Ogletree, HLS alumni named among most influential minority lawyers in America

Harvard Law School Professor Charles Ogletree ’78 joined 13 other HLS alumni on National Law Journal’s “50 Most Influential Minority Lawyers in America,” which was published on May 26. The list honors practicing lawyers and academics who are leaders in a variety of legal fields.

“We wanted to get a feeling for how well the legal profession was integrating attorneys who not that long ago were rarely considered the right sort to practice at the elite level,” writes the Journal in its introduction to the list. “Merely holding a high office or position of authority was not enough; we wanted to identify attorneys who have demonstrated the power to change the law, shape public affairs, launch industries and get big things done.”

Ogletree is cited for being a “major voice for equal justice for everyone.” Among his high-profile cases, he was legal counsel to Anita Hill during the 1991 Senate Confirmation hearings for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, and he was NBC’s legal commentator during the O.J. Simpson murder trial. Ogletree is founder and executive director of the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice.

Thirteen other HLS alumni were also named to the list: Preeta D. Bansal ’89, Peter C.B. Bynoe ’76, Roel Campos ’79, Morgan Chu ’76, R. Ted Cruz ’95, John W. Daniels ’74, Christopher Edley Jr. ’78, Sergio J. Galvis ’83, Arturo J. Gonzalez ’85, Conrad Harper ’65, Ronald C. Machen ’94, John Payton ’77, and Theodore V. Wells Jr. ’76.

William F. Lee, who serves on the Harvard University Board of Overseers and is a member of the Law School’s visiting committee, was also named to the list. Lee has occasionally taught at HLS as a visiting professor.