HLS students have made headlines throughout 2009 – from winning writing competitions to participating in historic litigation to having real-world impact through clinical work. Here are some highlights:
Huey elected president of the Harvard Law Review
Joanna Huey ’10 was elected the 123rd president of the Harvard Law Review on Feb. 7. She succeeded Robert Allen ’09.
SJD candidate pens op-ed on arresting heads of state
HLS S.J.D. candidate Noah Weisbord wrote, “You’re under arrest, Mr. President”, an op-ed which appeared in the Feb. 12, 2009, edition of the International Herald Tribune.
HLS students win writing competition
Papers written by three HLS students received top honors in this year’s H. Thomas Austern Memorial Writing Competition.
HLS mock trial team wins first place at Black Law Students Association’s Northeast Regional Conference
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.
HLS team reaches semifinals of environmental law moot court competition
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, N.Y. The team was comprised of Ed Roggenkamp ’09, Kim Smaczniak ’09, and Rachel Evans ’10.
HLS students run the 113th Boston Marathon
On Monday, April 20, several Harvard Law School students ran in the 113th Boston Marathon, competing with more than 23,000 other athletes from around the world.
HLS students work on historic corporate lawsuit involving human rights abuses during apartheid
The International Human Rights Clinic at Harvard Law School’s Human Rights Program has been working since 2005 on corporate Alien Tort Statute (ATS) litigation involving human rights abuses committed in apartheid South Africa.
In a suite of clinical projects, law students reach out to Boston-area clients
In the fall of 2008, 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.
Two HLS students receive Soros fellowships
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.
HLS students win honors at international commercial arbitration moot competitions in Vienna and Hong Kong
Thirteen students from Harvard Law School won honors at the 2009 Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot Competitions in Vienna and Hong Kong.
A fresh perspective on the aid industry in Africa, justice, and the Gacaca Court System in Rwanda
Amaka Megwalu ’10 discussed her insights on the aid industry in Africa and the Gacaca Court System in Rwanda in an interview at Harvard University’s Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations. Megwalu has worked on development and post-conflict reconstruction in Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Senegal, South Africa and Tunisia.
Black Law Students Association conference looks at post-Katrina criminal justice
When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in August of 2005, the criminal justice infrastructure was among the many casualties; courtrooms were destroyed, personnel scattered and prisoners evacuated all over the state and beyond. But it brought attention to a system that was already so badly in need of repair it routinely violated constitutional norms.
Lantz receives law student ethics award
Todd Lantz ’09 received the 2009 Law Student Ethics Award from the Association of Corporate Counsel’s Northeast Chapter in April.
Students provide much-needed legal defense services through HLS Criminal Justice Institute
Fighting for criminal clients is the hallmark of the HLS Criminal Justice Institute, a curriculum-based legal clinic. Third-year HLS students in the CJI clinic have the opportunity to represent indigent criminal defendants and juveniles in Boston-area district and juvenile courts – handling everything from arraignment through trial, including interviewing witnesses, investigation, motions practice, developing case theories, and preparing and conducting witness examinations and argumer
Class of 2009 racks up record 308,605 hours of pro bono service
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.
Students from the Class of 2009 share their HLS experiences
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.
Two HLS students assist with asbestos case heard before the Supreme Court
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.
Law School students lend a legal hand
Harvard Law School students David Haller ’09 and Nick Hartigan ’09 were profiled in an article in the Harvard Gazette, “Law students lend a legal hand,” for their work on behalf of people facing foreclosure in Boston. Both students also received the Outstanding Student Award from the Clinical Legal Education Association.
Four students, four different summer experiences
This summer, hundreds of Harvard Law School students fanned out across the country and around the world to work as summer interns and fellows, exploring career options and using their legal skills in addressing a variety of problems. Four students, Yoon Suk Choo ’11, Dominque Winters ’10, Anne Siders ’10 and Brad Adams ’11, describe their experiences.
Daniel Thies ’10 publishes article in Journal of Legal Education
Entitled “Rethinking Legal Education in Hard Times: The Recession, Practical Legal Education and the New Job Market,” Thies’ article describes how the economic recession that began in December of 2007 has affected legal education in the United States. He traces how the recession is influencing the market for legal services and examines the difficulties that law schools have had in developing a curriculum with more emphasis on the practical skills that graduates will need in the newly-altered job market. Though students regularly publish “notes” in law reviews and journals, it is more unusual for them to have articles published.
Sierra Leone is losing its youth to diamond mining
Last year, Matthew F. Wells ’09 traveled through Sierra Leone visiting more than two dozen artisanal diamond mines, under the auspices of the International Human Rights Clinic at Harvard Law School. Wells was not on a vacation, but rather engaging in intensive research with a group of fellow students involved with the IHRC, gathering data for a project focusing on child labor in the diamond mines.
On Saturday, Oct. 17, the Harvard Law School men’s crew raced in the 45th Head of the Charles, securing its position as the dominant law school on the river. The Head of the Charles is the world’s largest two-day rowing event, involving more than 7,500 athletes and 300,000 spectators from around the world. The HLS crew deftly navigated the three-mile course in 17 minutes and 47 seconds.
Through Harvard’s Negotiation and Mediation Clinic, students test classroom experience in the real-world
Through participation in the Harvard Negotiation and Mediation Clinic, nearly 30 Harvard Law School students have the opportunity to work on projects for real-world clients each year. Founded by Clinical Professor of Law Robert Bordone ’97 in 2006, it is the first legal clinic in the U.S. focusing on dispute systems design and conflict management.
HLS wins National Criminal Justice Trial Advocacy Competition
A team of Harvard Law students won first place at the 4th National Puerto Rico Trial Advocacy Competition in San Juan. The prestigious “invitation only” competition was sponsored by the Inter-American University of Puerto Rico School of Law and was held at the Old San Juan District Courthouse Oct. 31-Nov. 1.
The Harvard Immigration and Refugee Clinic lands a major court victory
The Harvard Immigration and Refugee Clinic landed a major immigration court victory in early September when it obtained asylum status for a parent and his two children whose family members were singled out for torture and murder in El Salvador by a notoriously violent gang.
Battle-tested soldiers bring records of service to Harvard Law School
Four HLS students, Eric Powell ’12, Elliott Neal ’12 and John Doyle ’12 and Andrew Kinard ’12, all military veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, discuss their experiences in war and at HLS.
HLS student Jeremy Haber selected as finalist in Washington Post pundit contest
Jeremy Haber ’13, a joint J.D./M.B.A. student at Harvard Law School and Harvard Business School, was named a finalist in the Washington Post’s “America’s Next Great Pundit” contest. Haber was one of ten finalists, selected from over 4,800 entries.
Posner, Wood, Parker preside over Ames Moot Court Finals
The final round of Harvard Law School’s annual Ames Moot Court Competition was held on Nov. 16, 2009, in Ames Courtroom. Richard A. Posner, of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, presided as chief justice. Joining him on the panel were Diane P. Wood of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and Barrington D. Parker of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
Giving thanks to those who serve, Harvard Law students serve a Thanksgiving meal
An estimated 400 Harvard Law School students, faculty and staff gathered in Pound Hall for a “Thanksgiving for the Troops” on November 18, raising money and collecting items for soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.