Public Service

In honor of the centennial anniversary of Louis D. Brandeis' confirmation to the United States Supreme Court, Harvard Law School and the Harvard Law Library are celebrating his relationship with the school, as a student, a devoted alumnus, and as a Supreme Court Justice employing and mentoring HLS graduates.

How can you defend a foreigner who came to the United States with the likely intent of causing harm to Americans? For attorney James B. Donovan, a 1940 graduate of Harvard Law School, the real question at the height of the Cold War was: How can you not?

This is the last in the Harvard Gazette's series on inequality, one of America’s most vexing problems, examining Harvard’s ground-level efforts to make a difference in the surrounding communities, and beyond.

The Harvard Law School Women’s Law Association 10th annual conference, “What We Talk about When We Talk about Women,” opened with a panel focused on politics.

Earlier this year, Michelle Wu '12 was elected president of the Boston City Council, making her the first Asian American to hold that role. Wu recently spoke with Harvard Law Today about her time at HLS, her experience as a woman in politics, and vision for her new role on the Boston City Council.

Merrick Garland ’77—President Obama’s pick for the Supreme Court—has been very much involved in the life of Harvard Law School since receiving his degree from HLS nearly four decades ago. Dean Martha Minow described as “an outstanding, meticulous, and thoughtful judge with a superb career of public service.”

On Feb. 24, a panel of Harvard Law School professors, all of whom had personal or professional connections to the late Justice Antonin Scalia, gathered to remember his life and work.

Justice Antonin Scalia’s death and the battle over selecting his successor have raised the prospect of an extended period with a Supreme Court split 4-4 between conservative and liberal justices--'In short, a mess' for the legal future of the Clean Power Plan, according to Richard Lazarus.

Baltimore Corps wants to make Baltimore the social change capital of America; recently, its co-founder Fagan Harris shared his vision with 40 students at Harvard Law School.

In a recent talk at Harvard Law School, labor leader Lee Saunders, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employers (AFSCME), delivered remarks on the current state of unions and the need for them to adapt to face contemporary challenges.

"Justice Scalia will be remembered as one of the most influential jurists in American history -- he changed how the Court approaches statutory interpretation, and in countless areas introduced new ways of thinking about the Constitution and the role of the Court that will remain important for years to come."

The Harvard Food Law and Policy Clinic (FLPC), in partnership with Racing Horse Productions, has released a short film, "EXPIRED? Food Waste in America," that explores how the variety of date labels on food products contributes to food waste in America.

In a recent talk at Harvard Law School, U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch ’81, J.D. ’84 discussed criminal-justice reform “a transformative issue of our generation.”

Lecturer on Law Alan Jenkins ’89 shared ideas for reframing conversations on race and social justice at a talk at Harvard Law School on Jan. 12. The talk was moderated by Clinical Professor Dan Nagin, vice dean for experiential and clinical education at HLS.

The National Association of Law Placement's Board of Directors recently recognized Alexa Shabecoff, assistant dean for public service at the Bernard Koteen Office of Public Interest Advising at Harvard Law School, with a Service Excellence Award for her ongoing commitment in developing resources for and sharing her knowledge with the NALP public interest community.

When Lawrence Lessig ended his issue-oriented quest for the Democratic Party’s nomination in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, he vowed to continue his campaign to reform election finance practices and reduce the influence of money in politics.

On Nov. 17, Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court Elena Kagan ’86, former dean of Harvard Law School, discussed statutory interpretation in a conversation with Professor John Manning ’85 as part of the Scalia lecture series at Harvard Law School.

U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Stephen Breyer made a recent appearance at Harvard Kennedy School to discuss his new book, “The Court and the World: American Law and the New Global Realities,” with HKS Professor David Gergen, and Nancy Gertner, a former U.S. District Court judge in Massachusetts and now a senior lecturer at HLS.

Harvard students who have served in the various branches of the Armed Forces represent a diverse range of backgrounds and experience, but all have at least one thing in common: a profound dedication to serving the nation, under the most perilous of circumstances.