentagon’s options in the WikiLeaks matter (audio)

  Harvard Law School Professor Jonathan Zittrain recently appeared on NPR’s “All Things Considered” to discuss the website Wikileaks.org, and the Pentagon’s recent attempt to stop WikiLeaks from publishing classified documents, many pertaining to the war in Afghanistan.

• 

  Randall Kennedy on The Takeaway: The "Reconstruction Amendment" (audio)

  Harvard Law School Professor Randall Kennedy recently appeared on Public Radio International’s show “The Takeaway” to discuss the 14th amendment in light of the current immigration debate.

• 

  Lessig on NPR: The law and iPhone hacking (audio)

  Harvard Law School Professor Lawrence Lessig recently spoke on NPR’s “Talk of the Nation” about a new ruling that allows Apple iPhone users to “hack” into their phones so they can choose a different carrier. Lessig, the director of the Edmond J. Safra Foundation Center for Ethics at Harvard, also discussed recent changes to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

• 

  Berkman Center to conduct study to assist ICANN’s accountability and transparency review process

  The Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University will conduct an independent, exploratory study analyzing the communication and decision-making processes of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the organization responsible for managing the internet's domain name system.

• 

  Minow on Balkinization Blog: Charter schools and integration

  Harvard Law School Dean Martha Minow wrote the post “Charter schools and integration” for the law blog 'Balkinization'.

• 

  Lessig in the Mercury News: Google-Verizon and Net Neutrality

  Harvard Law School Professor Lawrence Lessig recently co-wrote an op-ed in the San Jose Mercury News on how new legislative templates by Google and Verizon threaten true net neutrality.

• 

  Klarman: Is public opinion on gay marriage ahead of the Supreme Court's?

  Shifts in public opinion on gay marriage could influence Justice Kennedy and the fate of same-sex marriage in the Supreme Court, writes HLS Professor Michael Klarman in an op-ed in August 15, 2010 edition of The Los Angeles Times.

• 

  Royall Professor of Law Emeritus Benjamin Kaplan [1911-2010]

  Benjamin Kaplan, the Royall Professor of Law Emeritus at Harvard Law School and a former justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, died August 18, 2010.

• 

  Why torture is “absolutely wrong:” Charles Fried and Gregory Fried on WBUR (audio)

  Harvard Law School professor Charles Fried appeared on the August 19, 2010 edition of the WBUR program “Radio Boston” with his son and co-author, Gregory Fried, to discuss their new book, “Because it is Wrong: Torture, Privacy, and Presidential Power in the age of Terror.”

• 

  Current students endorse Warren for director of Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection

  Harvard Law School Professor Elizabeth Warren continues to gain support for serving as director of the newly created Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection. In a letter to the Oval Office, HLS students from the classes of 2011 and 2012 are urging the president to nominate Warren for the top spot at the bureau.            

• 

  Tom Ferriss '11: Backstage pass to the Kagan confirmation hearings

  As a legal fellow funded by the HLS Office of Public Interest Advising and a Heyman Fellowship, Tom Ferriss '11 became an expert on the work of then Supreme Court Nominee Elena Kagan, flagging issues that might draw political attention during her Senate Confirmation hearings.

• 

  Mnookin on PBS NewsHour: Bargaining with the Devil (video)

  Harvard Law School Professor Robert Mnookin ’68 appeared on PBS NewsHour on August 25. He spoke with economics correspondent Paul Solman about the rewards and challenges of negotiation. Mnookin is the author of “Bargaining with the Devil: When to Negotiate, When to Fight,” which was published by Simon & Schuster in February.

• 

  Minow in the Boston Globe: Lessons from literature

  HLS Dean Martha Minow was interviewed on August 22 for the ‘Bibliophiles’ column in the Boston Globe. In the Q&A, Minow talks about her own summer reading list, book groups with the President, and the relevance of fiction and poetry in advancing our national dialogue on ethnic and religious conflict.

• 

  Eleven Harvard Law grads are U.S. Supreme Court clerks for 2010-2011

  Of the 39 law school graduates who are serving as clerks to the U.S. Supreme Court justices and retired justices in the 2010-2011 term, 11 hail from Harvard Law School—the highest number from a single law school this year.

• 

  Suk in WSJ: Schumer’s Project Runway

  If it’s illegal to copy books and paintings, why should fashion designs be any different? That was the question posed by HLS Professor Jeannie Suk ‘02 and Columbia Law Professor C. Scott Hemphill in a recent op-ed in the Wall Street Journal

• 

  Feldman looks at the end of the combat mission—and a 'very long engagement' ahead (audio)

  In his recent Wall Street Journal op-ed and subsequent appearance on the radio program 'The Takeaway,'  Harvard Law School Professor Noah Feldman discussed the Obama administration's pledge to withdraw troops from Iraq by Oct 2011. He argued that, if the nation is to flourish as an independent nation, the U.S. will be required to play a continuing role in maintaining security there for a long time to come.

• 

  Palfrey essay released by Time Warner Cable research program

  Time Warner Cable recently announced that it has released five essays on the future of digital communications, policy and technical perspectives based on its Research Program on Digital Communications. One of the five was written by Harvard Law School Professor John Palfrey, who contributed an essay entitled "The Challenge of Developing Effective Public Policy on the Use of Social Media by Youth."

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  Neuman elected to the Human Rights Committee

  Harvard Law School Professor Gerald Neuman ’80 has been elected to the Human Rights Committee, the premier treaty body in the UN human rights system. The committee monitors compliance by 166 states parties with their obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which is part of the “International Bill of Rights.”

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  Goldsmith in Washington Post: A way past the terrorist detention gridlock

  Nine years after Sept. 11 and 20 months into the Obama presidency, our nation is still flummoxed about what to do with captured terrorists, writes HLS Professor Jack Goldsmith in an op-ed in today's Washington Post. In his op-ed, "A way past the terrorist detention gridlock," Goldsmith says that while there is no "silver bullet" for this problem, there are several steps the administration could take toward resolution. 

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  Harvard Immigration and Refugee Clinic wins rehearing of child asylum case in First Circuit

  The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit has granted a rehearing in Mejilla-Romero v. Holder, vacating its original published decision denying a child asylum applicant’s petition for review. The order granting rehearing now directs the Board of Immigration Appeals to address the special treatment of child asylum applicants as set forth in guidelines issued by the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice, and the United Nation High Commission for Refugees.

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  French and Feldman mine Supreme Court’s decision in Martinez religion case

  In Christian Legal Society v. Martinez, the Supreme Court ruled 5-to-4 last June that a public law school did not violate the First Amendment by withdrawing recognition from a Christian student group that excluded gay students. On Sept. 8, the Harvard Federalist Society sponsored a discussion of Martinez and its implications for religious freedom.

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  Scott urges major Federal Reserve input to CFTC rules on conflicts of interest in derivatives clearinghouses

  The Commodities Future Trading Commission and the Securities Exchange Commission should closely consult the Federal Reserve on conflicts of interests affecting the nation's over-the-counter derivatives clearinghouses, wrote HLS Professor Hal Scott, director of the Committee on Capital Markets Regulation, in a letter to the chairman of the CFTC. 

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  Endicott looks at the territorial extent of human rights

  In early September, Timothy Endicott, dean of the faculty of law at Oxford University and a professor of legal philosophy, spoke to an overflow audience in Pound Hall on how judges in Europe and the United States have ruled on the territorial extent of human rights.  

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  Program on Negotiation honors Martti Ahtisaari with the Great Negotiator Award

  On Monday, September 27, Harvard Law School’s Program on Negotiation will honor the former President of Finland, Martti Ahtisaari, with the 2010 Great Negotiator Award.

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  Klarman in L.A. Times: The political risks of supporting gay rights

  “Historically, American presidents have rarely gotten far ahead of public opinion on civil rights issues, and the few times they have, they’ve paid a substantial price for doing so,” writes HLS Professor Michael Klarman in an L.A. Times op-ed, entitled “The political risks of supporting gay rights.”

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  Greenhouse assesses the direction of the Roberts Court: “The government wins”

  In a Harvard Law School lecture sponsored by the American Constitution Society, Linda Greenhouse, former Supreme Court correspondent for The New York Times, discussed “the Roberts Court at Five.”

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  When ‘The Nine’ Overrule the Ninth: O’Scannlain ponders 10 years of reversals

  Over the past decade, the U.S. Supreme Court has overruled the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in 148 of 182 cases—a “strikingly poor record” for the circuit court, said Ninth Circuit Judge Diarmuid O'Scannlain ’63 in a talk at Harvard Law School on September 17.  The event was sponsored by the Federalist Society.

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  Goldsmith on NPR: Extending The Law Of War To Cyberspace (audio)

  Harvard Law School Professor Jack Goldsmith recently spoke on NPR about the potential consequences of the ambiguity surrounding legal and ethical limits of state behavior in cyberspace.

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  Professor Annette Gordon-Reed ’84 wins a MacArthur Fellowship (audio)

  Annette Gordon-Reed ’84, an award-winning historian, is one of 23 recipients of the 2010 MacArthur Fellowship, more commonly known as the MacArthur “Genius Award.” Gordon-Reed—the recipient of the National Humanities Medal, the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award—was recognized for dramatically changing the course of Jeffersonian scholarship. 

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  Bebchuk in Project Syndicate: Politics and Corporate Money

  In an op-ed for Project Syndicate, Harvard Law School Professor Lucian Bebchuk raises questions about the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, which grants corporations greater leeway in political spending.

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  Latest CCMR study confirms resumed deterioration in competitiveness of U.S. public equity markets

  The Committee on Capital Markets Regulation, an independent and nonpartisan research organization dedicated to improving the regulation and enhancing the competitiveness of U.S. capital markets, released data confirming that the competitiveness of U.S. public equity markets in global markets has resumed its deterioration throughout this year’s first half.  

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  Bellinger, former State Department Legal Adviser, offers advice to Harvard Law School students

  On Sept. 13,  John B. Bellinger III '86, chief legal adviser to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice during the Bush Administration, gave a talk to students on how to launch and develop careers in international and public-interest law. The talk was sponsored by HLS's Office of Public Interest Advising.

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  Professors discuss study of international law at HLS

  In a recent panel discussion at Harvard Law School, professors William Alford, Grainne de Burca, and Gerald Neuman extolled the benefits of studying, interning, and working abroad in a legal context, and offered practical advice to internationally-minded students about how to get started.

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  Palfrey in NYT on cyberbullying: Solutions Beyond the Law

  In an opinion piece in the Room for Debate section of The New York Times, Harvard Law School Professor John Palfrey discusses whether the death of Tyler Clementi, a Rutgers student, calls for tougher laws against malicious acts online.

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  Professor Gerald Frug Wins Award from The Canadian Centre for Architecture and the LSE, will give the Stirling Memorial Lectures

  The Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA), in collaboration with the Cities Programme of the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), has announced the winner of the fourth international competition to give the James Stirling Memorial Lectures on the City. The jury selected Harvard Law School Professor Gerald Frug as the 2010-2011 Stirling Lecturer, for his project entitled "The Architecture of Governance."

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  In the echo of Gekko, a rebuttal: Scaramucci explains why 'greed is bad' (video)

  Anthony Scaramucci '89 — author of "Goodbye Gordon Gekko: How to Find Your Fortune Without Losing Your Soul" and adviser to the movie Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps —shared career advice with Harvard Law School students at an event cosponsored by the Traphagen Distinguished Alumni Speaker Series and the Office of Career Services on September 29.

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  Panelists Offer A Roundup on Arizona's New Immigration Law

  In a Harvard Law School discussion on immigration law, three expert panelists offered perspectives from the trenches on Arizona SB 1070, the controversial immigration law enacted earlier this year.

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  Feldman and Minow in the Harvard Gazette: The Supreme Court’s new dynamic

  In a recent interview with the Harvard Gazette, Harvard Law School Dean Martha Minow and Professor Noah Feldman surveyed the future of the Supreme Court in light of the succession of retired associate justice John Paul Stevens by former HLS Dean Elena Kagan ’86.

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  Cohen on The Takeaway: On the controversies that still lie behind in-vitro fertilization (audio)

  I. Glenn Cohen, co-director of the Petrie-Flom Center for Health and Law Policy and assistant professor of Harvard Law School, was a guest on the radio program “The Takeaway,” a national morning news program produced in partnership with The New York Times, the BBC World Service, WNYC, Public Radio International and WGBH Boston.

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  Alston Critiques the Rise of Drones and Targeted Killings in US National Security Policy

  The American government should display more transparency and give clearer legal guidelines for targeted killings and the use of drones in Afghanistan and Pakistan, said Philip Alston, a visiting professor at Harvard Law School, during a lecture last week.

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  Professors Heymann and Blum receive award for their book “Laws, Outlaws, and Terrorists”

  Professor Philip Heymann ’60 and Associate Professor Gabriella Blum LL.M. ’01 S.J.D. ’03 received the 2010 Chicago-Kent College of Law/Roy C. Palmer Civil Liberties Prize for their recently published book “Laws, Outlaws, and Terrorists” (MIT Press, 2010).

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  Goldsmith in the New York Times: The pitfalls of federal trials of Guantánamo Bay detainees

  In an Oct. 8 op-ed in the New York Times, Harvard Law School Professor Jack Goldsmith argues that the trial of suspected terrorists – whether in criminal, civilian, or military court – is the “wrong approach.” 

• 

  HLS Panel discusses an end to don’t ask, don’t tell (video)

  On Oct. 12, Judge Virginia A. Phillips of Federal District Court for the Central District of California issued an injunction barring enforcement of don’t ask, don’t tell, the law that prohibits openly gay men and women from serving in the military.

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  Scanlon compares individual morality and the morality of institutions

  In a public lecture sponsored by the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics, Thomas Scanlon, Alford Professor of Natural Religion, Morality, and Civil Policy at Harvard, discussed individual morality and the morality of institutions.  

• 

  John Manning: The Separation of Powers as Ordinary Interpretation

  Professor John Manning delivered a chair lecture, “The Separation of Powers as Ordinary Interpretation,” in October to mark his appointment as the Bruce Bromley Professor of Law. Manning addressed a full Caspersen Room, with a broad representation of the Harvard Law School community in attendance.

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  Mark Johnson named University Vice President for Capital Planning and Project Management

  Harvard University announced today (Oct. 19) that Mark Johnson, the Director of Major Capital Projects and Physical Planning at Harvard Law School, has been named vice president for capital planning and project management.

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  Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics receives $12 million gift

  Harvard University’s Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics, directed by Harvard Law School Professor Lawrence Lessig, has received a gift of $12.3 million from Lily Safra, given in memory of her late husband, Edmond J. Safra, a prominent philanthropist who was the founder of the Republic National Bank of New York.

• 

  Project No One Leaves on PBS NewsHour (video)

  The efforts of students in the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau and the WilmerHale Legal Services Center to keep Boston residents in their homes after foreclosure were featured in a major story last night on the PBS NewsHour.

• 

  Louis Henkin '40, a founder of modern human rights law [1917-2010]

  Louis Henkin ’40, who pioneered the field of human rights law and was a prolific scholar and teacher in the fields of constitutional and international law, died Oct. 14, 2010. He was 92.

• 

  International Human Rights Clinic files amicus brief in corporate Alien Tort Statute case

  Harvard Law School’s International Human Rights Clinic submitted an amicus curiae brief to the Second Circuit in support of a petition for rehearing en banc in a major corporate Alien Tort Statute (“ATS”) case, Kiobel, et al. v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Co., et al.

• 

  Professor Ian Ker explores Newman’s "The Idea of a University" (video)

  Reverend Professor Ian Ker of Oxford University gave a lecture on John Henry Newman’s “The Idea of a University” at Harvard Law School in September, arguing that careful attention is needed to understand Newman’s perspective on the goals of a university in light of modern day assumptions about education.

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  Goldsmith in the Washington Post: Our nation's secrets, stuck in a broken system

  Harvard Law School Professor Jack Goldsmith wrote an op-ed for the Oct. 21, 2010 edition of the Washington Post titled “Our nation’s secrets, stuck in a broken system.” The piece addresses Bob Woodward’s book, “Obama Wars,” in which ostensibly classified information – presumably obtained from senior White House officials – is disclosed regardless of the “grave damage” that could result from its release.  

• 

  To Help Break Gridlock, Federal Officials Work With HLS Negotiation and Mediation Clinic

  Twenty senior federal officials – both Republicans and Democrats – met in Washington in July to hone their negotiation and consensus building skills with members of the Harvard Negotiation and Mediation Clinical Program (HNMCP) at Harvard Law School.

• 

  'Life of the Law, Life of the Mind': A Discussion with Feldman, Suk and Minow (video)

  In an HLS panel discussion titled “Life of the Law, Life of the Mind,” Dean Martha Minow and Professors of Law Jeannie Suk and Noah Feldman stressed the importance of recognizing and embracing the differences between legal training and academic experience.

• 

  Statement of President Barack Obama '91 on the life of Paul Miller '86

  The White House released a statement from the President on Thursday, October 21 on the life of Paul Miller '86, who advised Presidents Obama and Clinton on disability and equal opportunity matters. Miller, a lawyer who was born with achondroplasia "dwarfism" and became a leader in the disability rights movement, died Tuesday at his home on Mercer Island, Wash. He was 49.

• 

  Coates examines costs of corporate political activity to shareholders

  Professor John C. Coates published “Corporate Governance and Corporate Political Activity: What Effect Will Citizens United Have on Shareholder Wealth?” in September, as part of the HLS Working Paper series.  

• 

  Suk gains tenure as professor of law at Harvard

  Jeannie Suk ’02 has gained tenure as a professor of law at Harvard. The faculty voted to grant tenure on Oct. 14 and Harvard University approved it immediately thereafter.

• 

  Vermeule: Reviews of new and classic books on the ‘small-c’ Constitution

  Harvard Law School professor Adrian Vermeule ‘93, who is an expert on Constitutional Law, recently reviewed two books — one new and one "neglected classic" — which deal with the subject. The first, "Superstatutes," was featured in The New Republic; the other ("The small-c constitution circa 1925") was a contribution to the new Classics section of the online journal Jotwell.

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  Sitkoff elected Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel

  Robert H. Sitkoff, the John L. Gray Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, was elected an Academic Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, a national professional organization of approximately 2,600 lawyers who specialize in trusts and estates.

• 

  Pursuing reconciliation in Iraq: An Anglican cleric in Baghdad offers a view (video)

  On October 21, Canon Andrew White delivered a lecture titled “Pursuing Reconciliation in Iraq: The Art of Mediation Between Warring Religious Factions.” Co-sponsored by the Human Rights Program and the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at the Kennedy School, the lecture focused on the role that religion must play in the peacemaking process in the Middle East.

• 

  Tyler Giannini appointed as Clinical Professor of Law

  Tyler Giannini has been appointed as a clinical professor of law at Harvard Law School. He was formerly a lecturer on law at HLS.

• 

  Porter testifies before the Congressional Oversight Panel (video)

  Harvard Law School visiting professor Katherine Porter ’01 testified before the Congressional Oversight Panel on October 27. At a hearing on the TARP Foreclosure Mitigation Program, Porter—who specializes in consumer credit, consumer protection regulation, and mortgage servicing—spoke about how the allegations of legal errors in the foreclosure process may impact the housing markets, the soundness of banks, and the financial markets overall.

• 

  Former athletes share experiences in efforts to reduce head injuries

  As a spate of head injuries in football made national headlines in October, students in a Sports Law class at Harvard Law School got a firsthand account of the dangers—and consequences—of head trauma in the NFL.

• 

  Justice Breyer on Making our Democracy Work

  In a special seminar sponsored by the Center for History and Economics at Harvard, Associate Justice Stephen Breyer ’64 of the U.S. Supreme Court discussed his new book, “Making Our Democracy Work: A Judge's View,” his jurisprudential philosophy, and as the origins of judicial review.

• 

  Freeman selected as public member of the Administrative Conference of the U.S.

  Harvard Law School Professor Jody Freeman has been selected as a public member of the Council of the Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS), an independent agency of the United States government tasked with improving the efficiency and fairness of federal agencies.

• 

  Demystifying the judicial nomination process: Insiders offer some views

  In a recent Harvard Law School panel discussion, prominent experts tried to demystify the judicial nomination process.

• 

  Steiker discusses the invisibility of race in capital punishment (video)

  The history of the death penalty in America has been racially inflected, yet the death penalty reforms and regulations that have taken place over the past 40 years have given very little mention to race. That was the core message delivered by Harvard Law School professor Carol Steiker in a talk sponsored by the Harvard Law School American Constitutional Society.
  

• 

  Lessig in the Daily Mail: Taking aim at ‘The Social Network’

  In an op-ed for the UK publication the Daily Mail, Harvard Law School Professor Lawrence Lessig takes a look at the recently-released film “The Social Network” – which he calls an “intelligent, beautiful and compelling film” – and weighs it against the real story of founder Mark Zuckerberg’s popular Internet platform.

• 

  Master Problem-Solver Kenneth Feinberg discusses his work resolving national crises (video)

  As part of the Views from Washington lecture series at Harvard Law School, Kenneth Feinberg, the prominent lawyer with a reputation for resolving complicated claims cases, shared his experiences with law students in November. Feinberg is currently the administrator for the Gulf Coast Claims Facility, dealing with the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon disaster.

• 

  Harvard Legal Aid Bureau's Anti-Foreclosure Conference Draws Participants from 15 States

  More than 100 law students, lawyers, and community activists from around the country gathered at Harvard Law School November 15-16 to learn about Project No One Leaves, the HLS student initiative that has had remarkable success in keeping Boston neighborhoods intact despite the foreclosure crisis.

• 

  Cohen speaks to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine on seeking fertility treatments abroad

  Glenn Cohen, Assistant Professor of Law and co-director of the Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics at Harvard Law School, addressed health care professionals as a guest speaker at the American Society for Reproductive Medicine’s 66th annual meeting, as part of the Ken Ryan Ethics Symposium - Cross-Border Care, on Oct. 25 in Denver, Colo.

• 

  Feldman in Slate: Supreme Court Sibling Rivalry

  This recent op-ed by HLS Professor Noah Feldman, "Supreme Court Sibling Rivalry: Will Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan elbow each other to greatness?” appeared in the November 8 edition of Slate Magazine.

• 

  Laurence Tribe to return to Harvard Law School in January

  Carl M. Loeb University Professor Laurence H. Tribe, currently serving as the first Senior Counselor for Access to Justice in the Justice Department, will return to the Harvard Law School faculty in January and resume teaching in the 2011-12 academic year.

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  Goldsmith in The Washington Post: Ghailani verdict makes stronger case for military detentions

  Harvard Law School Professor Jack Goldsmith co-wrote an op-ed with Benjamin Wittes for the Nov. 19, 2010 edition of The Washington Post titled “Ghailani verdict makes stronger case for military detentions.” The piece addresses debate over the Obama administration’s policy to try former Guantanamo detainees in civilian court.

• 

  Goldberg and Smith on “Introductions to U.S. Law” of Torts and Property (video)

  The Harvard Law School Library recently hosted Professors John Goldberg and Henry Smith for a discussion of their contributions to Oxford University Press’s new series, “Introductions to U.S. Law” (2010).

• 

  Feldman in NYT: Midterm Maneuvers

  In an op-ed in the New York Times, HLS Professor Noah Feldman discusses the challenges and opportunities President Barack Obama faces, after the midterm elections, to have an impact internationally.  He writes: "To achieve more tangible foreign-policy results will require focusing on a familiar, thorny problem: the Middle East, where the Obama administration has already begun to engage." Feldman's op-ed, "Midterm Maneuvers," appeared in the Nov. 21, 2010 edition of the New York Times Magazine.

• 

  HLS and Stanford Law host third annual International Junior Faculty Forum

  Harvard Law School and Stanford Law School jointly hosted the third annual Harvard-Stanford International Junior Faculty Forum in October, bringing together 13 of the world’s most innovative junior legal scholars from around the world to present their work.

• 

  Advice to future social entrepreneurs: "Go for it" (video)

  Beginning in 2013, Harvard Law School’s new Public Service Venture Fund will provide $1 million per year in grants to support new and recent graduates who will be working for public service employers, and also to support those who want to start their own organizations. With this commitment, the School is enhancing its focus on entrepreneurship in general and social entrepreneurship specifically—to encourage current students to pursue their own ideas and to prepare students who might want to apply for support from the fund and other sources of assistance for public service enterprises.

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  FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski ’91: Broadband will fuel job creation, innovation and growth (video)

  As part of the Views from Washington series, Julius Genachowski,’91, Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, came to Harvard Law School in November for a conversation with students and with Dean Martha Minow.

• 

  Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister: Focus on “people-centered development”

  Harvard Law School welcomed Kamla Persad-Bissessar, the Prime Minster of Trinidad and Tobago this month for a lecture on leadership and cooperation. Persad-Bissessar became the first female prime minister of the Caribbean nation in May, and was named one of the top 10 female world leaders by TIME Magazine in August.

• 

  Sachs and Kennedy debate “Stones of Hope” and the relationship between poverty and development (video)

  On Nov. 19, Harvard Law School  Professor Duncan Kennedy and Jeffrey Sachs, Columbia University professor and special adviser to the United Nations Secretary-General, discussed a new collection edited by HLS Professor Lucie White ’81 and Jeremy Perelman, S.J.D. ’11, before a large audience at HLS. That collection—“Stones of Hope: How African Activists Reclaim Human Rights to Challenge Global Poverty”—combines case studies from activists with theoretical essays on development to “tackle problems of disenfranchisement and poverty in the world,” said HLS Professor William Alford ’77, vice dean for the Graduate Program and International Legal Studies, who introduced the discussion of the book.

• 

  Scott advises the Financial Stability Oversight Council on the Dodd-Frank Act

  Hal S. Scott, the Nomura Professor and director of the Program on International Financial Systems at Harvard Law School and director of the Committee on Capital Markets Regulation, co-authored two letters to the Financial Stability Oversight Council on two provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act.

• 

  Bebchuk in Project Syndicate: Pricing corporate governance

  In an op-ed for Project Syndicate, "Pricing Corporate Governance," Harvard Law School Professor Lucian Bebchuk discusses how markets price the corporate-governance provisions of companies. He also details his findings from a recent study "Learning and the Disappearing Association between Governance and Returns"  with HLS Visiting Professor of Law Alma Cohen and HLS Lecturer in Law and Economics Charles C.Y. Wang. Bebchuk is director of the Corporate Governance Program at Harvard Law School. He is co-author, with Holger Spamann, of "Regulating Bankers’ Pay."

• 

  In chair lecture, Wilkins discusses educating global lawyers (video)

  Harvard Law School Professor David Wilkins ‘80 delivered a lecture, “Making Global Lawyers: Legal Education, Legal Paradox, and the Paradox of Professional Distinctiveness” on Oct. 19th to mark his appointment as the Lester Kissel Professor of Law.

• 

  Harvard Law School Law and International Development Society inaugural symposium focuses on post-disaster situations [Video]

  Top practitioners, heads of state, academics, and theoreticians in international development came together with more than 200 students and community members for “Rebuilding After the Storm: The Role of Law in Development Post Natural Disasters,” the HLS Law & International Development Society’s inaugural symposium, held on Nov. 19, 2010.

• 

  Anne Healy ’12: Law and International Development

  For three years prior to enrolling at Harvard Law School, Anne Healy '12 worked in the field of international development in East Africa, feeding her interest in governance issues and institutions. Today, she’s the co-president of the Harvard Law and International Development Society (known as LIDS), a home for students interested in working at the cutting edge of issues in law and development.

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  Harvard Law School hosts 2010 American Bar Association Regional Negotiation Competition

  Sixteen teams from nine different law schools from throughout the Northeast took part in the ABA Regional Negotiation Competition held at Harvard Law School and organized by Harvard Negotiators on November 13–14, 2010. Approximately 35 judges, all practicing lawyers in the Boston area, evaluated the teams and chose the winners.

• 

  Five from Harvard Law School Awarded Skadden Fellowships (video)

  Four Harvard Law School students and one recent graduate have been chosen to receive Skadden Fellowships to support their work in public service. This prestigious fellowship was awarded to 29 people this year.

• 

  Fried argues for constitutionality of the health care mandate (video)

  On Nov. 18, as part of the 2010 National Lawyers Convention in Washington, D.C., HLS Professor Chares Fried participated in a debate on the constitutionality of the federal health care legislation—the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act—signed into law by President Barack Obama ’91 last March.

• 

  HLS Trial Advocacy Team Wins National Competition in Puerto Rico

  Harvard Law School became the first-ever repeat-winner of the National Puerto Rico Trial Advocacy Competition. Returning as defending champions, the Harvard Law School Trial Team advanced to the semi-finals with the highest score and remained undefeated throughout the competition, edging out Georgetown Law in the final round to win first place.

• 

  Palfrey Proposes a New Digital Legal Information Environment for the Future (video)

  In a November lecture marking his appointment as the Henry N. Ess III Professor at Harvard Law School, Professor John G. Palfrey ’01 called for a new legal information system "grounded in a set of open data."

• 

  The ripples of Brown v. Board

  Harvard Law School Dean Martha Minow said she set out to write a book that acknowledged the limitations but celebrated the achievements of the 1954 Supreme Court decision Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka. The result was “In Brown’s Wake: Legacies of America’s Educational Landmark," which was the cornerstone of a two-panel discussion at Harvard on Dec. 4.

• 

  Scott and Committee on Capital Markets Regulation issue report on 2010 performance of U.S. public equity markets

  The Committee on Capital Markets Regulation, an independent research organization directed by Harvard Law School Professor Hal Scott, reported on Dec. 9, 2010 that, during the first 3 quarters of 2010, the competitiveness of U.S. public equity markets in global markets showed slight improvement over 2009.

• 

  HLS dissertation on the formation of the modern Philippine state wins William Nelson Cromwell Prize

  Anna Leah Fidelis T. Castañeda LL.M. ’96 S.J.D. ’09 was awarded the William Nelson Cromwell Dissertation Prize for her Harvard Law School S.J.D. dissertation: “Creating Exceptional Empire: American Liberal Constitutionalism and the Construction of the Constitutional Order of the Philippine Islands, 1898-1935.”  

• 

  New Harvard Law Financial Aid Fund Honors Alumnus Richard H. Caldwell

  Havard Law School and Andrews Kurth LLP have announced a new endowed financial aid fund in honor of the late Richard H. Caldwell ’63. The fund, which has grown to more than $200,000, will benefit HLS students who hail from Texas.

• 

  In their own words: Chayes fellows share stories of experiences abroad (audio)

  This fall, more than 20 recipients of the 2010 Chayes International Public Service Fellowship gathered at the home of Antonia Chayes, widow of HLS Professor Abram Chayes '49, to share stories of their fellowship experience. Founded in memory of Chayes, the Fellowships allow HLS students to spend eight weeks working with governments of developing nations and those making difficult transitions to peace, stability, and democracy, and with inter-governmental and non-governmental organizations that support them. 

• 

  Sitkoff essay on law reform in trusts and estates appears in JOTWELL

  JOTWELL—the Journal of Things We Like (Lots)—published “Top-Down Versus Bottom-Up Law Reform in Trusts and Estates: Future Interests and Perpetuities” by HLS Professor Robert Sitkoff on Nov. 22.

• 

  A new book on transnational law honors Harvard Law’s Detlev Vagts

  Cambridge University Press has published a festschrift paying tribute to Harvard Law School Professor Emeritus Detlev Vagts ’51, expert on international law, whose career at HLS has spanned more than a half century.

• 

  In Memoriam: Former Providence City Solicitor Joe Fernandez '91

  Joe Fernandez '91, a former Providence city solicitor, died Dec. 18, 2010, after a short illness. He was 46.

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  Scott, CCMR urge Senate and House committees to review pace of rulemaking under Dodd-Frank

  In a Dec. 15 letter to the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs and the U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services Committee, the Committee on Capital Markets Regulation urged the Committees to hold oversight hearings on the implementation through rulemaking of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

• 

  Brotman appointed to U.S. Advisory Committee on International Communications and Information Policy

  Harvard Law School Lecturer on Law Stuart N. Brotman has been appointed to the U.S. Department of State’s Advisory Committee on International Communications and Information Policy (ACICIP).

• 

  Counsel for the situation: Coleman’s career celebrated (video)

  William T. Coleman Jr. ’43 ('46), the venerable civil rights lawyer who served on the Brown v. Board of Education case, as counsel to the Warren Commission and as secretary of transportation in the Gerald Ford Administration, was a guest speaker at Harvard Law School on Dec. 1.

• 

  Bebchuk named 2010 ‘Governance Star’

  Harvard Law School Professor Lucian Bebchuk LL.M. ’80 S.J.D. ‘84, director of the Program on Corporate Governance, was selected as one of 2010’s top 10 “governance stars” by Global Proxy Watch, an international corporate governance newsletter.