Private law is law that concerns how individuals and firms can or must interact with one another. Though many subject-areas within the law have important private-law dimensions, including corporate law, employment Law, and family law – at its core are subjects such as agency, contracts, fiduciary law, property, restitution, and torts. These bodies of law define basic legal rights and duties (such as the right to have contractual promises enforced, and the right against another person’s invading one’s house or privacy) and also important legal powers (such as the power to make legally binding arrangements). A world leader in contemporary private law and private law theory, Harvard Law School offers students instruction from dozens of faculty members who research and teach in private law areas.
From Harvard Law Today
Profiles
Professors Smith and Goldberg reinvigorate the study of Private Law at HLS
Faculty
HLS Professors
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![Oren Bar-Gill headshot]()
Oren Bar-Gill
William J. Friedman and Alicia Townsend Friedman Professor of Law and Economics
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![Maureen Brady headshot]()
Maureen Brady
Louis D. Brandeis Professor of Law
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![Charles Donahue headshot]()
Charles Donahue
Paul A. Freund Professor of Law
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![John C. Goldberg headshot]()
John C. Goldberg
Carter Professor of General Jurisprudence
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![Duncan M. Kennedy headshot]()
Duncan M. Kennedy
Carter Professor of General Jurisprudence, Emeritus
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![Kenneth W. Mack headshot]()
Kenneth W. Mack
Lawrence D. Biele Professor of Law
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![Ruth L. Okediji headshot]()
Ruth L. Okediji
Jeremiah Smith, Jr. Professor of Law
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![Steven M. Shavell headshot]()
Steven M. Shavell
Samuel R. Rosenthal Professor of Law and Economics
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![Joseph W. Singer headshot]()
Joseph W. Singer
Bussey Professor of Law
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![Robert H. Sitkoff headshot]()
Robert H. Sitkoff
John L. Gray Professor of Law
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![Henry E. Smith headshot]()
Henry E. Smith
Fessenden Professor of Law
Visiting Professors & Lecturers
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![Crescente Molina headshot]()
Crescente Molina
Lecturer on Law
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![Mariana Pargendler headshot]()
Mariana Pargendler
Sullivan & Cromwell Visiting Professor of Law
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![Carlos Portugal Gouvea headshot]()
Carlos Portugal Gouvea
William D. Zabel ‘61 Visiting Professor in Human Rights
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![Alexander Stremitzer headshot]()
Alexander Stremitzer
Robert Braucher Visiting Professor of Law
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![Alain Laurent Verbeke headshot]()
Alain Laurent Verbeke
Visiting Professor of Law
Clinics
Transactional Law Clinics
Research Programs and Centers
Related Courses
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| Competing Values: Freedom, Equality, Property, & Democracy | Spring 2023 Reading Group | Joseph Singer |
| Conceptions of Legal Entities | Spring 2023 Seminar | Reinier Kraakman |
| Conflict of Laws | Spring 2023 Course | Stephen Sachs |
| Corporate Governance: Corporate Purpose | Fall 2022 Course | Mark Roe |
| Corporations | Spring 2023 Course | J. Mark Ramseyer |
| Corporations | Spring 2023 Course | Reinier Kraakman |
| Estate Planning | Spring 2023 Seminar | Marc Bloostein |