Latest from HLS News Staff

On April 17, Janet Reno ’63, the first woman attorney general of the United States, received the 2009 Justice Award of the American Judicature Society, in Washington, D.C. The Justice Award is the society’s highest honor.

On Saturday, April 25, 2009, Professor Charles Ogletree ’78 moderated a panel discussion entitled “Forecasting President Obama's Impact on America’s Political and Economic Agenda” as part of the weekend’s HLS Reunion program.

As a witness to terrible domestic violence until the age of eight, “Jamal” still carries his worries into the classroom everyday. Even though he and his mother are now safe, he’s unable to focus on his schoolwork, frequently acts out, and has been suspended from third grade.

Ian H. Gershengorn ’93 has joined the Department of Justice’s Civil Division as deputy assistant attorney general. He will oversee the Federal Programs Branch.

David Wilkins, the Lester Kissel Professor of Law at HLS, has been selected to be the 2009 commencement speaker at the University of Iowa College of Law's graduation ceremony on Saturday, May 16.

The following op-ed by Harvard Law School Professor Mark Roe, “A Chrysler bankruptcy won’t be quick,” appeared in the May 1, 2009, edition of the Wall Street Journal.
The following op-ed by Harvard Law School Professor Mark Roe, “A Chrysler bankruptcy won’t be quick,” appeared in the May 1, 2009, edition of the Wall Street Journal.

Harvard Law School Professor Laurence Tribe’s ’66 new book, “The Invisible Constitution” (Oxford University Press, 2008), was the subject of a star-studded panel discussion sponsored by the Harvard Law Review on April 15 at HLS.

Two Harvard Law School students, Tarun Chhabra ’11 and Previn Warren ’11, were among just 31 individuals selected to receive Paul and Daisy Soros New American Fellowships this year. Each will receive a half-tuition grant for two years of study at Harvard Law School and an additional $20,000 stipend for related expenses.

On April 15, Venezuelan Supreme Court Justice Vegas Torrealba discussed his country’s justice system during a talk entitled, “Role of Human Rights, Gender Equality, and Race in Venezuelan Law.” The event was sponsored by the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice.

Annette Gordon-Reed has won a Pulitzer Prize in history for her book, “The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family,” which examines four generations of a slave family owned by Thomas Jefferson. The prize includes a $10,000 award.

Five Harvard Law School alumni are among the National Law Journal’s inaugural list of the 20 Most Influential General Counsel.

Harvard Law School Professors Mark Roe ’75 and Michael Klarman are amongst the new class of members elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences this week.

Stephen Preston ’83 has been nominated to be the Central Intelligence Agency’s next general counsel. He is currently a partner and co-chair of the Defense, National Security, and Government Contracts Practice Group at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr in Washington, DC.

In an April 14 speech at Harvard Law School, Major General Antonio M. Taguba called for an independent commission to investigate the Bush Administration for war crimes. Taguba is the author of the controversial 2004 “Taguba Report” exposing the detainee abuse occurring at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.

The International Human Rights Clinic at Harvard Law School’s Human Rights Program has been working since 2005 on corporate Alien Tort Statute (ATS) litigation involving human rights abuses committed in apartheid South Africa. 

At this year’s annual Harvard Law School Clinical Forum, Scott Glick, Deputy Chief of Counterterrorism in the National Security Division of the US Department of Justice, talked to students about a unique externship program in which they can work with the department’s counterterrorism prosecutors on cases of critical national importance.

The future of Native American sovereignty under the Roberts Court is bleak, a panel of experts concluded at an April 6 conference examining 'Tribal Justice: The Supreme Court and the future of federal Indian law' at Harvard Law School.

On Monday, April 20th, several Harvard Law School students ran in the 113th Boston Marathon, competing with more than 23,000 other athletes from around the world.

The Congressional Oversight Panel (COP), chaired by Harvard Law School Professor Elizabeth Warren, held a hearing this morning at 10 a.m. featuring the testimony of Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.

The following op-ed, “How to avoid overpaying for toxic assets,” written by Harvard Law School Professor Lucian Bebchuk L.L.M. ’80 S.J.D. ’84, appeared in the April 21, 2009, edition of the Wall Street Journal.