 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
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 (St. Catherine’s College), where his research concentrated on public international law, international criminal law, and genocide. He earned his JD from Boston University School of Law in 1995.
Prior to completing his doctoral work, Dr. Nersessian spent many years as a litigation attorney with several national and regional law firms. He concentrated in complex commercial and insurance coverage disputes and represented clients in state and federal courts, administrative proceedings, and private arbitrations throughout the United States.
Dr. Nersessian served as a Supreme Court Fellow from 2005-06 at the United States Supreme Court, where he worked in the Office of the Administrative Assistant to the Chief Justice, who is the Chief Justice’s chief of staff. During his tenure at the Court, he provided research and other support to Supreme Court Justices, delivered formal diplomatic briefings to over 900 visiting dignitaries representing some 96 countries, and attended meetings of the US Judicial Conference and high-level international judicial exchanges. He worked closely with numerous internal and external constituencies to conceive, develop and execute improvements to the Supreme Court’s briefing program, to develop and implement policies and procedures, and to enhance the public’s perception and understanding of the role of the federal judiciary. He also oversaw the Supreme Court’s Judicial Internship Program.
Dr. Nersessian has offered upper-class seminars in international criminal law and public international law as an adjunct faculty member at Boston University School of Law since 2003. In the 2008-09 academic year, he will teach a new seminar entitled Globalization of the Legal Profession. He previously taught English criminal law at St. Benet’s Hall and St. Edmund Hall at Oxford University. He writes and speaks extensively on international criminal law and genocide and in the fields of public international law, human rights, and the legal profession. His book Rethinking Genocide is forthcoming from Cameron May Press in late 2008. He also is authoring a reference manual for the federal judiciary on human rights litigation and teaches international law subjects on behalf of the Federal Judicial Center at judicial education programs.
Dr. Nersessian is active in alumni affairs at BU Law and Oxford. He served for many years as Vice President and General Counsel of the St. Catherine’s College (Oxford) Foundation, which is an international educational nonprofit. He also participates in the Alumni Mentoring and Career Assistance Programs at BU Law and received the law school’s alumni service award in 2005.
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 (book manuscript) (forthcoming from Cameron May Press – 2008)
International Law and Human Rights Litigation – A Reference Manual for the Federal Judiciary (Federal Judicial Center – forthcoming 2008)
The following entries in Encyclopedia of the Supreme Court of the United States (David S. Tanenhaus, ed. – Macmillan Press, forthcoming in 2008): Appellate Briefs; Appointment of Attorneys; Budget of the Supreme Court; Judicial Conference of the United States; Public Understanding of the Supreme Court; Reporter of Decisions; Staffing at the Supreme Court; and Supreme Court Historical Society
Human Rights Litigation in US Federal Courts, Conference paper – “International Law & the Armenian Genocide: Recognition, Responsibility & Restitution,” Institute of Armenian Studies, University of Southern California (Sept 07) (conference papers under review for publication by University of Pennsylvania Press)
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)
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)
International Law 101 for Federal Judges, 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)
The Academy's Perspective on Law Practice Management, New York City Bar Association, (12/07)
The Armenian Genocide and Human Rights Litigation in US Federal Courts, Forthcoming presentation at “International Law & the Armenian Genocide: Recognition, Responsibility & Restitution,” Institute of Armenian Studies, University of Southern California (9/07)
Considerations in a Legal Career, “Lead America” Trial Advocacy Program, Bentley College, Waltham, Massachusetts (6/07)
The Armenian Genocide, Boston University School of Law (4/07)
The Evolution of the Act of State Doctrine – Legal Accountability for Governmental Cruelty, The Work of Sir James Fitzjames Stephen – A Conference at Boston University’s Editorial Institute, Boston, Massachusetts (4/07)
Archive (pre-2007)
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