John F. Manning

In a 65-page critique of early decisions made by William H. Rehnquist, who was then an associate justice on the US Supreme Court, Harvard Law School professor David L. Shapiro wasted no time getting to his point — which he tucked at the end of his first paragraph. Basing his view on the justice’s written opinions and votes, Mr. Shapiro wrote in 1976 that while Rehnquist was “a man of considerable intellectual power and independence of mind, the unyielding character of his ideology has had a substantial adverse effect” on his work. Mr. Shapiro, the law school’s William Nelson Cromwell professor emeritus when he died at 87 on Nov. 19, was considered a leading intellectual light in the field of federal courts philosophy and theory. And for nearly a half-century he coedited editions of “The Federal Courts and the Federal System,” a key text for law students.“David was the heart and soul of ‘The Federal Courts and the Federal System,’ ” John F. Manning, dean of Harvard Law School, said in a statement. “He really shaped the field of federal courts. David was able to bring out the complexity and nuance of the law for judges, scholars, and practitioners, and he always did so with clarity and insight,” added Manning, who had joined Mr. Shapiro as a co-editor of the book’s sixth edition, published in 2010...Charles Fried, a Harvard Law School professor who, as solicitor general in the Reagan administration, hired Mr. Shapiro to serve as one of his deputies, recalled that some critics questioned the wisdom of hiring “somebody who had been so critical of the chief justice. Well, I knew Rehnquist and I think he couldn’t give a damn and it wouldn’t bother him a bit. It turned out there was no issue.”

Students enrolling at Harvard’s Business School, Law School, and Graduate School of Education (HBS, HLS, HGSE) for M.B.A., J.D. and LL.M., and Ed.M. degrees now can—and in some cases must—begin their programs of study before matriculating. Making use of the summer before the new academic year, each school has linked a new kind of instruction with online technology to introduce entering students to content critical to their coursework and, for HBS and HLS, their distinctive pedagogies...Shortly after he became dean of the law school in mid 2017, as part of his plans for online education, John F. Manning expressed interest in developing a common learning experience “meant to ensure that all incoming students, whatever their backgrounds and previous areas of study, start with the foundational knowledge that will enable them to thrive at HLS,”as a Harvard Law Today (HLT) report put it...Attwood and Williams professor of law I. Glenn Cohen, who had taught an online course on the HarvardX platform and also leads a first-year section, was tapped to lead the faculty group developing a pilot program—not least, he said, because he “thought it was a supercool project.” One reason for that, Cohen explained, derived from his own “origin story”: he was a first-generation college student, too (neither parent finished high school); there were no lawyers in his family; because he had studied bioethics (philosophy) and psychology, coming to HLS was a “big transition” (he is J.D. ’03); and as a native of Canada, “I knew nothing about the U.S. legal system.”

Harvard Law School has announced the launch of its new animal law and policy clinic, as the number of institutions in the states offering Animal Law courses skyrockets. The new clinic, part of the school's Animal Law & Policy Program, covers a range of issues 'affecting farmed animals, wildlife, animals in captivity, and the overarching threat to all forms of life from climate change'...The clinic will be led by Visiting Assistant Clinical Professor Katherine Meyer and Clinical Instructor Nicole Negowetti, while recent HLS graduate Kate Barnekow JD '19 will be returning as the first Clinical Fellow, and Sarah Pickering will be joining the team as Communications Manager. "Animal law is a vitally important and rapidly growing field," said Harvard Law School Dean John F. Manning. "Our new Animal Law & Policy Clinic will give students real-world experience in this burgeoning field, build on Harvard Law School’s long tradition of innovative pedagogy, and prepare future graduates to address significant societal challenges."

1L January Experiential Term courses focus on skills-building, collaboration and self-reflection