Student Spotlights

In a diploma ceremony on June 4, 731 members of the Class of 2009 received degrees from Harvard Law School: 567 J.D.s, 151 LL.M.s and 13 S.J.D.s. While the new graduates now all share a common alma mater, the diversity of experiences that brought them to law school and the opportunities they took advantage of while at HLS were very different. Here is a look at some members of the graduating class.

In 2007, when Erika Rickard was a 2L at Harvard Law, same-sex marriage had been legal in Massachusetts for more than three years. By that…

When Ariel Rothstein ’10 and Andrew Freedman ’10 spotted the whirling blue lights of a patrol car behind them as they drove through rural Texas in January, they assumed they had been driving too fast.

Justin Raphael ’09 and Andrew Furlow ’09 both had gained litigation experience during their summer law firm work. But sitting in the U.S. Supreme Court on March 30, watching constitutional scholar Samuel Issacharoff present an oral argument they’d helped research and prepare, they gained an entirely new appreciation of the process.

The following story “Mr. Smyth and Mr. Ruby Go to Washington” appeared in the Summer 2009 Harvard Law Bulletin.

Demonstrating a strong commitment to public service, the class of 2009 put in a record total of 308,605 pro bono hours, more than any previous class.

Todd Lantz ’09 received the 2009 Law Student Ethics Award from the Association of Corporate Counsel’s Northeast Chapter in April.

The winners of Harvard Law School’s 56th annual Williston Contracts Competition were announced on April 28. The competition, sponsored by the Board of Student Advisers and organized and run by Harvard Negotiators, offers first-year students the opportunity to practice negotiation and contract drafting.

Last fall, budding real estate lawyer Lauren Smith ’09 enrolled in the transactional practice unit at Harvard Law School’s WilmerHale Legal Services Center with the aim of adding practical experience to her legal education. It proved to be an invaluable decision.

Thirteen students from Harvard Law School recently won honors at the 2009 Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot Competitions in Vienna and Hong Kong.

As a witness to terrible domestic violence until the age of eight, “Jamal” still carries his worries into the classroom everyday. Even though he and his mother are now safe, he’s unable to focus on his schoolwork, frequently acts out, and has been suspended from third grade.

Two Harvard Law School students, Tarun Chhabra ’11 and Previn Warren ’11, were among just 31 individuals selected to receive Paul and Daisy Soros New American Fellowships this year. Each will receive a half-tuition grant for two years of study at Harvard Law School and an additional $20,000 stipend for related expenses.

On Monday, April 20th, several Harvard Law School students ran in the 113th Boston Marathon, competing with more than 23,000 other athletes from around the world.

President Barack Obama ’91 has reappointed Stuart A. Levey ‘89 as undersecretary of the Treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence. 

Brian T. Aune ’10 and Jennifer D. Dein ’11 won the top two spots in the HLS 2009-2010 student government elections held on March 18 and 19. Aune was elected president and Dein was elected vice-president.

A team of Harvard Law School students advanced to the semifinals of the National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition held in February at Pace Law School in Albany, NY. The team was comprised of Ed Roggenkamp ’09, Kim Smaczniak ’09, and Rachel Evans ’10.

In February, the Black Law Students Association’s Thurgood Marshall Mock Trial team won first-place honors at the Black Law Students Association’s Northeast Regional Conference. The team will move on to the National Conference in Irvine, California, on March 18.

Papers written by three HLS students received top honors in this year’s H. Thomas Austern Memorial Writing Competition.

The following op-ed, “You're under arrest, Mr. President, by HLS S.J.D. candidate Noah Weisbord appeared in the Feb. 12, 2009, edition of the International Herald Tribune.