Welcome to Harvard Law School!

We are delighted to invite you to join the Harvard National Security and Law Association, Harvard Law School's principal student organization for those interested in national security.

The NSLA aims to provide opportunities and resources to promote discourse on national security issues in the Harvard Law School community in order to increase understanding of the intersection of national security issues and the law. NSLA  provides its members with career assistance, academic advocacy, networking opportunities, and fora for education and discussion.

We also work to bring interesting national security programming to Harvard Law School.  In the past we have hosted a variety of events including a film and panel on private military companies, keynote speeches from high profile speakers such as Senator Jack Reed, presentations from national security organizations such as the NYPD intelligence division, and panel and networking functions with top women in National Security. Among our co-sponsored events are symposia on national security-related topics involving Harvard’s student-run journals, and topical discussions with HLS professors and visiting professors related to national security.

We also host career-related events on campus to help students find summer jobs, obtain post-graduation employment, and brainstorm other career opportunities in the national security field. We work jointly with OPIA, OCS, and HLS students themselve.

NSLA has worked hard to bring academic opportunities in the area of national security to HLS students. We have introduced new classes to the HLS course catalog such as a reading group comparing American and Israeli counterterrorism laws and policies, and a seminar on national security litigation. We hope to continue to provide those opportunities, and are thrilled that Harvard Law School has attracted more lecturers in this area and has agreed to help create a Program on Terrorism and the Law.

NSLA also includes the Harvard Law School National Security Research Group (“NSRG”). NSRG is a student-led initiative that will work in collaboration with NSLA to produce high-quality reports on pressing national security matters. NSRG, like NSLA, is non-partisan and unaffiliated with any particular national security agenda or approach, and it will remain open to people of all backgrounds and viewpoints.

We are very proud to join the other student organizations in welcoming you to Harvard Law School and hope you will decide to learn more about NSLA.   If you have any questions about NSLA activities and programming, or if you would like to get more involved, please feel free to contact the Co-Presidents Michael Aktipis and Hershel Eisenberger! 

Sincerely,

Michael Aktipis and Hershel Eisenberger