Event Planning 101

Before you book a space, ask the following questions:

1. What is the objective of the event?
   1. Identify the event topic and potential speakers.
   2. If you are inviting a guest speaker, review the Speaker Outreach guidelines before issuing an invitation. In the invitation, request their general availability if possible.
      1. If the speaker is a head of state, head of government, cabinet minister, high profile official or leader, work with the Harvard University Marshal’s Office to determine the correct protocol before issuing an invitation. Student Organizations should reach out to DOS before the Marshal’s Office.
2. What size of an audience are you expecting?
3. What kind of space do you need for your event format?
   1. Popular HLS spaces include small seminar rooms, tiered classrooms, outdoor spaces, the Pub, and the multi-purpose Milstein Conference Center spaces.
   2. If you are interested in the Milstein Conference Center spaces, what would be your desired room setup?
      1. Setup options include theater, banquet, reception, hollow rectangle, U-shape, and fair-style tables. For alternative setups, please reach out to OES to discuss the best room options for your desired setup.
4. What dates would suit your event?
   1. We recommend brainstorming a few dates before booking a space in advance of a new room release. To determine dates, consider the availability of your various stakeholders along with any campus-wide activities or previously scheduled events that might present a conflict with your event. Learn more about event blackout dates and the room release schedule.
5.  Will you be providing travel and accommodation for any guests?
6. What is the budget for your event?
   1. For HLS departmental and faculty events, determine the billing code that will be used for event charges.
   2. For Student Organizations, review DOS financing and funding guidelines.
   3. Review common event costs.

Visit our Book a Space page for more information about booking an event space through the EMS WebApp. New spaces are released throughout the year, so check our home page for new release date announcements.

Rain plan

Using an outdoor space? Make sure you have a rain plan.

Harvard Travel Services offer a variety of services for events involving travel and hotel accommodation.

Review the Harvard University travel and reimbursement policies.

Booking at Nearby Hotels

Visit the Harvard Travel Services website for a list of nearby hotels with preferred rates for Harvard business.

Booking Travel

Visit the Harvard Travel Services website for more information about the University’s preferred travel partners and benefits.

Hosting an event with minors under the age of 18 unaccompanied by their parents or legal guardians? Familiarize yourself with the Youth Program Registration process and requirements, which may include additional training and background checks.

Check if a City of Cambridge License is required for any element of your event. If so, start the process as soon as possible.

Check if Crowd Managers are required for your event. If so, identify your crowd managers and make sure they are certified.

If you need equipment not stocked by OES (e.g. ADA accessible staging, translation equipment, or additional lighting), coordinate logistics with OES before placing an order. Review our information about additional event costs, including rental equipment.

Please note that insurance and workers’ compensation may be required for outside vendors.

Identify your advertising channels (e.g. HLS calendar listing, departmental publications and communications, social media, or physical posters) and make a plan for each channel. Remember to communicate essential event details including subject matter, date, time, location, and pre-registration information.

If you are planning an event for more than 200 attendees, reach out to HUDS to start your catering order as soon as possible.

HUDS catering is required in the Milstein Conference Center and Caspersen Student Center. Catering orders in these spaces will need tables for food and beverages, which may reduce the seating capacity. Consult with HUDS and OES to confirm catering setups.

Harvard Law School is dedicated to building a healthier, more sustainable campus, and we encourage event planners to consider the environment when planning events. Learn more about sustainability at HLS.

If you would like to request additional compost or recycling bins for an event, you may do so by adding setup services to your event in the EMS WebApp. You can also visit the Office for Sustainability’s Sustainable Meeting and Event Guide.

Your OES coordinator will reach out to you to answer questions and help with the event planning process. For large events, feel free to reach out to us early to schedule a meeting with your OES event coordinator. They can help create room setup diagrams, plan event logistics, and answer any event-related questions.

Registration Setups

Depending on the space you have booked, lobby spaces may be available for a registration table setup. Reach out to OES to discuss your options.

Linens for tables can be ordered from HUDS.

Sign Holders, Easels, & White Boards

OES can provide indoor sign holders or easels for your event signage. White board easels with hooks for flip charts are also available on request. We do not provide signage, flip chart paper, or flip chart markers.

Our indoor sign holders can fit 11″x17″ paper signage in the vertical direction. Our easels can hold regular poster boards.

Work Orders

While rare, some events require additional support from Harvard University Trades (e.g., electrical work, banner installation, or after-hours support). Reach out to your OES event coordinator to arrange work orders for these special requests.

Classrooms and seminar rooms have fixed setups, but in some cases, we can add additional furniture for panel setups and catering. Review the room details in the EMS WebApp for more information about the additional furniture that can be added to each room.

If you haven’t already, start your catering order with HUDS or your outside caterer. Remember, HUDS catering is required in the Milstein Conference Center and Caspersen Student Center.

Identify any printed materials or collateral needed for your event and make a plan to meet any graphic design or printing deadlines. If ordering conference swag (e.g., pens, tote bags, etc.), identify your vendor and place an order.

Visit the Office of Communications graphic design page for more information about their event-related services.

Visit the HLS Copy Center page for more information about their on-site printing services.

While HUPD details are not required for most events, they must be requested if you plan to serve alcohol to more than 100 people or if you will have a speaker or guest in attendance with their own security.

Request a HUPD detail and forward the automatic response you receive to events@law.harvard.edu.

For events with controversial speakers or subject matter, please review the HLS Protest and Dissent Guidelines.

If you anticipate protest or dissent at your event, notify OES at events@law.harvard.edu. We will work with you and any other relevant offices to ensure your event runs as smoothly as possible.

While rare, certain event activities may require an event license from the City of Cambridge. License applications can take up to three weeks to process. Learn more about the application process and license requirements.

Order audiovisual support from Information Technology Services. Visit our Service Providers & Partners page for quick links to ITS service information.

Review the Filming & Photography guidelines and request recording permission for any non-ITS or Communications photography or audio/video recording.

If you need on-campus parking for guests, vendors, or VIPs, order parking passes through Harvard Transportation & Parking. Parking arrangements for large events are also available and should be arranged ahead of time.

If you are working with an outside vendor, submit their general liability certificate and proof of workers’ compensation coverage to your OES event coordinator at events@law.harvard.edu.

If hosting an event with minors unaccompanied by their parents or guardians, complete the Youth Program Registration process, and forward the TSO approval email to the Office of Event Scheduling and Support at events@law.harvard.edu.

If ordering from HUDS, review your catering confirmation and confirm the order numbers.

Common catering needs include:

• Food for guests
• Linens for panel tables, registration tables, catering tables, or guest tables
• Beverages for speakers

Review your EMS room confirmation and communicate any additional setup needs to your OES event coordinator by requesting services in the EMS WebApp.

Common setup needs include:

• Speaker chairs and panel tables
• Registration tables
• Catering tables
• Sign holders, easels or whiteboard/flip chart easels
• Coat racks in the Milstein Conference Center

If using an outside vendor, coordinate delivery logistics with the vendor and your OES event coordinator.

Access to the WCC Nursing Room can be arranged for event attendees. There are two options for access available to event organizers:

1. Before the event, the HLS event organizer may request nursing room access for the duration of the event on their HUID and ferry event attendees to the room. Email events@law.harvard.edu to receive the request form.
2. Before or during the event, an event attendee may request a temporary nursing room access card through the Office of Event Scheduling and Support. The form can be requested from events@law.harvard.edu in advance, and the key card may be collected on the event date from Holmes Hall 1, 18 Everett St, Cambridge, MA 02138.

If your event requires a City of Cambridge license, send a copy to the Office of Event Scheduling and Support at events@law.harvard.edu.

If your event requires crowd managers, send a copy of their certificates to the Office of Event Scheduling and Support at events@law.harvard.edu. You will also need to arrange a check-in with OES two hours before the event to complete the Fire and Building Safety Checklist.

As your event date approaches, lock in your expected attendance and finalize all of your service orders to match that number.

For large events in rooms nearing their capacity limit, close registration to help ensure you will not need to turn away participants at the door.

Collect everything you will need for the event day, so that’s ready to go.

Common event materials include:

• Directional signage (sign holders can be requested from OES)
• Name tags
• Registration lists
• Program agendas, guides, or info packs
• Branded collateral for attendees
• Pens and any other office materials you may need

The Office of Event Scheduling and Support is happy to check in at the start of an event to answer any questions and make sure you have everything you need. Arrange a check-in through your OES event coordinator, or email events@law.harvard.edu.

If you are holding an outdoor event, consult the rain plan policy and schedule a time on the day before your event to check the weather and communicate your preference to OES at 617-495-3129 or events@law.harvard.edu.

If your event needs a crowd manager, meet OES two hours prior to the event to complete the Fire and Building Safety Checklist.

All room and service setups arranged with OES, HUDS, and ITS will be executed according to the instructions on your confirmations and room diagrams.

Once the room setup is complete, event organizers are welcome to set up their own materials. Please do not move any furniture in the room.

• Classroom spaces are available for the event organizer to set up 15 minutes prior to the event time. If you need more setup time, please arrange this with OES in advance.
• Milstein Conference Center spaces are available for the event organizer to set up 45 minutes prior to the event time.

For security, call 911 or HUPD at 617-495-1212.

For setup or general questions, call OES at 617-495-3129.

For AV, call Information Technology Services at 617-495-0722.

For HUDS catering, call HUDS at 617-495-5538.

Congratulations on your completed event!

At the end of the event, please make sure to remove all of your materials from the room in a timely manner to help prepare the room for the next class or event.

If you brought your own catering, please dispose of any food waste. Leftovers you would like to share with the community can be brought to the Student Org Workroom on the 2nd floor of WCC. Visit the DOS website for more information about the Freefood Listserv.

If a nursing room access card was signed out for one of your event attendees, please make sure it is returned to the Office of Event Scheduling and Support in Langdell 162.

The HLS Lost & Found is located in the Facilities Management Office in 4 Holmes Hall. Any belongings found in a room after an event will be turned in to the Lost & Found.

Tell us how it went! We love to hear when things went well, but if something unexpected came up, let us know so that we can help plan for it in the future.

We look forward to working with you on your next event!