Alumni Focus

Women are still second-class citizens in the legal profession. What can be done about it?

In the 1970s, many went into law to make a difference. Some of them are finally making it now. Today’s young lawyers don’t want to wait that long.

Jay Hebert ’ 86 is president of the Harvard Law School Association. He chairs the communications practice group of the law firm of Vinson & Elkins, and he’s a partner in the firm’s business and international group.

In May 2003, Matias Garcia, a farm laborer from Oaxaca, Mexico, set out to cross the U.S. border to find work. For Garcia, like hundreds of others each year, the attempt proved fatal—he perished on a 32-mile trek across the blistering Arizona desert.

If you thought the first year of law school tested your mettle, try running for Congress. It’s not always easy being a Harvard lawyer on the campaign trail.

Annette Lu LL.M. ’78 was wary of Ma Ying-jeou S.J.D. ’81 when they were students at HLS. Today she is vice president of Taiwan, and he is a leader of the opposition. Their intertwined stories may foretell Taiwan’s future.

Once known for producing more engineers than lawyers, Japan is embarking on a journey of legal expansion.

Diana Daniels ’74 was a Cravath, Swaine & Moore associate doing project finance in 1978 when she heard The Washington Post needed a lawyer.

Sabin Willett leads a double life as a lawyer. Most days, he works on bankruptcy litigation in the Boston office of Bingham McCutchen. He likes the work. Really, he says, sitting in a conference room with a sweeping view of Boston harbor.

HLS delegation barnstorms through Asia in mid-winter tour

A passion for teaching Professor David Westfall ’50, as beloved by generations of students for his warmth and humor as he was respected for his…

Scott Worden '00 tackled legal challenges in historic elections in Afghanistan

While most of his classmates were busy searching for jobs during their third year at HLS, James O’Neal ’82 was searching his soul. “I saw…

Zia Mody LL.M. ’79 blazes a trail for women When Zia Mody LL.M. ’79 started her own law practice in India in the mid-1980s, clients…

At the top of his game, Melvin Kraft ’53 switched to a new one A  few years ago, HLS Professor Richard D. Parker ’70 sat…

When Navi Pillay LL.M. '82 S.J.D. '88 was growing up in South Africa, there was no international court in which apartheid could be prosecuted as a crime against humanity. Now there is--and she's on it.

So, what, exactly, is an "activist judge"? Most judges say they don't have time to think about it.

Michael R. Klein attended Harvard Law School on a Brandeis Fellowship and received his LL.M. degree in 1967. Last year, after more than 35 years…

Lance Morgan '93 helps the Winnebago Tribe shape its future

As a renowned international attorney and a Holocaust survivor, Samuel Pisar LL.M. '55 S.J.D. '59 has experienced mankind's capacity for genius and madness. His survival was a triumph of human spirit. His advocacy for peaceful coexistence is a message from one who has lived through hell on earth.

Kenneth Scott '79 makes sure there's no whitewash after ethnic 'cleansing'