 Executive Director
Program on the Legal Profession
Harvard Law School
23 Everett Street #G-24
Cambridge, MA 02138
Tel: + 1 (617) 496-6151
Fax: + 1 (617) 496-8489
E-mail: dnersessian@law.harvard.edu
Dr. David Nersessian is the Executive Director of the Harvard Law School Program on the Legal Profession and Center on Lawyers and the Professional Services Industry. He earned his D Phil (PhD) in Law from Oxford University, where his research concentrated in public international law, international criminal law, and genocide. He earned his JD magna cum laude from Boston University School of Law in 1995.
Dr. Nersessian’s research concentrates on three dynamic aspects of the legal profession: the impact of globalization, lawyers as human capital (including the recruitment, training, and management of talent in law firms and other environments), and the judiciary. He is a co-principal investigator on the Harvard Law School Career Study, which involves a detailed survey of the career trajectories, work opportunities, and life choices of nearly 3,000 HLS graduates. Other current projects include research on the recruiting and retention of lawyers with disabilities, a project on law firm culture and recruiting in AmLaw 200 law firms, and analyses of the impact of globalization on the legal profession.
Prior to his doctoral work, Dr. Nersessian practiced for many years with several large firms, representing clients in complex commercial disputes in state and federal courts, administrative proceedings, and private arbitrations throughout the United States. From 2005-06, he was a Supreme Court Fellow at the United States Supreme Court, where he worked for the Chief Justice’s Chief of Staff. He provided research and other support to Supreme Court Justices, delivered formal diplomatic briefings to over 900 visiting dignitaries from some 96 countries, and attended meetings of the US Judicial Conference and high-level international judicial exchanges.
Dr. Nersessian has been an adjunct faculty member at Boston University School of Law since 2003, where he teaches a seminar entitled Globalization of the Legal Profession. He previously offered seminars in international criminal law and public international law.
In addition to his work on the legal profession, Dr. Nersessian continues to write and speak extensively on international criminal law and genocide and in the fields of public international law and human rights. His book Rethinking Genocide is forthcoming from Cameron May Press in 2009. He also teaches international law subjects on behalf of the Federal Judicial Center at judicial education programs and is authoring a reference manual for the federal judiciary on human rights litigation.
D Phil (PhD) in Law, Oxford University, 2005
M St (LLM) in Law, Oxford University, 2000
JD, Boston University School of Law, 1995
BS in Business Administration, Boston University School of Management, 1992
Rethinking Genocide – The Protection of Political Groups Under International Law (forthcoming from Cameron May Press – 2009)
Law Firm Culture and Associate Expectations as Reflected in Recruiting Terminology, Conference Paper, Law and Society Annual Meeting (forthcoming May 09)
What's the Bang for the Harvard Buck? HLS Graduates and AJD Lawyers: A Comparison, Conference Paper, Law & Society Annual Meeting (forthcoming May 09)
Law School Research Programs – A Tripartite Value-Added Approach to Legal Education, Conference Paper, New Directions in Teaching Legal Professionals, University of Colorado Boulder (forthcoming May 09)
Empirical Research on Human Capital and Disability – Best Practices for Mentoring, Retaining and Promoting Lawyers with Disabilities, Conference Paper – American Bar Association Conference on the Employment of Lawyers with Disabilities (forthcoming Jun 09)
Mentoring and Training the 'Best and Brightest' – Relationships Between Elite Law School Graduates and Top Firms, Conference Paper, Oxford Center for Professional Service Firms Symposium (forthcoming Jul 09)
Core Competencies for Global Lawyers? Emerging Frameworks for Value Added Networks and Human Capital, Conference Paper, Symposium on Globalization of the Legal Profession – Part II, Oxford University (forthcoming Sept 09)
International Law and Human Rights Litigation – A Reference Manual for the Federal Judiciary (forthcoming from the Federal Judicial Center – 2009)
Lawful Entry: A Preliminary Framework for Understanding the Liberalization of an Emerging Global Legal Market in India (with Swethaa Ballakrishnen)
Exporting American Law – The Influence of the Supreme Court of the United States on the Jurisprudence of the International Criminal Tribunals (work-in-progress)
Anglo-American Exchange from 1980 – 2005: Twenty-Five Years of Cross-Reference Between the English House of Lords and the U.S. Supreme Court (work-in-progress)
Overview of the Professional Services Industry and the Legal Profession, a report provided to the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation by the Harvard Law School Center on Lawyers and the Professional Services Industry (2007) (with Sean Williams)
The Armenian Genocide and Human Rights Litigation in US Federal Courts, Forthcoming conference paper – “International Law & the Armenian Genocide: Recognition, Responsibility & Restitution,” Institute of Armenian Studies, University of Southern California (9/07)
Comparative Approaches to Punishing Hate – The Intersection of Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity, 43 Stan. J. Int’l L. 221 (2007)
Déjà vu all over again? Sir James Fitzjames Stephen and the International Jurisdiction over Governmental Cruelty, Conference paper – “The Work of Sir James Fitzjames Stephen: A Conference at Boston University’s Editorial Institute” (Apr 07)
Whoops – I Committed Genocide! The Anomaly of Constructive Liability for Serious International Crimes, 30 Fletcher F. World Aff. 81 (2006)
Core Competencies for Global Lawyers? Emerging Frameworks for Value Added Networks and Human Capital, Symposium, Globalization of the Legal Profession – Part II, Oxford University (forthcoming – 9/09)
Mentoring and Training the 'Best and Brightest': Relationships Between Elite Law School Graduates and Top Law Firms, Oxford Centre for Professional Service Firms Symposium, "The Future(s) of Professional Services," Harvard Law School (forthcoming – 6/09)
Empirical Research on Human Capital and Disability – Best Practices for Mentoring, Retaining and Promoting Lawyers with Disabilities, American Bar Association Conference on the Employment of Lawyers with Disabilities, Washington, DC (forthcoming – 6/09)
Emerging Career Trends and Elite Lawyers: The Harvard Law School Career Study, After the JD: An International Conference on Research on Legal Careers in transition, Harvard Law School (5/09)
Law Firm Culture and Associate Expectations as Reflected in Recruiting Terminology
and What's the Bang for the Harvard Buck? HLS Graduates and AJD Lawyers: A Comparison, Law & Society Annual Meeting, Denver, Colorado (5/09)
Law School Research Programs – A Tripartite Value-Added Approach to Legal Education, New Directions in Teaching Legal Professionals, University of Colorado, Boulder (5/09)
Judging International Law as Law, Panel Moderator, American Society of International Law Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (3/09)
Globalized Standards for Lawyers? Panel – The Legal Landscape in China, Boston University School of Law (2/09)
Global Changes to the Legal Profession – An Overview, Symposium – Globalization of the Legal Profession, Harvard Law School (11/08)
International Human Rights Litigation –An Overview, Federal Judicial Center 2008 National Workshop for District Judges, San Antonio (9/08)
Trial Skills for Everyday Life, Lead America Trial Advocacy Program,
Bentley College, (7/08)
An Overview of International Law , Federal Judicial Center 2008 National Workshop for District Judges,
Boston, (7/08)
Legal Implications of the Treaty of Sèvres Under International Law, Armenian Bar Association Annual Meeting,
New York,
(5/08)
The Power of a Word – Recognition of the Armenian Genocide as a Path to Reconciliation, Denver, Colorado (4/08)
Archive (pre-2008)
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