Alumni Focus

Khizr Khan LL.M. '86, the Gold Star father who gained fame for his speech at the Democratic National Convention, joined HLS Professor Intisar A. Rabb, director of the Islamic Legal Studies Program at Harvard Law School, to discuss civil liberties and political action.

Alexander Acosta, a 1994 graduate of Harvard Law School, is President Donald Trump’s pick as the next Secretary of Labor.

In a recent appearance at HLS, Ayelet Waldman ’91 -- a former criminal defense lawyer and federal public defender -- discussed her book “A Really Good Day: How Microdosing Made a Mega Difference in My Mood, My Marriage, and My Life,” using it as a backdrop to delve into the social and racial dimensions of the war on drugs.

Describing him, among other things, as "a man of enormous achievements," HLS scholars say Supreme Court nominee Neil M. Gorsuch '91 -- selected by President Donald Trump to replace the late Antonin Scalia -- would alter the tone, if not the balance, of the Court, if appointed.

Last December in suburban Paris, 195 countries reached a landmark agreement to curb greenhouse gas emissions. For Todd Stern ’77 the Paris accord capped two decades of work to curb climate change.

In October, Kristin Fleschner ’14 returned to the Harvard Law campus to share with current students her work in disability rights and her experiences as a blind lawyer. Her talk was followed by a showing of “Blind Ambition,” a documentary that she produced as a 2L with the support of the Dean of Students Office.

Tim Kaine ’83 will continue serving in the U.S. Senate after losing his bid to become the first Harvard Law School graduate elected vice president and he’ll be joined by several other alumni on Capitol Hill.

Janet Reno ’63, the longest serving U.S. attorney general of the 20th century and the first woman to have ever held the post, died on Monday at age 78. Reno was nominated to the post of U.S. Attorney General by President Clinton in 1993 and she served for eight years, before stepping down in 2001.

During Harvard Law School's Fall Reunion weekend, David R. Gergen '67, professor of public service and co-director of the Center for Public Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School and senior political analyst for CNN, delivered a keynote address on the 2016 presidential election, sharing his thoughts about Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump, and the state of the presidential election.

Sarah Hurwitz has quietly helped craft some of first lady Michelle Obama's most memorable speeches--first working with her on her speech to the 2008 Democratic convention in Denver, and eventually going on to work with the first lady almost exclusively for nearly six years.

Harvard Law School has produced plenty of senators, Supreme Court justices and two presidents, but no graduate has ever served as vice president. This election has presented the first opportunity in decades to end that drought with both Democrat Tim Kaine ’83 and Libertarian William Weld ’70 on the ballot as vice presidential candidates.

Harvard Law School is pleased to announce that a $1 million gift from Ada Tse ’91 and James Yang through their family’s YangTse Foundation will expand and enhance the Law School’s signature Negotiation Workshop, an intensive course that combines theory and practice to improve students’ understanding of negotiation and their effectiveness as negotiators.

Even when he was 5, Joel Motley '78 knew his late mother was doing important work; now, he has co-produced "The Trials of Constance Baker Motley," a short film about the woman who became the first black female Manhattan borough president, New York state senator, and federal judge.

Throughout his career, James O. Bass Sr. '34 has engendered confidence in leadership circles as the ultimate counselor.

On the stage of the Democratic National Convention, one Gold Star father invoked the words of the Founding Fathers, and just like that, a Pakistani-born Muslim American lawyer inspired more Americans to buy pocket U.S. Constitutions from Amazon than ever before. His life has not been the same since.

As the new Harvard Law School Association president, Peter C. Krause ’74 has set a goal to engage international alumni across the globe.

Carol Wang ’13 spent two years before law school crisscrossing Afghanistan helping nascent small businesses. Now, she and three military veterans who served there are building their own small business designed to boost the nation’s long-troubled economy.

Terry Franklin ’89, a trusts and estates litigator, knows the importance of wills to those left behind. Recently he has focused on a will executed 170 years ago with enormous bearing on his ancestors’ survival and his own existence.

HLS hosted the fourth Celebration of Black Alumni in September, featuring the theme “Turning Vision into Action.” The actions of alumni who attended have resonated in courtrooms and classrooms, in elected office and the corner office, in communities and in the culture. The Bulletin spoke with five CBA participants about where their vision has led them and where they hope to yet go.

Don Krohn's long career has taken him around the world, but in his new new collection of photographs Krohn '87 turns his focus to his home on the coast of Massachusetts.

A father’s fight for justice, a modern-day Beowulf, an American heiress