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HLS Alums on Innovations in Law Teaching

Rebecca Tushnet testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee
Credit: Jay Mallin

This virtual monthly event series hosted by Professor Rebecca Tushnet will feature online panels of HLS graduates sharing their insights to strengthen our community as teachers.

Watch this space for further updates!

Developing Professionalism in Students 

Past: March 21, 12:00 PM EST

What is professionalism for a lawyer? How can we as teachers help students develop professional identities in ways that honor their diversity and commitments? Norms of professionalism can be exclusionary, even when our students adapt consciously and strategically to them. But the ideal of serving clients with specialized legal knowledge has value and meaning. Our panelists will discuss their strategies for working with developing lawyers to find professional identities that honor both themselves and the legal profession.

Teaching First-Generation Law Students

Past: March 10, 12:00 PM EST 

First-generation students face unique challenges. Anthony Abraham Jack’s The Privileged Poor recently highlighted many of the invisible-to-professors barriers such students, especially first-generation students of color, face in college. What about when those students go to law school? Three professors will share invaluable insights and recommendations to make “the invisible curriculum” both explicit and navigable to all students.

Incorporating Online Learning into Law Teaching: Insights from Successful Adopters

Past: Tuesday, Nov. 29 from 12:00 PM-1:00 PM EST

Please join HLS alums and law school faculty Jessica Erickson (University of Richmond School of Law), Michael McCann (University of New Hampshire Franklin Pierce School of Law), and Leah Plunkett (Harvard Law School) for a deep dive discussion of the online teaching techniques they have found to be successful across teaching modalities. Professor Rebecca Tushnet (Harvard Law School) will moderate this dynamic dialogue and invite audience questions and reflections as we explore together this new frontier of law teaching and learning.

Zoom Room to the Classroom: Lessons From Pandemic Teaching

Past: Wednesday, Oct. 19 from 12:00 PM-1:00 PM EST

First in a new webinar series on HLS grads in teaching, showcasing innovation and advice from teachers in a wide variety of situations, this webinar will offer lessons learned from the changes that the pandemic forced or encouraged. What worked and what didn’t? What is worth keeping, and how should we preserve the successful elements of the traditional classroom?