Alumni Focus

Last spring, David Hackett Souter ’66—the U.S. Supreme Court’s 105th justice—announced his retirement and stepped down at the end of the term. We asked four alumni who had firsthand experience with the justice for their reflections.

Coercive interrogations inflict discomfort or pain with the goal of eliciting information. Yet all too often, says Deborah Popowski ’08, those involved in such interrogations are supposed to be helping people, not hurting them.

When the U.S. financial system came excruciatingly close to collapse, Rodge Cohen was suddenly the man to call.

President Obama has nominated Paul L. Oostburg Sanz ’99 to be general counsel of the Navy, and Solomon B. Watson IV ’71 as general counsel of the Army.

President Barack Obama ’91 has nominated Joshua Gotbaum ’78 to head the U.S. Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. This government-sponsored corporation is responsible for financially backing up the pensions of more than 44 million Americans.

Samuel J. Heyman ’63, who established the Heyman Fellowship Program at Harvard Law School to encourage graduates to pursue careers in federal service, died on November 7 in New York City. Heyman, who was also a member of the Dean’s Advisory Board, was 70.

Robert Verchick ’89 has been appointed to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Policy, Economics and Innovation to serve as deputy associate administrator. He currently heads the Center for Environmental Law and Land Use at Loyola University New Orleans College of Law.

Bruce Wasserstein ’70, a transformative figure in the history of investment banking and corporate finance, and one of the most generous supporters in the history of Harvard Law School, died Wednesday. He was 61.

President Barack Obama ’91 is the recipient of the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize. Cited for “his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and co-operation between peoples,” Obama becomes the third sitting U.S. president to receive the award, along with Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson.

President Barack H. Obama ’91 nominated Dan I. Gordon ’86 to serve as Office of Federal Policy Procurement administrator. Gordon, who is currently acting general counsel for the Government Accountability Office, will be responsible for leading a key branch of the Office of Management and Budget.

President Barack H. Obama ’91 has nominated Marisa Lago ’82 as assistant secretary of the Treasury for international markets and development.

Paul Kirk ’64 will be the interim United States Senator for Massachusetts, filling the vacancy created when Edward M. Kennedy died earlier this month, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick ’82 announced today.

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation announced that Rebecca Onie ’03 is one of 24 recipients of the 2009 MacArthur Fellowship, more commonly known as the Macarthur “Genius Award.”

Today the U.S. Postal Service issued four new 44-cent stamps, commemorating Supreme Court Justices Joseph Story,Louis Brandeis 1877, Felix Frankfurter 1906, and William Brennan Jr. ’31.

President Barack H. Obama ’91 nominated Chai R. Feldblum ’85 to the position of commissioner of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on Monday, Sept. 14.

The Government of the Russian Federation has nominated Bakhtiyar Tuzmukhamedov LL.M. ’94 as a permanent judge of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.

President Barack Obama ’91 nominated Barry White ’67 to be the U.S. Ambassador to Norway on August 7.

South African President Jacob Zuma has nominated Sandile Ngcobo LL.M. ’86 to become the country’s new chief justice, responsible for leading South Africa’s judiciary.

Benjamin Ferencz ’43, known for his role as chief prosecutor in the Nuremburg Trials and for his work promoting an international rule of law and the creation of an International Criminal Court, has been awarded the prestigious Erasmus Prize. The prize is given to individuals who have made “especially important contributions to culture, society, or social science in Europe.”  

This year, Harvard Law School alumni continued to make an impact in a variety of ways. Most notably, HLS alumni have filled the halls of…