Public Service

How attorneys advance civil rights work in their practices, both at private public interest law firms and through pro bono work at large law firms, was the focus of discussion at two panel events at Harvard Law School

D.Y. Chandrachud LL.M. ’83 S.J.D. ’86, who has served on the Supreme Court of India since 2016, has been appointed to serve as the next Chief Justice of India.

Harvard Law School faculty members Sabrineh Ardalan, Michael Gregory, and Scott Westfahl candidly discussed their experiences with mental health, during and after law school, and shared how those have informed their work and strategies for well-being.

In the first of a Harvard Law School series on the Supreme Court and its role in American democracy, panelists debated the impact of politics on the Roberts Court.

This is an encouraging moment for labor law — and a potentially scary one as well, according to Harvard Law School Professor of Practice Sharon Block.

In his first Harvard event since retiring from the Supreme Court in June, former Associate Justice Stephen Breyer spoke to incoming Harvard Law students about his time on the court, the job that most shaped his career as a jurist, and why his questions at oral argument were so famously idiosyncratic.

In the wake of the FBI’s raid on President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home, former White House counsel and Harvard Law lecturer Neil Eggleston reveals how departing presidents have typically preserved official records.

Keith Fogg, clinical professor of law emeritus at Harvard Law School, says that IRS audits of two former FBI officials deserve an investigation, but he doubts tampering.

This past April, 77 years after Clark W. Maser ’51 arrived in Marseille to help liberate France from Nazi occupation, he was proclaimed a knight of the Legion of Honor.

Tomiko Brown-Nagin’s book recounts the remarkable — and too little-known — life and achievements of civil rights lawyer and judge Constance Baker Motley

“Lawyers are supposed to be problem solvers," says Justin Herdman ’01, "and that means identifying problems before they are at your doorstep.”

With Beyond Legal Aid, Lam Ho ’08 establishes a new model for public interest law

From “American Shtetl” to “South to America”

Larry Schwartztol, White House lawyer focused on voting rights and democracy reform, has been named a professor of practice. He will serve as the faculty director of the Democracy and the Rule of Law Clinic.

Harvard Law School’s fellowship and seed grant program celebrates a decade of exponential impact for public interest careers, nonprofits, and the world.

Retired United States Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer ’64 is returning to Harvard Law School, where he will teach seminars and reading groups, write, and produce scholarship.

Harvard Law lecturer and former Maine attorney general Jim Tierney wants to demystify the inner workings of the state attorney general's office with a 'living text' to help students better understand this definitively American structure.

At a recent public consultation, the U.N. Independent Expert on sexual orientation and gender identity Victor Madrigal-Borloz, a senior visiting researcher at Harvard Law School's Human Rights Program, gathered testimonies on the well-being of LGBTI communities around the world.

As the former executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Christiana Figueres was in charge of the 2015 climate talks in Paris. In a conscious departure from earlier conferences, she declared that any agreement should be unanimous, rather than merely a consensus.

Harvard Law’s Federal Tax Clinic helps low-income taxpayers shed their debts — and stress.

Susan Hendrickson ’93, the new executive director of the Berkman Klein Center, recently spoke with Harvard Law Today about her career path, her advice for law students, what keeps her up at night and why, nevertheless, she continues to be optimistic about tech.

The Harvard Law School Democrats recently hosted a Q&A with White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain ’87. who answered students' questions on the administration’s agenda on voting rights, student loan debt, global vaccine inequities, the war in Ukraine, and other hot topics.

The Hon. Loretta Lynch ’84, who was Attorney General of the United States from 2015 to 2017, will be this year’s speaker for the Class Day ceremonies at Harvard Law School.

Former San Antonio mayor and HUD secretary Julián Castro ’00 was named the Klinsky Professor of Practice for Leadership and Progress. He will teach a course next fall on leadership in urban communities.

For international law expert Svitlana Starosvit LL.M. ’13 S.J.D. ’22, Russia's military assault on Ukraine is horrifying yet unsurprising because, she says, “We Ukrainians know Putin all too well."

Ketanji Brown Jackson ’96 was nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court by President Biden. If confirmed, Jackson would be the first Black woman to serve on the nation’s highest court.

Harvard Law alum Esther Mulder ‘14 discusses her journey from foster care to a career in public defense.

In his book “The Authority of the Court and the Peril of Politics,” Justice Stephen Breyer explored how the Court can continue to maintain its vital role as a check on the rest of the government.

In the wake of the news that Supreme Court Associate Justice Stephen G. Breyer ’64 will retire at the end of the current term, Harvard Law School faculty members offer their thoughts on his tenure, legacy, and how the nation’s highest court could change after his departure.

Former Federal Reserve Bank member Daniel Tarullo says the Fed has “fallen behind the curve” in raising interest rates to help tame rising inflation and “needs to play some catch-up.”

HLS Professor Andrew Crespo was one of 59 members elected to the American Law Institute this year. Thirteen Harvard Law School alumni were also elected.

Lani Guinier, the first African-American woman to be tenured at Harvard Law School and an influential scholar who devoted her life to justice, equality, empowerment, and democracy, died Jan. 7.

Harvard Law Today asked experts from across Harvard Law School to share their perspectives on January 6, 2021, the events that have unfolded since, and the implications for American democracy going forward.

Harvard Law Today recently spoke to Professors Terry Fisher and Ruth Okediji about COVID-19 vaccine challenges in the global south, waiving drug-maker patents, and what they propose to reform the system in time for the next pandemic.

Future-L, a pilot collaboration between Harvard Law School and the National Education Equity Lab, introduces high-achieving high school students from historically underserved backgrounds to the legal field.

To mark Veterans Day, Harvard Law Today highlights a few of the profiles and stories that illustrate the profound commitment of those in the HLS community to service and the law.

Members of the Veterans Legal Clinic at Harvard Law School are representing a same-sex widower in his appeal before the VA and in federal court in a potentially precedent-setting case.

Harvard Law students who have served in the various branches of the Armed Forces represent a diverse range of backgrounds and experience, but all share a profound dedication to serving the nation.

In a historic victory, Michelle Wu ’12 was elected mayor of Boston on Tuesday, making her the first woman and the first person of color elected to lead Boston.

In the fall of 2010, Brad Carney ’24 couldn’t stand what he saw in the mirror. Then he discovered that he could go further than he thought he could.

An Air Force veteran, community organizer, and counselor to homeless teens, Kristi L. Tanaka ’24 says service will always be part of her plans.

As a U.S. Marine in Afghanistan, Nathan Lowry ’24 led a team of counterterrorism intelligence specialists targeting Taliban operations.

A 12-year Naval JAG career has taken Lt. Cmdr. Shawn Brennan LL.M. ’22 to Afghanistan, Japan and, most recently, the Pentagon.

Michael Ashley Stein ’88, executive director of the Harvard Law School Project on Disability, says the Department of Education should go beyond the Americans with Disabilities Act in investigating state bans against mandating face coverings in schools.

Former legal adviser to the National Security Council during the Bush administration says 20 years after 9/11, he's frustrated there hasn't been more progress toward an international legal framework for dealing with terrorism.

As many people are left wondering what will happen with the end of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s pandemic-related moratorium on evictions, Harvard Law School clinics and programs have reaffirmed their commitment to helping individuals and families navigate the housing system and their legal options.

A counterterrorism czar in the Bush administration, and the first-ever assistant secretary of the Treasury for terrorist financing and financial crimes, says the U.S. needs to reconceptualize what power means in the 21st century.