Legal History

To gain a better understanding of the issues in play following the House impeachment of President Donald Trump, the Harvard Gazette asked faculty and affiliates in history, law, politics, government, psychology, and media to offer their thoughts.

The Harvard Gazette recently sat down with Martha Minow, the 300th Anniversary University Professor and former dean of Harvard Law School, to talk about her book new book, "When Should Law Forgive?," and why she thinks forgiveness could make the law more just.

At a packed Brattle Theatre last week, five short films created by 12 Harvard Law students from eight countries debuted. The documentaries, ranging across topics from gentrification to climate change, are the results of an innovative January term workshop taught by Martha Minow, former Harvard Law dean and 300th Anniversary University Professor.

Two teams of 3Ls competed for the coveted recognition of their advocacy skills in the final round of the 2019 Ames Moot Court Competition on November 12 at Harvard Law School.

In a Q&A, Elizabeth Papp Kamali ’07 discusses her new book, trial by ordeal, medieval juries and "felonies committed feloniously."

In his new book, "They Don’t Represent Us: Reclaiming Our Democracy," Lawrence Lessig writes about the issues undermining American democracy, such as big money in politics, gerrymandering, vote suppression, and the inequities of the Electoral College system.

With the advent of sweeping disaster comes the complicated question of how properly to compensate victims. The Program on Negotiation at HLS convenes an expert panel on dispute resolution in the wake of mass disasters.

In the recently-released "In Hoffa's Shadow," Jack Goldsmith digs into the case to possibly solve the mystery of the disappearance—and to clear his stepfather’s name.

Harvard faculty explore the thorny legal and political implications of trying to unseat Trump, and whether it will matter in the end if it reaches the Republican-controlled Senate.

On the 200th anniversary of McCulloch v. Maryland, HLS Professor Mark Tushnet reflects on the 1819 case that paved the way for the modern administrative state and established the supremacy of federal over state law.

With the start of the academic year, four new scholars have joined the ranks of the Harvard Law School faculty and two have been promoted to professor of law.

Harvard Law School’s new online course Zero-L helps prime incoming students for success

Harvard Law School Library's Nuremberg Trials Project reached a new milestone this year, when Judith Haran, one of two document analysts with the project, was invited to speak at an international conference on Holocaust Studies in the Digital Age.

The latest from alumni authors, chronicling travels to the moon and the Arctic, the dawn of a code war, and the unwinding of a miracle.

Maureen E. “Molly” Brady, an expert in property law, land use law, local government law, legal history and intellectual property law, has joined the Harvard Law School faculty as assistant professor of law.

In June, the Harvard Library Innovation Lab hosted an inaugural research summit to highlight the diversity of research that the Caselaw Access Project is making possible.

Laura Weinrib '03, a leading scholar of legal history and constitutional law, will join the Harvard Law School faculty as professor of law, effective July 1, 2019.

Crystal Yang ’13, a law and economics scholar who focuses her teaching and research on empirical law and economics, was promoted to professor of law at Harvard Law School effective July 1, 2019.

Harvard Law scholars are weighing in on recent decisions made by the White House, the Department of Justice and Congress that mark a significant escalation in the protracted conflict over the Mueller report.

For his 'last lecture' to graduating J.D.s and LL.M.s, Professor Michael Klarman invoked two inspiring figures in legal history: Thurgood Marshall and Ruth Bader Ginsburg.