Today Posts

StopBadware.org, a project sponsored by the Berkman Center for Internet and Society, and Consumer Reports WebWatch announced today the full launch of BadwareBusters.org, a new online community for people looking for help preventing and countering viruses, spyware, and other “badware” on their computers and web sites.

On Saturday, March 7, Harvard Law School’s Program on Law and Mind Sciences held its third annual conference, “The Free Market Mindset: History, Psychology and Consequences.”

President Obama has named three more Harvard Law School graduates to new posts. Tom Perez ’78 has been nominated to be assistant attorney general in charge of the civil rights division in the Department of Justice; Demetrios Marantis ’93 has been nominated to become deputy U.S. trade representative; and Emily Hewitt ’78 has been nominated to become the new chief judge on the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.

The Berkman Center for Internet & Society launched a new Web site called ‘Media Cloud’ in conjunction with Thomson Reuters in July. The goal of Media Cloud is to provide a new search tool that illustrates the nature of news and how information flows between blogs and more traditional news outlets like newspapers.

HLS Lecturer Diane Rosenfeld ’96 and New York Law School Professor Nadine Strossen ’75 debated the question “Should Pornography Be Regulated?” in a packed Ames Courtroom on March 10.

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.

On Friday, March 6, the Harvard International Law Journal brought together business and nonprofit leaders and academics from a wide range of international legal practices for a conference on “The International Lawyer’s Guide to Development: Current Problems, Future Solutions.”

Harvard Law School Professor Elizabeth Warren was on hand in Washington, D.C. this week as U.S. senators introduced legislation to create a new government agency, the Financial Product Safety Commission, to help consumers obtain financial products and services without predatory or deceptive financial practices.

A recently renovated office suite at Harvard Law School has been awarded a platinum rating—the highest possible certification—under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building rating system for commercial interiors.

Juliette Kayyem ’95 will be assistant secretary for intergovernmental programs in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Secretary Janet Napolitano announced today. In her new role, Kayyem will coordinate the department’s efforts with state, local, tribal, and territorial governments.

On March 6, HLS Professor John Palfrey ’01, vice dean, library and information resources at HLS, and Adam Thierer, a senior fellow at The Progress & Freedom Foundation and director of its Center for Digital Media Freedom, participated in an online debate on Ars Technica on the Communications Decency Act and whether ISPs and social networking sites should be more liable for the things their users post. The debate, The Future of online obscenity and social networks, is included below.

The Harvard Human Rights Journal brought leading scholars and practitioners to campus on February 20 for a symposium on the doctrine known as Responsibility to Protect (R2P).

A day-long symposium on the current status of immigration law drew immigration lawyers, policymakers and other experts from around the country to discuss a wide range of issues, from undocumented aliens to under-resourced courts and controversial enforcement methods.

In March 2009, HLS Dean Elena Kagan ’86 was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the 44th solicitor general of the United States. Kagan, the first woman to hold this position, joins a long line of solicitors general with ties to Harvard Law School.

Born Digital, a book by HLS Professor John Palfrey ’01 and Urs Gasser L.L.M. ’03, executive director of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society, was named a Best Science and Technology Book of 2008 by the Library Journal, in March.

Two more HLS alumni have been named to high-level posts in the Obama Administration. Nancy-Ann DeParle ’83 has been appointed director of the White House Office for Health Reform, and Jeremy Bash ’98 will be CIA Director Leon Panetta’s chief of staff.

The following op-ed, “Keeping stimulus spending in check,” by HLS Professor Martha Minow appeared in the March 1, 2009, edition of The Boston Globe.

HLS Professor Hal S. Scott and Maxwell Jenkins ’11 co-wrote the following op-ed, “The US Treasury is a public, not a private, investor,” that appeared in the March 2, 2009, edition of the Financial Times.