Summer 2021 - Harvard Law School

Illustration showing Pinocchio caught in a spider's web with social media icons

Oh, what a tangled web we weave Deception spreads faster than truth on social media. Who — if anyone — should stop it?

‘What can we do to help create 150 years of change in 10 years?’

Andrew Manuel Crespo ’08 and Premal Dharia, leaders of the ambitious new Institute to End Mass Incarceration, take aim at ‘one of the defining civil rights issues of our time.’

Woman with short black hair with raised right hand and other hand on a bible held by a man

Katherine Tai represents

In her new role as U.S. trade representative, Tai ’01 brings legal expertise, political savvy, and a deep commitment to American workers.

Man walking away from a podium by an American Flag and a sign that says Department of Justice Washington

Off the bench and into the breach

Merrick Garland ’77 made the unusual choice to leave a lifetime appointment on the nation’s second most influential court to instead lead a federal agency with roughly 115,000 employees. Unusual, but not surprising, say those who know him well.

Woman speaking with mask into microphone

The battle for the ballot box

“We were prepared for everything with regard to this last election cycle, except for the levels to which people would stoop to try to stop democracy and deny the voice of the people,” says Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson ’04.

The front page of the New York Times on a printing press

The Pentagon Papers case today

Does the First Amendment still protect the press when it lawfully receives classified information unlawfully obtained?

Inside HLS

An activist at home in the world

Ais has been immersed in a blend of advocacy, legal scholarship, and community building.
Breyer cautions against the ‘peril of politics’

To retain the public’s trust, Justice Breyer argued, changes should come not from political reform, but in recommitment to ideals within the Court itself and in the American people.
Paying tribute

Retiring faculty Betsy Bartholet and Jerry Frug are celebrated by former students.

Woman wearing a black and white fur dress leaning on the floor with two pigs by her side

Letter from the Dean

Making Meaning

Dean Manning reflects on a difficult year, but one in which students, staff, and faculty showed exceptional resilience, commitment, creativity, and generosity.