Harvard Law School Dean Martha Minow has appointed Michael Fertik ’05, Neil Flanzraich ’68, Anthony Scaramucci ’89 and John Williams ’79 as HLS’s Experts-in-Residence (EIRs) for the 2012-2013 academic year, in partnership with the University-wide Harvard Innovation Lab (i-Lab). Williams served as HLS’s inaugural EIR in 2011-2012 and has been reappointed to a second term.

“This year, when we at HLS launch the Public Service Venture Fund and offer new workshops and many courses on entrepreneurship, it is just terrific that these four extremely talented and remarkably accomplished individuals will join us over the course of the year as our Experts-in-Residence,” Minow said. “Their collective expertise and experience as entrepreneurs and innovators will give our students treasure troves of ideas and amazing encouragement and advice as they explore their own creative ideas. With their help, we will amplify the spirit of innovation and nurture amazing new ventures as our students work with these four terrific experts.”

The Law School’s EIR program invites entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, lawyers and other experts to the HLS campus and to the i-Lab in Allston to mentor and advise students from the law school and the broader Harvard community on entrepreneurship, innovation and career options.

Clinical Professor Phil Malone, who directs the HLS Cyberlaw Clinic, said: “I am thrilled that these distinguished entrepreneurs will be sharing their expertise and wisdom with Harvard students working at the i-Lab. As we engage HLS students in the i-Lab both as innovators and as providers of legal services to i-Lab users through our Cyberlaw and Transactional Law Clinics, these new EIRs will serve as valuable mentors and inspiring examples.”

In addition to mentoring students, EIRs also present workshops and other events, share their expertise as speakers in classes taught in the i-Lab, and facilitate interactions between students and startups and social entrepreneurs.

The EIRs will host office hours for students to receive career advice and counseling on their business ideas. Neil Flanzraich will be the first EIR to hold office hours from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 13, and from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 14.

All matriculated, degree-seeking Harvard students are invited to sign up for office hours with the experts by emailing Kate Range at krange@harvard.edu. Please provide a brief description of your startup, or a brief bio of yourself and a description of the issue you would like to discuss.

Michael Fertik

Fertik is the CEO and founder of Reputation.com, which he created with the belief that businesses and individuals have the right to control and protect their online reputation and privacy.  Credited with pioneering the field of online reputation management (ORM), Fertik is lauded as the world’s leading “cyber-thinker” in digital privacy and reputation. He is a member of the World Economic Forum Agenda Council on the Future of the Internet; a member of the Aspen Institute CEO Roundtable; and a Privacy by Design Ambassador, an appointment designated by the Information & Privacy Commissioner of Canada. He is the author of the bestselling book, “Wild West 2.0” (2010) and “The Reputation Economy”(Crown, Forthcoming 2013).  Fertik founded his first Internet company while at Harvard College, and also received his J.D. from Harvard Law School.

Neil Flanzraich

Flanzraich is the Executive Chairman of Kirax Corporation and the Executive Chairman of ParinGenix, Inc., both of which are privately owned biotech companies. He previously served as the Vice Chairman and President of Ivax Corporation, an international pharmaceutical company, which was sold to Teva in 2006 for an enterprise value of $10 billion. Currently, Flanzraich is a member of the boards of directors of Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. and Equity One, Inc. He is also Chairman of the Board of MDW Insurance Group and Chairman of the Advisory Board of The Wolfsonian-FIU, a museum, library, and research center. Flanzraich graduated from Harvard College (magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa) and from Harvard Law School (magna cum laude).

Anthony Scaramucci

Anthony Scaramucci is a Managing Partner of SkyBridge. Prior to SkyBridge, he was the co-founder of Oscar Capital Management, which was sold to Neuberger Berman, LLC in 2001 after building a managed account business and four hedge funds having in aggregate more than $800 million of assets. He is a board member for The Lymphoma Foundation and The Brain Tumor Foundation, as well as a member of the Board of Overseers for the School of Arts and Sciences at Tufts University and a member of the NYC Financial Services Advisory Committee. Scaramucci earned a B.A. in Economics from Tufts University (summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa), and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.

John Williams

Williams is a partner in the Boston office of the Bridgespan Group, a nonprofit firm that works with mission-driven organizations and philanthropists to scale their impact, enhance their effectiveness, and help strengthen their leadership. Previously, he has been a strategy consultant at Bain & Co., a software marketer, a senior executive at American Express, an early dot-com entrepreneur and CEO of both Web 2.0 and private jet ventures. He earned his JD and MBA from Harvard Law School and Harvard Business School.

About i-Lab

The i-Lab fosters team-based and entrepreneurial activities and deepens interactions among Harvard students, faculty, entrepreneurs, and members of the Allston and Greater Boston communities. It supports Mayor Thomas M. Menino’s innovation agenda and utilizes a building that once housed WGBH-TV’s studios. The initiative encourages entrepreneurship and innovation across the University, bringing together many cross-curricular interests pursued at Harvard College, the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Harvard Law School, Harvard Graduate School of Education, Harvard Business School, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, the School for Engineering and Applied Science, and the Harvard Kennedy School.

For more information on the i-Lab, please visit: http://i-lab.harvard.edu.