Latest from HLS News Staff

Several Harvard Law School alumni have made gifts totaling $5.1 million in honor of Dean Robert C. Clark, who steps down from the deanship today. The gifts come from members of the Dean’s Advisory Board, a core group of alumni leaders who also act as advisers to the School.

Harvard Law School has awarded the 2003 Fay Diploma to Michael Shah of Brookville, New York. The Fay Diploma is awarded each year to the graduating J.D. student with the highest combined grade point average for three years of study at the law school.

Harvard Law School Professor Martha Minow has received the 2003 Radcliffe Graduate Society Medal. The prize, given to women who have earned a Radcliffe or Harvard Graduate degree and have made an outstanding contribution to their field, was presented to Minow at the Radcliffe Day symposium on June 6.

Kicking off the most ambitious fund-raising drive in the history of legal education, Harvard Law School leaders gathered today in Cambridge to launch "Setting the Standard: The Harvard Law School Campaign." At a formal kickoff luncheon, the campaign’s chairman, Finn M.W. Caspersen, announced that $170.1 million in commitments have already been secured toward a $400 million goal. These initial gifts total more than the entire $150 million goal of the law school’s previous record-setting campaign.

The Harvard Law School Program on International Financial Systems held a conference today that examined risk-based capital standards for financial institutions. The conference is the culmination of a two-year study on risk-based capital, supported by Swiss Reinsurance Company.

On June 4, CNN talk show host Larry King will deliver Harvard Law School's 2003 Class Day address. The Class Day exercises will begin at 2:30 p.m. on the steps of Langdell Hall. In addition to King's remarks, the 2003 Sacks-Freund teaching award and the 2003 staff appreciation award will be presented. For those unable to attend, the event will be webcast live.

Harvard Law School Dean Robert Clark has announced that the school has received a $10 million grant from the John M. Olin Foundation. The gift is the largest foundation grant in the law school's 186-year history.

Harvard Law School Dean Robert Clark has announced the creation of the L. Anthony Sutin Public Service Summer Fellowship. Named in honor of the late dean of the Appalachian School of Law, the fellowship will provide funding each summer for a HLS student to conduct public interest work.

On the weekend of May 2-4, Harvard Law School will celebrate the 50th anniversary of its first graduating class of women with an unprecedented gathering of prominent women in the worlds of government, law, business and academia. More than 700 alumnae are expected to attend the event, which will feature a wide range of speakers and panelists including Mary Robinson '68, Janet Reno '63, Pamela Thomas-Graham '88, Ruth Bader Ginsburg '56-'58, and Kathleen Sullivan '81. On Saturday morning (May 3) female members of the class of 1953 with gather for a discussion of their experience at the law school and in the workplace.

On Wednesday, April 30, the Harvard Law School ArtsPanel and the European Law Research Center will convene a panel discussion on the continuing efforts to repatriate art looted by the Nazis. The event, which is free and open to the public, will begin at 3 p.m. in the Langdell South classroom.

The four-student Harvard Law School trial team has placed second in the National Criminal Justice Student Trial Advocacy Competition sponsored by the Criminal Justice Section of the American Bar Association and the John Marshall Law School. Twenty U.S. law schools and one from England competed in the event, which was held from April 3-5 in Chicago.

On Wednesday, April 23, the American Constitution Society at Harvard Law School will sponsor a talk on "Terrorism, Technology and Law Enforcement" by former Attorney General Janet Reno. The event, which is free and open to the public, will begin at 5 p.m. in the Ames Courtroom.

Harvard Law School's Committee on Sports and Entertainment Law will host its annual sports law conference on Friday, April 18. The first panel discussion will focus on the role of amateurism in sports today. The second panel will honor some of Harvard's past students who have gained success in the sports world. The conference will begin at 1:30 p.m. in the Vorenberg Classroom; it is free and open to the public.

Harvard Law School Dean Robert Clark has announced that the school's Office of Public Interest Advising will be renamed in honor of Bernard Koteen, a 1940 graduate of the law school. Koteen's recent gift of $1 million will allow the Bernard Koteen Office of Public Interest Advising to continue to support the growing number of students interested in pursuing public interest employment.