The Harvard Law School Forum

Guide to Past Programs
(select a decade below)

1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s

Date: April 10, 1980
Speaker: Yehuda Z. Blum - Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations

Date: April 22, 1980
Title: "Press Under Pressure"
Speaker: Daniel Schorr - Journalist, Author

Date: April 25, 1980
Speaker: Wade McCree, Jr. - Solicitor General of the United States

Date: September 29, 1980
Speaker: F. Lee Bailey, Attorney
[PHOTO]

Date: October 23, 1980
Title: "Individual Rights v. National Security"
Speaker: David Landau - ACLU Attorney

Date: November 18, 1980
Speaker: Ambassador Elliot L. Richardson

Date: February 10, 1981
Speaker: Melvin Belli - "The King of Torts"
[PHOTO]

Date: October 20, 1981
Speaker: Jane Pauley - Hostess, "Today Show"
[PHOTO]

Date: November 12, 1981
Speaker: Eugene McCarthy

Date: November 15, 1981
Title: "Tough New World: Lawyers in the 1980s"
Speaker: Steven Brill - Editor, Publisher of The American Lawyer

Date: May 26, 1982
Topic: "Harvard Law School: High Priced Tool Factory or Professional Institution?"
Speaker: Ralph Nader, '58

Date: November 29, 1982
Speaker: Harlan Ellison

Date: October 7, 1982
Title: "Harvard, Hollywood and Houseman: Alternatives to Wall Street"
Speaker: John Jay Osborn, Jr. - Author, The Paper Chase, The Associates

Date: October 14, 1982
Title: "Lawyering on the Evening News"
Speaker: Fred Graham - Law Correspondent, CBS News

Date: October 28, 1982
Title: "U.S. Foreign Policy: A Critique"
Speaker: George McGovern
[AUDIO]

Date: November 29, 1982
Speaker: Harlan Ellison - Short Story Writer

Date: February 8, 1983
Speaker: Zbigniew Brzezinski - National Security Advisor to President Carter

Date: February 18, 1983
Title: "Making Partner: The Inside Story"
Speaker: James B. Stewart, Jr., '78 - Executive Editor, The American Lawyer;
Author, The Partners

Date: March 3, 1983
Speaker: Elizabeth Holtzman - District Attorney, King's County, New York;
Served on House Judiciary Committee which voted to impeach President Nixon

Date: March 17, 1983
Title: "The Case for a New Political Party"
Speaker: John Anderson - Former U.S. Congressman; Presidential Candidate, 1980

Date: April 14, 1983
Speaker: Phil Donahue - TV Talk Show Host
[PHOTO] [Audio Recording housed at Harvard Law School Library Special Collections]

Date: April 21, 1983
Title: "Lebanon in the Middle East: The Current Crisis"
Speaker: Alfred Mady - Special Advisor to the President of Lebanon
[Audio Recording housed at Harvard Law School Library Special Collections]

Date: September 23, 1983
Speaker: Robert G. Mugabe - Prime Minister, The Republic of Zimbabwe
[PHOTO] [Audio Recording housed at Harvard Law School Library Special Collections]

Date: October 6, 1983
Title: "Are Lawyers Ruining Sports?"
Speaker: "Red" Auerbach - President & General Manager, The Boston Celtics
[Audio Recording housed at Harvard Law School Library Special Collections]

Date: October 25, 1983
Title: "The Future of the Relationship Between the U.S. and Puerto Rico"
Panel: Carlos Romero-Barcello - Governor of Puerto Rico
Rafael Hernandez-Colon - Governor of Puerto Rico 1973-1977
Reben Berríos-Martínez - President, Puerto Rican Independence Party

Date: October 14, 1983
Title: "Beyond the Protest of 1982: Is Progress Possible at Harvard Law School?"
Speaker: Ralph Nader, '58
[Audio Recording housed at Harvard Law School Library Special Collections]

Date: October 25, 1983
Title: "Economic Alternatives for the 80's"
Speaker: Senator Ernest "Fritz" Hollings - D, South Carolina - Candidate for
Democratic Presidential Nomination
[AUDIO]

Date: October 27, 1983
Title: "What's Next for the Civil Rights Movement"
Speaker: Julian Bond - Georgia State Senator; Civil Rights Leader

Date: November 3, 1983
Title: "The U.S. Presidency: An Inside Look at the Last 35 Years"
Speaker: Clark Clifford

Date: November 10, 1983
Title: "Sentencing, Post-Sentencing and Parole: No Justice in Jail?"
Speaker: John Ehrlichman
[PHOTO] [Audio Recording housed at Harvard Law School Library Special Collections]

Date: November 17, 1983
Title: "Current Directions in Defense Policy"
Speaker: Caspar W. Weinberger, '41 - U.S. Secretary of Defense
[AUDIO] [TRANSCRIPT] [PHOTO 1] [PHOTO 2]

Date: November 30, 1983 (1:30 p.m.)
Title: "Brandeis: The Search for the Private Man"
Speaker: Lewis J. Paper, '71 - Author, Brandeis

Date: November 30, 1983 (3:00 p.m.)
Title: "Peace and Jobs"
Speaker: Senator Alan Cranston - D., California
[AUDIO]

Date: December 5, 1983
Title: "Israel: Today and Tomorrow"
Speaker: Shimon Peres - Chairman, Israel Labour Party
[AUDIO]

Date: March 8, 1984
Title: "Democracy in Small States: The Case of the Carribean"
Speaker: Edward P.G. Seaga - Prime Minister of Jamaica
[Audio Recording housed at Harvard Law School Library Special Collections]

Date: March 14, 1984
Title: "Behind the Scenes at '60 Minutes'"
Speaker: Morley Safer
[Audio Recording housed at Harvard Law School Library Special Collections]

Date: April 8, 1984
Title: "Civil Rights with a Global Perspective"
Speaker: Andrew Young - Mayor of Atlanta; Former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N.
[AUDIO (first few minutes missing)]

Date: April 19, 1984
Title: "An Address and Afternoon with Stevie Wonder"
Speaker: Stevie Wonder
[AUDIO] [PHOTO 1] [PHOTO 2] [PHOTO 3]

Date: April 25, 1984
Title: "The ERA - Is There a Future?"
Speaker: Phyllis Schlafly
Introduction: Sylvia Law - Visiting Professor of Law, Harvard
[AUDIO]

Date: September 20, 1984
Title: "The Role of Religion in Politics"
Speaker: Rev. Jerry Falwell - Leader of the Moral Majority
[AUDIO]

Date: September 25, 1984
Title: "Dear Ann Landers..."
Speaker: Ann Landers - Syndicated Columnist
[Audio Recording housed at Harvard Law School Library Special Collections]

Date: October 8, 1984
Speaker: Daniel Ortega - Coordinator of the Government of National Reconstruction of Nicaragua; Sandinista Candidate for President of Nicaragua; Commandante de la Revolution of the Sandinista Front
Introduction: Carlos Fuentes- Author
[AUDIO]

Date: October 9, 1984
Title: "Anecdotes from an Investigative Journalist"
Speaker: Mike Wallace - "60 Minutes" Correspondent; Author, Close Encounters

Date: October 18, 1984
Title: "Civil Rights in Retrospect - Twenty Years of Change Since the Civil Rights Act"
Speaker: Clarence Pendleton - Chairman of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights

Date: October 25, 1984
Title: "Law, The Media, and 'The People's Court'"
Speaker: Judge Joseph Wapner - Judge, "The People's Court"
[PHOTO 1] [PHOTO 2] [AUDIO]

Date: November 8, 1984
Title: "Can Socialism Survive Reagan, Thatcher and Kohl?"
Speaker: Rt. Hon. Tony Benn - Labour Member of Parliament (first elected 1950)
[PHOTO] [Audio Recording housed at Harvard Law School Library Special Collections]

Date: November 15, 1984
Title: "Has the Media Destroyed the U.S. Electoral Process?"
Speaker: Meg Greenfield - Newsweek Columnist; Editor, The Washington Post
[Audio Recording housed at Harvard Law School Library Special Collections]

Date: December 6, 1984
Speaker: Michael Dukakis - Governor of Massachusetts
[Audio Recording housed at Harvard Law School Library Special Collections]

Date: February 5, 1985
Title: "The Atlanta Child Murders: The Trial and Continuing Debate"
    with exclusive preview of Upcoming CBS-TV movie "The Atlanta Child Murders"
Panel: Alan Dershowitz - Professor, Harvard Law School
    Abby Mann - Writer and Producer
    Alvin Binder - Trial Defense Attorney for Wayne Williams
[Audio Recording housed at Harvard Law School Library Special Collections]

Date: February 21, 1985
Title: "U.S. Soviet Relations: A View from the Media"
Speaker: Peter Jennings - ABC News Anchorman and Chief Correspondent
[AUDIO]

Date: February 28, 1985
Title: "The New Grape Boycott -- Will it Work in the Eighties?"
Speaker: Cesar Chavez - President, United Farm Workers of America
[PHOTO] [TEXT] [PART 1 - AUDIO - PART 2]

Date: April 11, 1985
Title: "Lawyers and Journalists: Differences and Similarities"
Speaker: John Chancellor - Commentator, NBC Nightly News
[AUDIO]

Date: April 23, 2985
Speaker: Arturo Cruz
[Audio Recording housed at Harvard Law School Library Special Collections]

Date: April 25, 1985
Title: "The Press: Credible or Incredible?"
Speaker: Mike Wallace - "60 Minutes" Correspondence
[Audio Recording housed at Harvard Law School Library Special Collections]

Date: September 26, 1985
Title: "Fostering Economic Growth, Insuring Economic Justice: Boston's Challenge"
Speaker: Raymond L. Flynn - Mayor of Boston
[TEXT] [Audio Recording housed at Harvard Law School Library Special Collections]

Date: October 1, 1985
Title: "Growing Up in the Nuclear Age"
Speaker: Dr. Benjamin Spock - Pediatrician and Peace Activist
[Audio Recording housed at Harvard Law School Library Special Collections]

Date: October 9, 1985
Title: "Mass Tort Litigation: Victims Rights or Ambulance Chasing?"
Speaker: Melvin Belli, Attorney
[PHOTO]

Date: October 10, 1985
Title: "The Future of the Labor Movement"
Speaker: Douglas Fraser - Former President, UAW
[Audio Recording housed at Harvard Law School Library Special Collections]

Date: October 17, 1985
Title: "The Space Shuttle and the Future of the U.S. Space Program"
Speaker: Dr. Sally K. Ride - NASA Astronaut
[PHOTO] [Audio Recording housed at Harvard Law School Library Special Collections]

Date: October 24, 1985
Title: "The Influence of Politics on a City's Economy: The Chicago Statement"
Speaker: Jane Byrne - Former Mayor and Candidate for Re-Election

Date: October 28, 1985
Title: "Non-Violent Resistance & Social Defense -- The Green Party's Answer to the
             Arms Race"
Speaker: Petra Kelly - West German Member of Parliament, Green Party
    Gert Bastian - West German Member of Parliament, Green Party
[PHOTO - Kelly]        [PHOTO - Bastain]

Date: November 7, 1985
Title: "Some Reflections on the Media"
Speaker: William Rusher - Editor, The National Review

Date: November 14, 1985
Title: "Looking Back at the New York City Mayor's Race:
Why It Came Out Like It Did"
Speaker: Carol Bellamy - President, New York City Council
[Audio Recording housed at Harvard Law School Library Special Collections]

Date: November 16, 1985
Title: "Murderers Among Us/ Consequences of the Holocaust"
Speaker: Simon Wiesenthal - Investigator of Nazi War Criminals
[PHOTO] [AUDIO]

Date: February 12, 1986
Topic: Juvenile Crime
Speaker: Edward I. Koch - Mayor of New York City
[AUDIO]

Date: February 16, 1986
Speaker: Ruth Bader Ginsberg - Judge, D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals
[AUDIO]

Date: February 25, 1986
Title: "Religion and Politics"
Speaker: Rev. William Slone Coffin - Riverside Church, New York City
[AUDIO]

Date: March 6, 1986
Title: "Restoring Competitiveness in Corporate America"
Speaker: T. Boone Pickens - President & Chairman, Mesa Petroleum Co.
[Audio Recording housed at Harvard Law School Library Special Collections]

Date: March 12, 1986
Title: "On Trial in America"
Speaker: Claus von Bülow
Introduction: Alan Dershowitz - Professor, Harvard Law School
[NEWS ARTICLE] [Audio Recording housed at Harvard Law School Library Special Collections]

Date: April 3, 1986
Title: "The Crumbling Wall Between Church and State: Can it be Repaired?"
Speaker: Dr. Madalyn Murray O'Hair - President and Founder, American Atheists
[NEWS ARTICLE]

Date: April 9, 1986
Title: "The Global Challenge to Human Rights in 1986"
Speaker: Geraldine Ferraro - 1984 Democratic Vice-Presidential Candidate
[PHOTO]

Date: April 15, 1986
Title: "Moral Law in Public Policy"
Speaker: His Eminence John Cardinal O'Connor
[TRANSCRIPT]

Date: April 28, 1986
Title: "Prospects for Peace in the Middle East: A Debate"
Speakers: Alan Dershowitz - Professor, Harvard Law School
Zuhdi Terzi - P.L.O. Observer to the U.N.
CANCELLED DUE TO U.S STATE DEPARTMENTS'S REFUSAL TO ALLOW ZUDHI TERZI TO TRAVEL FROM WASHINGTON TO HARVARD FOR PURPOSES OF A SPEAKING ENGAGEMENT - The Forum filed suit against the State Department and won in U.S. District Court (see Harvard Law School Forum vs. Shultz) but ultimately lost in the U.S. Court of Appeals.

Date: October 2, 1986
Title: "Politics and the Press"
Speaker: Willie Brown - Speaker, California Assembly
Introduction: Professor Charles Ogletree
[AUDIO] [NEWS ARTICLE]

Date: October 6, 1986
Title: "The Evangelical Vote: Is It Monolithic?"
Speaker: Dr. Jerry Falwell - President, Liberty Foundation
[AUDIO] [PHOTO]

Date: October 23, 1986
Title: "The Nuclear Arms Race"
Speaker: Dr. Carl Sagan, Astronomer
[AUDIO] [PHOTO]

Date: October 29, 1986
Speaker: Ted Turner - Chairman and President, Turner Broadcasting System
[AUDIO]

Date: November 5, 1986
Title: "Challenges in City Management"
Speaker: Wilson Goode - Mayor of Philadelphia
[Audio Recording housed at Harvard Law School Library Special Collections]

Date: November 11, 1986
Speaker: Rev. Jesse Jackson
Harvard Law School Forum Fortieth Anniversary Lecture
[AUDIO] [NEWS ARTICLE]

Date: November 18, 1986
Title: "The Changing Role of Television News in America"
Speaker: Dan Rather - Managing Editor and Anchor, CBS Evening News
[AUDIO] [PHOTO]

Date: November 24, 1986
Title: "Nicaragua versus U.S. in the World Court: American Policy on Trial"
Speaker: Sergio Ramirez Mercado - Vice-President of Nicaragua
[AUDIO]

Date: March 3, 1987
Title: "My Experiences with the Media"
Speaker: General William Westmoreland (U.S. Army, Ret.)
[PART 1 - AUDIO - PART 2] [PHOTO 1] [PHOTO 2] [PHOTO 3]

Date: March 16, 1987
Title: "The Iran-Contra Affair and the 1988 Presidential Race"
Speaker: Rep. Patricia Schroeder - D., Colorado
[TEXT]

Date: April 7, 1987
Title: "Media, Morality and the First Amendment"
Speaker: Christie Hefner - President and CEO of Playboy Enterprises, Inc.
[AUDIO]

Date: April 16, 1987
Title: "The Politics of Values and the Value of Politics - 1988"
Speaker: Paul Kirk, '64 - Chairman, Democratic National Committee
[AUDIO]

Date: April 22, 1987
Title: "Miss Manners Lays Down the Law"
Speaker: Judith Martin (Miss Manners) - Syndicated Columnist and Author
[AUDIO]

Date: September 21, 1987
Title: "And So It Goes..."
Speaker: Linda Ellerbee - Television Journalist and Author

Date: October 7, 1987
Title: "Honduras and the Central American Crisis"
Speaker: Carlos Lopez Contreras - Foreign Minister of Honduras

Date: October 14, 1987
Title: "Race and the Constitution: A Bicentenial Look at Equal Protection
    and Affirmative Action"
Panelists: Alan Dershowitz
    Avi Nelson
    Mel King
Moderator: Charles Fried
[Audio Recording housed at Harvard Law School Library Special Collections]

Date: October 21, 1987
Title: "The America's Cup: Past, Present and Future"
Speaker: Dennis Conner - Skipper, "Stars and Stripes"
[AUDIO]

Date: November 2, 1987
Title: "Network Television News Coverage in Washington, D.C."
Speaker: Lesley Stahl - Moderator, "Face the Nation"
[AUDIO]

Date: November 9, 1987
Title: "Organized Crime, Corruption, and Insider Trading: Current Happenings at the
U.S. Attorney's Office"
Speaker: Rudolph Giuliani - United States Attorney, SDNY
[AUDIO]

Date: November 17, 1987
Speaker: Larry King - Host, CNN's "Larry King Live"

Date: November 19, 1987
Title: "Why I Left the Contras"
Speaker: Arturo Cruz - Former Director of the Contras
Introduction: Detlev Vagts - Professor, Harvard Law School
[AUDIO]

Date: November 20, 1987
Speaker: Whoopi Goldberg
[PHOTO]

Date: November 24, 1987
Title: "Islam and Its Legal System: Past, Present and Future"
Speaker: Sheikh Zaki Yamani - Former Minister of Petroleum of Saudi Arabia
Introduction: Frank Vogel - Professor, Harvard Law School
[AUDIO]

Date: December 8, 1987
Event: Pre-Screening of "Wall Street"
Speaker: Oliver Stone - Director

Date: February 10, 1988
Title: "The Baby M Case and its Effects on the Future of Surrogate Motherhood"
Speakers: Marybeth Whitehead Gould - Surrogate Mother in the Baby M Case
Harold Cassidy - Attorney to Marybeth Whitehead Gould
Introduction: Martha Field - Professor, Harvard Law School
[AUDIO]

Date: February 18, 1988
Title: "The Homeless Crisis: A Street View"
Speaker: Joyce Brown - Homeless Woman who challenged NYCs Homeless Policy
With: her attorneys Norman Siegel & Robert Levy, NYCLU
Introduction: Dan Greenberg - Director, Clinical Program, Harvard Law School
[AUDIO]

Date: March 1, 1988
Title: "The Feminization of Power"
Speaker: Eleanor Smeal - Former President, National Organization of Women

Date: March 15, 1988
Title: "The Exploitation of Kids, Family and Marriage for Profit"
Speaker: Erma Bombeck - Author, Columnist and Humorist
[AUDIO]

Date: April 18, 1988
Title: "The Emerging Shape of the 1988 Elections"
Speaker: Louis Harris - Public Opinion Analyst

Date: April 25, 1988
Title: "1L Revisited: Thoughts on Legal Education After 10 Years in Legal Practice"
Speaker: Scott Turow - Author, IL, Attorney
Introduction: Nick Littlefield - Dir., Trial Advocacy Workshop, Harvard Law School
[AUDIO] [PHOTO]

Date: September 28, 1988
Title: "Justice During the Reagan Years"
Speaker: Terry Eastland - Justice Department Chief Spokesperson under Ed Meese
[Audio Recording housed at Harvard Law School Library Special Collections]

Date: October 12, 1988
Title: "The Legalization of Drugs"
Speakers: Alan Dershowitz - Professor, Harvard Law School
James H. Burley, Jr. - U.S. Secretary of Transportation
Moderator: Charles Ogletree - Visiting Professor, Harvard Law School
[Audio Recording housed at Harvard Law School Library Special Collections]

Date: November 16, 1988
Title: "Reflections on Public Service"
Speaker: Donald Regan - Former. Sec. of the Treasury and White House Chief of Staff
[Audio Recording housed at Harvard Law School Library Special Collections]

Date: December 1, 1988
Speaker: Alejandro Serrano Caldera - Nicaraguan Ambassador to the United Nations
and Former President of the Nicaraguan Supreme Court
Introduction: James Rowles - Lecturer, Harvard Law School
[AUDIO]

Date: December 12, 1988
Title: "Patriotism and Other Spectator Sports"
Speaker: Edward Asner - Actor and Activist
[AUDIO]

Date: February 8, 1989
Title: "Balancing Individual Rights with the Rights of Society: Sensitive Investigative
Techniques"
Speaker: William Sessions - Director, Federal Bureau of Investigations
Introduction: Philip Heymann - Professor, Harvard Law School
[AUDIO] [PHOTO]

Date: February 13, 1989
Title: "The Power Shift to the States: View from the Executive Branch"
Speaker: Madeline Kunin - Governor of Vermont
[AUDIO] [PHOTO]

Date: March 9, 1989
Title: "Leveraged Buyouts: Their Role in America Today"
Speaker: Reginald Lewis - Chairman and CEO of TLC Beatrice International Food Grp.

Date: April 12, 1989
Title: "The Future of Progressive Politics"
Speaker: Jim Hightower - Texas Commissioner of Agriculture

Date: October 30, 1989
Title: "The 90's Challenge to Public Service"
Speaker: Marion Barry - Mayor of Washington, D.C.
Moderator: Charles Ogletree - Professor, Harvard Law School
[PART 1 - AUDIO - PART 2] [PHOTO]