Student Spotlights

On August 19, Harvard Law School’s Graduate Program officially welcomed the LL.M. Class of 2020 to campus, along with eight new S.J.D. candidates and 10 international students from six of the law school’s exchange partner schools.

As new HLS students begin to move in this weekend for orientation next week, we take a look at how some past students began their lives at Harvard Law School.

Alyssa Bernstein ’19 recounts her experience working for the Office of the Federal Public Defender for the District of Columbia.

On Thursday, May 30, the Harvard Law School Class of 2019 received their diplomas and celebrated their graduation with family and friends.

Harvard Law School looks back in pictures on the 2018-19, from orientation through commencement, as we congratulate our graduates. 

Most law school graduates look forward to seeing their mothers and favorite professors at their commencement ceremonies. Very few see their 4th grade teachers or the mothers of their professors cheering them on as they receive their diplomas. Michael Donohue is the exception.

The Class of 2019 celebrated Class Day with friends and family, faculty and staff, and special guests on Harvard Law School's Holmes Field.

A number of Harvard Law students from the Class of 2019 received special awards during the Class Day ceremony on May 29. They were recognized for outstanding leadership, citizenship, compassion and dedication to their studies and the profession.

Nancy Pinn, director of administration and student affairs in the Graduate Program, received the Suzanne L. Richardson Staff Appreciation Award during Harvard Law School’s Class Day exercises on Wednesday, May 29. 

Asseret Frausto ’19 is the winner of the Outstanding Clinical Student Award from the Clinical Legal Education Association (CLEA). The award is presented annually to one student from each law school for outstanding clinical coursework and contributions to the clinical community.

Logan Leslie JD/MBA ’19 loved military service and planned to spend his lifetime in it. But a growing family—along with the ‘heartbreaking’ poverty and failed institutions he witnessed in Afghanistan—spurred him to serve in a different way.

Emanuel Powell ’19 is the winner of this year’s Gary Bellow Public Service Award, established in 2001 to honor Professor Gary Bellow ’60, his commitment to public service, and his innovative approach to the analysis and practice of law.

Dalia Deak ’19 is this year’s winner of the individual David Grossman Exemplary Clinical Award, given each year to the student who embodies the pro bono spirit of the late professor and exemplifies putting theory into practice through clinical work.

Radhika Kapoor LL.M. ’19 came to HLS to take advantage of Harvard’s institutional expertise in international law, humanitarian law and post-conflict stability—and to foster her love of reading.

Lindsay Bailey’19, Lisandra Novo’19 and Elisa Quiroz ’19 are the winners of the team 2019 David Grossman Exemplary Clinical Student Award.

Richard Barbecho ’19 is this year’s winner of the Andrew L. Kaufman Pro Bono Service Award, granted each year in honor of Professor Andrew Kaufman, who spearheaded the pro bono requirement at Harvard Law School.

Having developed a focus on social justice growing up in Philadelphia, Liz Soltan is now using law as a means to help people who need it most.

Few people at Harvard or elsewhere manage to pack more activity into a workday than Memme Onwudiwe '19.

The Harvard Law School mock trial team of Kaitlyn Beck ’19, Tiffany Li ’21, Rahul Garabadu ’19, and Jillian Tancil ’19 competed at the National Student Trial Advocacy Competition April 11-14 in Philadelphia, PA.

HLS students spent their spring break working in legal organizations in the Boston area and across the United States and Puerto Rico, often responding to crises or disasters in local areas.

A team of students from Harvard Law School’s World Trade Organization won the North American Round of the John H. Jackson Moot Court Competition. The competition took place in Washington D.C., on April 10 to 14.