Areas of Interest
Legal History
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An indelible experience with deep Harvard roots
April 5, 2023
A friendly competition between four Harvard Law students in 1960 has grown into the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition, with 700 students competing worldwide.
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‘American democracy is more under threat now than it has been in the lifetime of anyone currently alive’
April 3, 2023
In his last lecture to the J.D. and LL.M. classes of 2023, Michael Klarman celebrates civil rights heroes and issues a clarion call for democratic engagement.
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Unions’ extension into politics was necessary — and contributed to their decline, says Harvard Law expert
March 16, 2023
As the inaugural Fred N. Fishman Professor of Constitutional Law, Laura Weinrib described the arc of union power in the 20th century and its relationship to political spending.
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At Harvard Law School, Canadian Supreme Court Chief Justice Richard Wagner discusses differences with the U.S. judiciary and argues that access to justice is a ‘democratic imperative.’
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Lessons of Roe, 50 years later
February 2, 2023
Speakers at a Radcliffe Institute conference look at the divisive, fraught history of Roe v. Wade and predict where legal battles will go next.
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Should the Supreme Court care about tradition?
November 18, 2022
At Harvard Law’s Rappaport Forum, panelists debated the Supreme Court's reliance on history and tradition in recent decisions in Dobbs and Bruen.
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‘Effectiveness in government is not something one can just assume’
November 18, 2022
In a Library book talk, Professor Vicki Jackson and panelists discuss constitutionalism, and rights to effective government
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Why has the Supreme Court come under increased scrutiny?
November 16, 2022
In the third of a yearlong lecture series examining “The Supreme Court in a Constitutional Democracy," panelists debate reforming the Court.
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Was Antonin Scalia originally an originalist?
October 26, 2022
In remarks made as part of the biennial Vaughan Academic Program, Harvard Law Professor Adrian Vermeule argued that the late Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia began his judicial career as a champion of the administrative state.
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The myths and reality of common and civil law
October 5, 2022
What are the real differences between common and civil law systems? Probably not the ones lawyers typically think about, said Harvard Law School Professor Holger Spamann S.J.D. ’09 in a lecture commemorating his appointment as Lawrence R. Grove Professor of Law.
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What are the limits of presidential power?
September 27, 2022
A panel of experts say that a seminal Supreme Court decision on the powers of the president may raise more questions than it answers.
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In the first of a Harvard Law School series on the Supreme Court and its role in American democracy, panelists debated the impact of politics on the Roberts Court.
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The Civil Rights Queen and Her Court
July 16, 2022
Tomiko Brown-Nagin’s book recounts the remarkable — and too little-known — life and achievements of civil rights lawyer and judge Constance Baker Motley
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Nikolas Bowie ’14, a scholar of constitutional law, local government law, and legal history, was named a professor of law at Harvard Law School.
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Anna Lvovsky, a scholar on American legal history and criminal procedure, named professor of law
June 9, 2022
Anna Lvovsky ’13 has been promoted to professor of law at Harvard Law School. A scholar of criminal law and procedure, constitutional law, and evidence, she joined the faculty as an assistant professor in 2017.
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Watergate-era reforms 50 years later
June 8, 2022
Harvard Law Professor Jack Goldsmith says laws and norms established after President Nixon's resignation 'had a great run,' but the Trump presidency proved that new reforms are needed.
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The Petrie-Flom Center hosted ‘Roe in limbo: A town hall on the leaked Dobbs opinion.’
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Supreme Court preview: Kennedy v. Bremerton School District
April 20, 2022
The Supreme Court stands poised to decide whether a high school coach’s penchant for prayers with players poses First Amendment problems.