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 Goldberg headshot]()
John 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
Austin Wakeman Scott 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
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| Conceptions of Legal Entities | Spring 2024 Seminar | Reinier Kraakman |
| Corporate Governance: Corporate Purpose | Fall 2023 Course | Mark Roe |
| Corporations | Spring 2024 Course | J. Mark Ramseyer |
| Corporations | Fall 2023 Course | Reinier Kraakman |
| Equity | Spring 2024 Course | Henry Smith |
| Foundations of International Arbitration: Theory and Practice | Fall 2023 Course | Hugh Carlson, Luke Sobota |
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