Clinical Practice

In February 2007, Harvard Law School’s Human Rights Program issued a report on gang violence in El Salvador, "No Place to Hide: Gang, State, and Clandestine Violence in El Salvador."

Diego, Anastasia and Juan (not their real names) are undocumented immigrants. They are seeking asylum in the United States because if they return to El Salvador, they say they will almost certainly be killed.

This summer, hundreds of Harvard Law School students fanned out across the country and around the world to work as summer interns and fellows, exploring career options and using their legal skills in addressing a variety of problems. Here’s a look at four students and their summer experiences:

Howard and Abby Milstein met while students at HLS. Both serve on the Executive Committee of the Dean’s Advisory Board, and on the boards of numerous philanthropic, civic and professional organizations. The Bulletin’s Margaret Salinger spoke with the couple at Howard Milstein’s offices in New York City.

In June, Bethany Rubin Henderson ’02 and Adam Stofsky ’04 were named Echoing Green Fellows for 2009.

Justin Raphael ’09 and Andrew Furlow ’09 both had gained litigation experience during their summer law firm work. But sitting in the U.S. Supreme Court on March 30, watching constitutional scholar Samuel Issacharoff present an oral argument they’d helped research and prepare, they gained an entirely new appreciation of the process.

“The Whistleblower’s Lawyer,” a profile of Gaytri Kachroo S.J.D. ’02, appeared in the Summer 2009 Harvard Law Bulletin.

The following story “Mr. Smyth and Mr. Ruby Go to Washington” appeared in the Summer 2009 Harvard Law Bulletin.

Sheela Murthy LL.M. ’87 founded the Murthy Law Firm in Baltimore County, Md., in 1994. Her firm, of which she is managing partner and president, employs 14 lawyers who primarily practice U.S. immigration law.

In an op- ed “Fight for the Family Home” published in the October 10, 2008 edition of The New York Times, Eric Nguyen ’09 argues for reform of bankruptcy laws.

Gerhardt Bubník LL.M. ’69 still likes the ice. The former competitive skater hung up his skates years ago but has kept his edge, as a skating judge and then a legal adviser to the International Skating Union—all while building a law practice that spanned three political regimes.

Jim Greiner, an HLS assistant professor of law, created a unique course as a joint endeavor between HLS and the Harvard statistics department, where Greiner, who holds a Ph.D. in statistics, is an affiliate. The 13 law students will be taking and defending two depositions each, one involving a political redistricting hypothetical and the other involving an employment discrimination case.

H. Marshall Sonenshine ’85 is chairman and managing partner of Sonenshine Partners, a New York-based investment banking firm, which has completed billions of dollars in M&A and restructuring deals in a broad range of industries worldwide.

Phil Malone and Wendy Jacobs ’81 have been appointed clinical professors of law, Dean Elena Kagan ’86 announced today.

Peter C. Krause is managing director of Greenhill & Co., a merchant bank with offices in New York City, Dallas, Toronto, London and Frankfurt.

In the 1970s, many went into law to make a difference. Some of them are finally making it now. Today’s young lawyers don’t want to wait that long.

When Melissa Patterson ’06 signed up for a clinical placement through the school’s new Child Advocacy Program this year, she was looking for something as “real-world” as possible.

“Stay in role!” exhorts Professor Carol Steiker ’86, as some 90 students in her upper-level course Capital Punishment in America split into groups for an exercise in which they’ll argue whether a death sentence should be reversed due to ineffective assistance of counsel. “Don’t say, ‘If I were the lawyer, I would … ’”

When Professor Elizabeth Bartholet ’65 spoke at a conference on international adoption in Guatemala City early this year, she addressed a room full of activists, lawyers and politicians. But at the heart of her speech, and her pro bono advocacy, are children–living in institutions or foster care around the world.

Donald Alexander '48 is a partner at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld in Washington, D.C., where he has a wide-ranging tax practice.