Latest from HLS News Staff

Harvard Law School Dean Martha Minow was recently interviewed on the Harvard EdCast, a weekly podcast presented by the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Host Matt Weber described her as the "quintessential spokesperson” for law and education due to her scholarship in both fields; in addition to her role in legal education, she is also a graduate of and lecturer at Harvard Graduate School of Education.

The Korean American Lawyers Association of Greater New York recently honored Harvard Law Professor Jeannie Suk ‘02 with its annual Trailblazers award. In 2010, Suk became the first Asian-American woman to receive tenure at Harvard Law School.

In a Jun. 8 review in The New Republic, Harvard Law School Professor Adrian Vermeule ’93 discusses a new book by Jack M. Balkin, titled “Constitutional Redemption: Political Faith in an Unjust World” (Harvard University Press, 2011).

Harvard Law School Professor Vicki Jackson marked her appointment to the Thurgood Marshall Professorship of Constitutional Law with an Oct. 3 lecture titled "Proportionality and Judging in American Constitutionalism."

Harvard Law School Dean Martha Minow and Professors Elizabeth Warren, Laurence Tribe ’66, Nancy Gertner, and Noah Feldman all received honorary degrees at college and law school commencement ceremonies this spring.

On May 25, the Class of 2011 gathered to celebrate their accomplishments and share reflections of their Harvard Law School experience. As part of Class Day festivities, the graduating class  hailed their Class Day speaker, actor Alec Baldwin, and honored Professor Jon Hanson as the recipient of this year's Albert M. Sacks-Paul A. Freund Award for Teaching Excellence.

HLS Professor Noah Feldman and a team of HLS affiliates have authored a report at the request of the Commission on Truth and Reconciliation of Honduras (TRC), examining the constitutionality of the actions in Honduras that resulted in the 2009 military coup that removed President Manuel Zelaya from office. In the report, the authors offer recommendations for constitutional reform for the Central American country.

Jonathan Zittrain, HLS professor of law and co-director of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society, has been appointed as the Federal Communications Commission’s Distinguished Scholar, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski announced May 31.

This year’s list of “Top Ten Corporate and Securities Articles” based on an annual poll of corporate and securities law academics includes six articles authored or co-authored by Harvard Law faculty and fellows. The top ten articles, selected from a field of more than 440 pieces, will be reprinted in an upcoming issue of the Corporate Practice Commentator.

It was officially announced on April 29 that HLS Professor Noah Feldman will become a regular contributor to Bloomberg View, the new opinion section of Bloomberg News, which debuted in late May on Bloomberg.com. Feldman, who is a regular contributor to The New York Times, has been named as part of an expanded, 14-person roster of columnists that also includes Harvard University Professor of Economics Edward L. Glaeser and Meghan O’Sullivan, professor of international affairs at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.

On Thursday, May 26, 2011, Harvard Law School celebrated the class of 2011, conferring a total of 790 degrees—585 J.D.s, 195 LL.M.s, and 10 S.J.D.s during an afternoon ceremony in front of Langdell Library. HLS takes a look back at the day in pictures.

In her address to the Class of 2011, Dean Martha Minow praised the students’ accomplishments at HLS and their vast array of skills and achievements. But as they prepared to receive their diplomas, she emphasized the importance of one skill in particular, urging them to “cherish your talent for asking good questions.”

Alec Baldwin never intended to become an actor – he wanted to be a lawyer. From the age of 10, he bonded with his father by watching the evening news, absorbing great moments in American history; watching political leaders write the narrative of the 20th century. “It was right about then that I decided I wanted to be a lawyer, at 10 years old,” he told the Harvard Law School graduating class, as the student-selected 2011 Class Day speaker.

Professor Jon Hanson, the Alfred Smart Professor of Law, is this year's winner of the prestigious Albert M. Sacks-Paul A. Freund Award for Teaching Excellence, an honor bestowed each spring by the Harvard Law School graduating class. The award recognizes teaching ability, attentiveness to student concerns and general contributions to student life at the law school.

Elizabeth “Libby” Benton ’11 is the winner of the 2011 Andrew L. Kaufman Pro Bono Service Award, after performing over 2,300 hours of free legal services while at HLS.  The Class of 2011 surpassed the HLS record for pro bono hours, performing a total of 366,204 hours, an average of 628 hours per student.

During Class Day exercises on May 25, Sarah Min ’11 received the inaugural William J. Stuntz Memorial Award for Justice, Human Dignity and Compassion, which recognizes a graduating student who has demonstrated an exemplary commitment to these principles while at Harvard Law School.

William Howell, student programs manager in the Dean of Students Office at Harvard Law School, received the Suzanne L. Richardson Staff Appreciation Award during Class Day exercises on May 25.