Latest from HLS News Staff

On June 3, General David Petraeus, the current Commander of U.S. Central Command, was on hand for the re-commissioning ceremony of two military officers who were being promoted to the rank of Captain—one in the Army and the other in the Air Force. Kyle Scherer ’09 and Nicholas Siler took their oaths in the Caspersen Room of Langdell Library.

Legal philosopher Ronald Dworkin LL.B. ’57 received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Harvard University during the 358th Commencement Exercises in Tercentenary Theater on June 4. 

In a Class Day address on June 3, U.S. Solicitor General Elena Kagan ’86 acknowledged that this year’s graduating class finds itself at an inflection point in society, facing great economic and political changes. But, she said, students should take advantage of these changing times because the greatest challenges often produce the biggest opportunities.

Demonstrating a strong commitment to public service, the class of 2009 put in a record total of 308,605 pro bono hours, more than any previous class.

In the 2009-10 academic year, Harvard Law School will provide up to 12 qualifying post-9/11 veterans full tuition under the federal government’s new Yellow Ribbon Program, Acting Dean Howell Jackson ’82 announced today.

During Class Day exercises on June 3, Professor Elizabeth Warren received the Class of 2009’s Sacks-Freund Teaching Award in honor of her teaching ability, openness to student concerns and contributions to student life at HLS.

During Class Day exercises on June 3, Professor Elizabeth Warren received the Class of 2009’s Sacks-Freund Teaching Award in honor of her teaching ability, openness to student concerns and contributions to student life at HLS.

Dean of Students Ellen Cosgrove received the Suzanne L. Richardson Staff Recognition Award during Class Day exercises. She was selected by the class of 2009 for her demonstrated commitment to the student experience and her concern for students’ lives and work at HLS.

 The following article “Key Ways to Reform Corporate Elections” by HLS Professor Lucian Bebchuk LL.M. ’80 S.J.D. ’84 appeared in the May 27 edition of The Wall Street Journal. Bebchuk is the director of the Program on Corporate Governance at Harvard Law School, and the author of “The Case for Shareholder Access to the Ballot,” “The Myth of the Shareholder Franchise” and “The Case for Increasing Shareholder Power.”

Willard Tom ’79 has been tapped to become general counsel of the Federal Trade Commission.  Tom, currently an antitrust partner at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius in Washington, D.C., is rejoining the commission, having served as deputy director of the Bureau of Competition and head of the policy office during the Clinton administration.

In a May 31, 2009 Washington Post op-ed, HLS Professor Jack Goldsmith writes, “The revelation last weekend that the United States is increasingly using foreign intelligence services to capture, interrogate and detain terrorist suspects points up an uncomfortable truth about the war against Islamist terrorists. Demands to raise legal standards for terrorist suspects in one arena often lead to compensating tactics in another arena that leave suspects (and, sometimes, innocent civilians) worse off.”

In the following interview in the June issue of The American Legion Magazine, HLS Professor Richard Parker ’70, a Constitutional law scholar, discusses his views on the Constitution and his support for a constitutional amendment that would return the right to protect the U.S. flag from physical desecration. Parker is chairman of the board of directors for the Citizens Flag Alliance and the author of "Here, the People Rule: A Constitutional Populist Manifesto." The title of the American Legion interview is "The Power to Protect."

On May 5, Harvard Law School Professor Jonathan Zittrain ’95 was elected to a three-year term on the Internet Society’s Board of Trustees. A non-profit organization, the Internet Society seeks to provide leadership on internet related standards, education, and policy around the world.

Time Magazine has named Harvard Law School Professor Elizabeth Warren one of 100 Most Influential People in 2009. Warren has been recognized for her bankruptcy law work and her chairmanship of the Congressional Oversight Panel charged with overseeing the Treasury Department's Troubled Asset Relief Program.

A new report issued by the International Human Rights Clinic at Harvard Law School calls for the UN Security Council to act on human rights abuses in Burma. The report, “Crimes in Burma,” comes in the wake of renewed international attention due to the continued persecution of Nobel Peace Prize recipient Aung San Suu Kyi.

Timothy Massad ’84 a partner at Cravath, Swaine & Moore has been appointed by the Obama Administration to be chief counsel of the U.S. Treasury Department’s Troubled Asset Relief Program.

This spring, two faculty members, Bruce Mann, the Carl F. Schipper, Jr. Professor of Law, and Robert Sitkoff, the John L. Gray Professor of Law, gave lectures to commemorate their appointments to endowed chairs. News coverage and video of their lectures are included below.

In an op-ed, “Delayed petrol tax beats CAFE plan,” that appeared in the May 21, 2009, edition of The Financial Times, Harvard Law School Professor Mark Roe ’75 and Michael Levine of New York University School of Law discuss the need for a petrol tax in order to make the Obama Administration’s automotive goals work well.

The following op-ed, written by Harvard Law school Professor Lucian Bebchuk LL.M. ’80 S.J.D. ’84, entitled “Near-sighted stress tests,” was published in Forbes on May 21, 2009.

On May 10, sibling teammates Victor Jih ’96 and Tamara Jih ’06 claimed victory in the 14th-season finale of the CBS reality show “The Amazing Race.” Brother and sister took home the million dollar prize for being first over the finish line at Maui’s King Kamehameha Golf Club in Hawaii.