John F. Manning

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg ’56-58, whose lifelong fight for equal rights helped pave the way for women to take on high-profile roles in business, government, the military, and the Supreme Court, died on Sept. 18. She was 87.

First Class, an organization started by Harvard Law students to offer community and resources for low-income and first-generation college students, hosted a welcome reception for incoming students this August.

In a welcoming address during virtual orientation Thursday, Harvard Law School Dean John F. Manning ’85 predicted that many incoming students would use their legal education to help confront the most pressing challenges facing the United States and the world today.

After 18 years as its faculty director, Professor William P. Alford ’77 completed his tenure as vice dean for the Graduate Program and International Legal Studies at Harvard Law School on June 30.

Mark Wu, the Henry L. Stimson Professor at Harvard Law School, was recently appointed the new vice dean for the Graduate Program and International Legal Studies. He replaces William Alford, who served in the role for the past 18 years. 

On May 28, 2020, Harvard Law students gathered to celebrate their graduation. The gathering did not take place at the foot of Langdell Hall, but rather in living rooms and backyards worldwide, from Cambridge to California, from New Zealand to the Netherlands, at all hours of the day and night.

Elizabeth Papp Kamali ’07, a scholar specializing in medieval legal history, has been promoted to professor of law at Harvard Law School, effective July 1.

Daphna Renan, a scholar of presidential power and administrative governance, has been promoted to professor of law at Harvard Law School, effective July 1.

Alexandra Natapoff, a leading expert in criminal law and procedure, informants, public defense, and law and inequality, joins the Harvard Law faculty on July 1.

To better ensure the health and safety of its community amid the global pandemic, Harvard Law School programming will be remote for the Fall 2020 semester, Dean John F. Manning ’85 announced Wednesday.

Addressing graduating S.J.D.s, LL.M.s, and the first class of J.D.s he welcomed as dean three years ago, Dean John F. Manning ’85 saluted them for showing “resilience, strength, adaptability, and purpose,” and urged them to build “career[s] of meaning and purpose.”

Harvard Law Today recently spoke by email with Zero-L’s faculty director, Professor I. Glenn Cohen, about the program, the decision to make it available for free to interested American law schools this year, and how he expects it can help them and their students prepare for the fall semester.

Amid COVID-19, Harvard Law School will offer Zero-L this year for free to any interested U.S. law school to help them and their incoming students bolster student success rates and overcome COVID-related pre-matriculation educational challenges.

Three Harvard Law School faculty members—Nancy Gertner, Tomiko Brown-Nagin and David Barron—have been elected as members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Catherine Pattanayak ’04 has been appointed Harvard Law School’s assistant dean for public service and director of the Bernard Koteen Office of Public Interest Advising. She was formerly OPIA’s interim assistant dean for public service.

The late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia ’60 believed America had much to learn from laws adopted by nations abroad, according to Harvard Law School Professor Mary Ann Glendon. In an address titled “Who Needs Foreign Law?,” Glendon, the Learned Hand Professor of Law, gave a clear, if somewhat surprising, answer: Scalia did.

Harvard Law School has launched a new Religious Freedom Clinic. The clinic joins the 46 legal clinics and student practice organizations that make up the school’s clinical program.

Harvard Law School has launched a new Voting Rights Litigation and Advocacy Clinic. The clinic joins the 46 legal clinics and student practice organizations that make up the school’s clinical program.

Two professors squared off Friday during the inaugural Harvard Law School Rappaport Forum in a session titled “When Is Speech Violence? And Other Questions About Campus Speech.”