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Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the
law school A law school (also known as a law centre or college of law) is an institution specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for becoming a lawyer within a given jurisdiction. Law degrees Argentina In Argentina, ...
of
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
, a private
research university A research university or a research-intensive university is a university that is committed to research as a central part of its mission. They are the most important sites at which knowledge production occurs, along with "intergenerational kno ...
in
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge beca ...
,
Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...
. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating
law school in the United States A law school in the United States is an educational institution where students obtain a professional education in law after first obtaining an undergraduate degree. Law schools in the U.S. confer the degree of Juris Doctor (J.D.), which is a ...
. Each class in the three-year JD program has approximately 560 students, among the largest of the top 150 ranked law schools in the United States. The first-year class is broken into seven sections of approximately 80 students, who take most first-year classes together. Aside from the JD program, Harvard also awards both LLM and SJD degrees. Harvard's uniquely large class size and prestige have led the law school to graduate a great many distinguished alumni in the judiciary, government, and the business world. According to Harvard Law's 2020
ABA ABA may refer to: Businesses and organizations Broadcasting * Alabama Broadcasters Association, United States * Asahi Broadcasting Aomori, Japanese television station * Australian Broadcasting Authority Education * Académie des Beaux- ...
-required disclosures, 99% of 2019 graduates passed the bar exam. The school's graduates accounted for more than one-quarter of all Supreme Court clerks between 2000 and 2010, more than any other law school in the United States. Harvard Law School's founding is traditionally linked to the funding of Harvard's first professorship in law, paid for from a bequest from the estate of Isaac Royall Jr., a colonial American landowner and slaveowner. HLS is home to the world's largest academic
law library A law library is a special library used by law students, lawyers, judges and their law clerks, historians and other scholars of legal history in order to research the law. Law libraries are also used by people who draft or advocate for new l ...
. The school has an estimated 135 full-time faculty members.


History


Bequest by Isaac Royall, founding, and relationship with slavery

Harvard Law School's founding is traced to the establishment of a 'law department' at Harvard in 1817. Dating the founding to the year of the creation of the law department makes Harvard Law School the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States.
William & Mary Law School The William & Mary Law School, known historically as the Marshall-Wythe School of Law, is the professional graduate law school of the College of William & Mary. Located in Williamsburg, Virginia, the school is the oldest extant law school in th ...
opened first in 1779, but it closed due to the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by state ...
, reopening in 1920. The
University of Maryland School of Law The University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law (formerly University of Maryland School of Law) is the law school of the University of Maryland, Baltimore and is located in Baltimore City, Maryland, U.S. Its location places Maryland ...
was chartered in 1816 but did not begin classes until 1824, and it also closed during the Civil War. The founding of the law department came two years after the establishment of Harvard's first endowed professorship in law, funded by a bequest from the estate of wealthy slave-owner Isaac Royall Jr., in 1817. Royall left roughly 1,000 acres of land in Massachusetts to Harvard when he died in exile in Nova Scotia, where he fled to as a
Loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cro ...
during the
American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolu ...
, in 1781, "to be appropriated towards the endowing a Professor of Laws ... or a Professor of Physick and Anatomy, whichever the said overseers and Corporation
f the college F, or f, is the sixth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ef'' (pronounced ), and the plural is ''efs''. Hist ...
shall judge to be best." The value of the land, when fully liquidated in 1809, was $2,938; the
Harvard Corporation The President and Fellows of Harvard College (also called the Harvard Corporation or just the Corporation) is the smaller and more powerful of Harvard University's two governing boards, and is now the oldest corporation in America. Together with ...
allocated $400 from the income generated by those funds to create the Royall Professorship of Law in 1815. The Royalls were so involved in the slave trade, that "the labor of slaves underwrote the teaching of law in Cambridge." The dean of the law school traditionally held the Royall chair; deans
Elena Kagan Elena Kagan ( ; born April 28, 1960) is an American lawyer who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. She was nominated by President Barack Obama on May 10, 2010, and has served since August 7, 2010. Kagan ...
and Martha Minow declined the Royall chair due to its origins in the proceeds of slavery. The Royall family's
coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in it ...
, which shows three stacked wheat sheaves on a blue background, was adopted as part of the law school's arms in 1936, topped with the university's motto (''Veritas'',
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...
for 'truth'). Until the school began investigating its connections with slavery in the 2010s, most alumni and faculty at the time were unaware of the origins of the arms. In March 2016, following requests by students, the school decided to remove the emblem because of its association with slavery. In November 2019, Harvard announced that a working group had been tasked to develop a new emblem. In August 2021, the new Harvard Law School emblem was introduced. Royall's Medford estate, the
Isaac Royall House The Isaac Royall House is a historic house located in Medford, Massachusetts, near Tufts University. The historic estate was founded by Bay Colony native Isaac Royall and is recognized as giving a face and life to the history and existence ...
, is now a museum which features the only remaining slave quarters in the northeast United States. In 2019, the government of
Antigua and Barbuda Antigua and Barbuda (, ) is a sovereign country in the West Indies. It lies at the juncture of the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean in the Leeward Islands part of the Lesser Antilles, at 17°N latitude. The country consists of two ...
requested reparations from Harvard Law School on the ground that it benefitted from Royall's enslavement of people in the country.


Growth and the Langdell curriculum

By 1827, the school, with one faculty member, was struggling.
Nathan Dane Nathan Dane (December 29, 1752 – February 15, 1835) was an American lawyer and statesman who represented Massachusetts in the Continental Congress from 1785 through 1788. Dane helped formulate the Northwest Ordinance while in Congress, and ...
, a prominent alumnus of the college, then endowed the Dane Professorship of Law, insisting that it be given to then Supreme Court Justice
Joseph Story Joseph Story (September 18, 1779 – September 10, 1845) was an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, serving from 1812 to 1845. He is most remembered for his opinions in '' Martin v. Hunter's Lessee'' and '' United Stat ...
. For a while, the school was called "Dane Law School." In 1829, John H. Ashmun, son of Eli Porter Ashmun and brother of George Ashmun, accepted a professorship and closed his Northampton Law School, with many of his students following him to Harvard. Story's belief in the need for an elite law school based on merit and dedicated to public service helped build the school's reputation at the time, although the contours of these beliefs have not been consistent throughout its history. Enrollment remained low through the 19th century as university legal education was considered to be of little added benefit to apprenticeships in legal practice. After first trying lowered admissions standards, in 1848 HLS eliminated admissions requirements entirely. In 1869, HLS also eliminated examination requirements. In the 1870s, under Dean Christopher Columbus Langdell, HLS introduced what has become the standard first-year
curriculum In education, a curriculum (; plural, : curricula or curriculums) is broadly defined as the totality of student experiences that occur in the educational process. The term often refers specifically to a planned sequence of instruction, or to ...
for American law schools – including classes in
contracts A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to ...
,
property Property is a system of rights that gives people legal control of valuable things, and also refers to the valuable things themselves. Depending on the nature of the property, an owner of property may have the right to consume, alter, share, r ...
,
torts A tort is a civil wrong that causes a claimant to suffer loss or harm, resulting in legal liability for the person who commits the tortious act. Tort law can be contrasted with criminal law, which deals with criminal wrongs that are punishabl ...
, criminal law, and
civil procedure Civil procedure is the body of law that sets out the rules and standards that courts follow when adjudicating civil lawsuits (as opposed to procedures in criminal law matters). These rules govern how a lawsuit or case may be commenced; what ki ...
. At Harvard, Langdell also developed the
case method The case method is a teaching approach that uses decision-forcing cases to put students in the role of people who were faced with difficult decisions at some point in the past. It developed during the course of the twentieth-century from its origin ...
of teaching law, now the dominant
pedagogical Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken as ...
model at U.S. law schools. Langdell's notion that law could be studied as a "science" gave university legal education a reason for being distinct from vocational preparation. Critics at first defended the old lecture method because it was faster and cheaper and made fewer demands on faculty and students. Advocates said the case method had a sounder theoretical basis in scientific research and the inductive method. Langdell's graduates became leading professors at other law schools where they introduced the case method. The method was facilitated by casebooks. From its founding in 1900, the
Association of American Law Schools The Association of American Law Schools (AALS), formed in 1900, is a non-profit organization of 176 law schools in the United States. An additional 19 schools pay a fee to receive services but are not members. AALS incorporated as a 501(c)(3) no ...
promoted the case method in law schools that sought
accreditation Accreditation is the independent, third-party evaluation of a conformity assessment body (such as certification body, inspection body or laboratory) against recognised standards, conveying formal demonstration of its impartiality and competence to ...
.


20th century

During the 20th century, Harvard Law School was known for its competitiveness. For example,
Bob Berring Robert Charles "Bob" Berring Jr. (born November 20, 1949) is a noted figure in law, as a professor, librarian, scholar and researcher. Biography Born in 1949 in Canton, Ohio, Berring received his undergraduate degree from Harvard (1971), his J ...
called it "a samurai ring where you can test your swordsmanship against the swordsmanship of the strongest intellectual warriors from around the nation." When Langdell developed the original law school curriculum, Harvard President Charles Eliot told him to make it "hard and long." An urban legend holds that incoming students are told to "Look to your left, look to your right, because one of you won't be here by the end of the year."
Scott Turow Scott Frederick Turow (born April 12, 1949) is an American author and lawyer. Turow has written 13 fiction and three nonfiction books, which have been translated into more than 40 languages and sold more than 30 million copies. Turow’s novels ...
's memoir '' One L'' and John Jay Osborn's novel '' The Paper Chase'' describe such an environment. Trailing many of its peers, Harvard Law did not admit women as students until 1950, for the class of 1953. Eleanor Kerlow's book ''Poisoned Ivy: How Egos, Ideology, and Power Politics Almost Ruined Harvard Law School'' criticized the school for a 1980s political dispute between newer and older faculty members over accusations of insensitivity to minority and feminist issues. Divisiveness over such issues as
political correctness ''Political correctness'' (adjectivally: ''politically correct''; commonly abbreviated ''PC'') is a term used to describe language, policies, or measures that are intended to avoid offense or disadvantage to members of particular groups in socie ...
lent the school the title "Beirut on the Charles." In ''Broken Contract: A Memoir of Harvard Law School'', Richard Kahlenberg criticized the school for driving students away from public interest and toward work in high-paying law firms. Kahlenberg's criticisms are supported by Granfield and Koenig's study, which found that "students re directedtoward service in the most prestigious law firms, both because they learn that such positions are their destiny and because the recruitment network that results from collective eminence makes these jobs extremely easy to obtain." The school has also been criticized for its large first year class sizes (at one point there were 140 students per classroom; in 2001 there were 80), a cold and aloof administration, and an inaccessible faculty. The latter stereotype is a central plot element of ''The Paper Chase'' and appears in ''
Legally Blonde ''Legally Blonde'' is a 2001 American comedy film directed by Robert Luketic in his feature-length directorial debut, and scripted by Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith from Amanda Brown's 2001 novel of the same name. It stars Reese Wit ...
''. In response to the above criticisms, HLS eventually implemented the once-criticized but now dominant approach pioneered by Dean Robert Hutchins at
Yale Law School Yale Law School (Yale Law or YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824 and has been ranked as the best law school in the United States by '' U.S. News & Worl ...
, of shifting the competitiveness to the admissions process while making law school itself a more cooperative experience. Robert Granfield and Thomas Koenig's 1992 study of Harvard Law students that appeared in ''The Sociological Quarterly'' found that students "learn to cooperate with rather than compete against classmates," and that contrary to "less eminent" law schools, students "learn that professional success is available for all who attend, and that therefore, only neurotic 'gunners' try to outdo peers."


21st century

Under Kagan, the second half of the 2000s saw significant academic changes since the implementation of the Langdell curriculum. In 2006, the faculty voted unanimously to approve a new first-year curriculum, placing greater emphasis on problem-solving, administrative law, and international law. The new curriculum was implemented in stages over the next several years, with the last new course, a first year practice-oriented problem solving workshop, being instituted in January 2010. In late 2008, the faculty decided that the school should move to an Honors/Pass/Low Pass/Fail (H/P/LP/F) grading system, much like those in place at Yale and Stanford Law Schools. The system applied to half the courses taken by students in the Class of 2010 and fully started with the Class of 2011. In 2009, Kagan was appointed
solicitor general of the United States The solicitor general of the United States is the fourth-highest-ranking official in the United States Department of Justice. Elizabeth Prelogar has been serving in the role since October 28, 2021. The United States solicitor general represen ...
by President
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...
and resigned the deanship. On June 11, 2009, Harvard University president,
Drew Gilpin Faust Catharine Drew Gilpin Faust (born September 18, 1947) is an American historian and was the 28th president of Harvard University, the first woman to serve in that role. She was Harvard's first president since 1672 without an undergraduate or gradu ...
named Martha Minow as the new dean. She assumed the position on July 1, 2009. On January 3, 2017, Minow announced that she would conclude her tenure as dean at the end of the academic year. In June 2017, John F. Manning was named as the new dean, effective as of July 1, 2017. In September 2017, the school unveiled a plaque acknowledging the indirect role played by
slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
in its history:


Reputation

The acceptance rate for the JD Class of 2024 was 6.8%. HLS was ranked as the fourth best law school in the United States (in a tie with
Columbia Law School Columbia Law School (Columbia Law or CLS) is the law school of Columbia University, a private Ivy League university in New York City. Columbia Law is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world and has always ranked ...
, and trailing only
Yale Law School Yale Law School (Yale Law or YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824 and has been ranked as the best law school in the United States by '' U.S. News & Worl ...
,
Stanford Law School Stanford Law School (Stanford Law or SLS) is the law school of Stanford University, a private research university near Palo Alto, California. Established in 1893, it is regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world. Stanford La ...
, and the
University of Chicago Law School The University of Chicago Law School is the law school of the University of Chicago, a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. It is consistently ranked among the best and most prestigious law schools in the world, and has many dist ...
) by ''U.S. News & World Report'' in its 2023 rankings, the most widely referenced rankings publisher in the American legal community. HLS was also ranked first, with a perfect overall assessment score of 100.0, by QS World University Rankings in 2019. It is also ranked first by the 2019 Academic Ranking of World Universities. In November 2022, the law school made a joint decision along with Yale Law School to withdraw from the ''U.S. News & World Report'' Best Law Schools rankings, citing the system's "flawed methodology."


Employment

According to the school's employment summary for 2020 graduates, 86.8% were employed in bar passage required jobs and another 5.3% were employed in J.D. advantage jobs.


Costs

The cost of tuition for the 2022-2023 school year (9 month term) is $72,430. A Mandatory HUHS Student Health Fee is $1,304, bringing the total direct costs for the 2022-2023 school year to $73,734. The total cost of attendance (indicating the cost of tuition, fees, and living expenses) at Harvard Law for the 2021–2022 academic year is $104,200.


Heraldic shield

In 2016, the governing body of the university, the
Harvard Corporation The President and Fellows of Harvard College (also called the Harvard Corporation or just the Corporation) is the smaller and more powerful of Harvard University's two governing boards, and is now the oldest corporation in America. Together with ...
, voted to retire the law school's 80-year-old heraldic shield. The shield, depicting three garbs (the
heraldic Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known bran ...
term for wheat sheaves), was based in part upon the
coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in it ...
of Isaac Royall Jr., a university benefactor who had endowed the first professorship in the law school. The shield had become a source of contention among a group of law school students, who objected to the Royall family's history as slave-owners. The president of the university and dean of the law school, acting upon the recommendation of a committee formed to study the issue, ultimately agreed with its majority decision, that the shield was inconsistent with the values of both the university and the law school. Their recommendation was ultimately adopted by the Harvard Corporation and on March 15, 2016, the shield was ordered retired. On August 23, 2021, it was announced that a new shield was approved by the Harvard Corporation. The new design features Harvard's traditional motto, (
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...
for 'truth'), resting above the Latin phrase ''Lex et Iustitia'', meaning 'law and justice'. According to the HLS Shield Working Group's final report, the expanding or diverging lines, some with no obvious beginning or end, are meant to convey a sense of broad scope or great distance — the limitlessness of the school's work and mission. The radial lines also allude to the latitudinal and longitudinal lines that define the arc of the earth, conveying the global reach of the Law School's community and impact. The multifaceted, radiating form — a form inspired by architectural details found in both Austin Hall and Hauser Hall — seeks to convey dynamism, complexity, inclusiveness, connectivity, and strength.


Student organizations and journals

Harvard Law School has more than 90 student organizations that are active on campus. These organizations include the student-edited journals, ''
Harvard Law Record The ''Harvard Law Record'' is an independent student-edited newspaper based at Harvard Law School. Founded in 1946, it is the oldest law school newspaper in the United States. Characteristics The ''Record'', a print and online publication, includ ...
'', and the HLS Drama Society, which organizes the annual ''
Harvard Law School Parody The ''Harvard Law School Parody'' is an annual parody musical put on by students at Harvard Law School. Over the Parody's week-long run every spring, more than half of Harvard Law School's entire student body attends the show. History The ...
'', the
Harvard Legal Aid Bureau The Harvard Legal Aid Bureau ("HLAB") is the oldest Legal clinic, student-run legal services office in the United States, founded in 1913. The bureau is one of three honors societies at the law school, along with the ''Harvard Law Review'' and the ...
as well as other political, social, service, and athletic groups. HLS Student Government is the primary governing, advocacy, and representative body for Law School students. In addition, students are represented at the university level by the
Harvard Graduate Council The Harvard Graduate Council (HGC) (formerly known as the "HGSG" efunct, and originally founded as the HGC is the centralized student government organization for the twelve graduate schools of Harvard University. Representing the interests of m ...
.


''Harvard Law Review''

Students of the
Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice l ...
(JD) program are involved in preparing and publishing the ''
Harvard Law Review The ''Harvard Law Review'' is a law review published by an independent student group at Harvard Law School. According to the ''Journal Citation Reports'', the ''Harvard Law Review''s 2015 impact factor of 4.979 placed the journal first out of 143 ...
'', one of the most highly cited university
law review A law review or law journal is a scholarly journal or publication that focuses on legal issues. A law review is a type of legal periodical. Law reviews are a source of research, imbedded with analyzed and referenced legal topics; they also pr ...
s, as well as a number of other law journals and an independent student newspaper. The ''Harvard Law Review'' was first published in 1887 and has been staffed and edited by some of the school's most notable alumni. In addition to the journal, the Harvard Law Review Association, in conjunction with the Columbia Law Review, University of Pennsylvania Law Review, and ''
Yale Law Journal The ''Yale Law Journal'' (YLJ), known also as the ''Yale Law Review'', is a student-run law review affiliated with the Yale Law School. Published continuously since 1891, it is the most widely known of the eight law reviews published by students ...
'' also publishes '' The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation'', the most widely followed authority for legal citation formats in the United States. The
student newspaper A student publication is a media outlet such as a newspaper, magazine, television show, or radio station produced by students at an educational institution. These publications typically cover local and school-related news, but they may also repo ...
, the ''
Harvard Law Record The ''Harvard Law Record'' is an independent student-edited newspaper based at Harvard Law School. Founded in 1946, it is the oldest law school newspaper in the United States. Characteristics The ''Record'', a print and online publication, includ ...
'', has been published continuously since the 1940s, making it one of the oldest law school newspapers in the country, and has included the exploits of fictional law student Fenno for decades. The Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation, formerly known as the ''Harvard Law School Corporate Governance Blog'', is one of the most widely read law websites in the country. The ''Harvard Law Bulletin'' is the magazine of record for Harvard Law School. The ''Harvard Law Bulletin'' was first published in April 1948. The magazine is currently published twice a year, but in previous years has been published four or six times a year. The magazine was first published online in fall 1997.


Harvard Law School student journals

* ''
Harvard Law Review The ''Harvard Law Review'' is a law review published by an independent student group at Harvard Law School. According to the ''Journal Citation Reports'', the ''Harvard Law Review''s 2015 impact factor of 4.979 placed the journal first out of 143 ...
'' * '' Harvard Business Law Review'' * ''
Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher l ...
'' * ''Harvard BlackLetter Law Journal'' * '' Harvard Environmental Law Review'' * ''Harvard Human Rights Journal'' * ''
Harvard International Law Journal The ''Harvard International Law Journal'' is a biannual academic journal of international law, run and edited by students at Harvard Law School. The Journal is "the oldest and most-cited student-edited journal of international law." The Journal was ...
'' * ''Harvard Journal of Law & Gender'' (formerly ''Women's Law Journal'') * '' Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy'' * '' Harvard Journal of Law and Technology'' * ''Harvard Journal of Sports and Entertainment Law'' * ''
Harvard Journal on Legislation The ''Harvard Journal on Legislation'' is a journal of legal scholarship published by students at Harvard Law School. Overview The ''Harvard Journal on Legislation'' publishes articles analyzing legislation and the legislative process. The ''Jour ...
'' * ''Harvard Latinx Law Review'' * '' Harvard Law & Policy Review'' * ''Harvard National Security Journal'' * ''Harvard Negotiation Law Review'' * '' Unbound: Harvard Journal of the Legal Left''


Harvard Law School legal clinics

* Election Law Clinic * Animal Law and Policy Clinic * Criminal Justice Institute * Crimmigration Clinic * Cyberlaw Clinic * Education Law Clinic * Emmett Environmental Law and Policy Clinic * Immigration and Refugee Clinic * Legal Aid Bureau * Dispute Systems Design Clinic * International Human Rights Clinic * Institute to End Mass Incarceration Clinic * Mediation Clinic * Religious Freedom Clinic * Transactional Law Clinic * Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation ** Food Law and Policy Clinic ** Health Law and Policy Clinic * Legal Services Center ** Domestic Violence and Family Clinic ** Federal Tax Clinic ** Housing Law Clinic ** LGBTQ+ Advocacy Clinic ** Predatory Lending and Consumer Protection Clinic ** Veterans Law and Disability Benefits Clinic


Notable people


Alumni

Harvard's prestige and large class size have enabled it to graduate a large number of distinguished alumni. Rutherford B. Hayes, the 19th president of the United States, graduated from HLS. Additionally,
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...
, the 44th
president of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal gove ...
, graduated from HLS and was president of the ''Harvard Law Review''. His wife,
Michelle Obama Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama (born January 17, 1964) is an American attorney and author who served as first lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017. She was the first African-American woman to serve in this position. She is married t ...
, is also a graduate of Harvard Law School. Past presidential candidates who are HLS graduates, include
Michael Dukakis Michael Stanley Dukakis (; born November 3, 1933) is an American retired lawyer and politician who served as governor of Massachusetts from 1975 to 1979 and again from 1983 to 1991. He is the longest-serving governor in Massachusetts history a ...
,
Ralph Nader Ralph Nader (; born February 27, 1934) is an American political activist, author, lecturer, and attorney noted for his involvement in consumer protection, environmentalism, and government reform causes. The son of Lebanese immigrants to the U ...
and
Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusett ...
. Eight sitting U.S. senators are alumni of HLS: Romney,
Ted Cruz Rafael Edward "Ted" Cruz (; born December 22, 1970) is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States Senator from Texas since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Cruz served as Solicitor General of Texas from ...
,
Mike Crapo Michael Dean Crapo ( ; born May 20, 1951) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Idaho, a seat he has held since 1999. A member of the Republican Party, Crapo previously served as the U.S. repres ...
,
Tim Kaine Timothy Michael Kaine (; born February 26, 1958) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Virginia since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 38th lieutenant governor of Virgin ...
, Jack Reed,
Chuck Schumer Charles Ellis Schumer ( ; born November 23, 1950) is an American politician serving as Senate Majority Leader since January 20, 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, Schumer is in his fourth Senate term, having held his seat since 1999, and ...
,
Tom Cotton Thomas Bryant Cotton (born May 13, 1977) is an American politician, attorney, and former military officer serving as the junior United States senator for Arkansas since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he served in the U.S. House of ...
, and
Mark Warner Mark Robert Warner (born December 15, 1954) is an American businessman and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Virginia, a seat he has held since 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, Warner served as the 69th govern ...
. Other legal and political leaders who attended HLS include former president of
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northe ...
,
Ma Ying-jeou Ma Ying-jeou ( zh, 馬英九, born 13 July 1950) is a Hong Kong-born Taiwanese politician who served as president of the Republic of China from 2008 to 2016. Previously, he served as justice minister from 1993 to 1996 and mayor of Taipei from 1 ...
, and former vice president
Annette Lu Annette Lu Hsiu-lien (; born 7 June 1944) is a Taiwanese politician. A feminist active in the tangwai movement, she joined the Democratic Progressive Party in 1990, and was elected to the Legislative Yuan in 1992. Subsequently, she served as ...
; the incumbent
Chief Justice of India The chief justice of India ( IAST: ) is the chief judge of the Supreme Court of India as well as the highest-ranking officer of the Indian Judiciary. The Constitution of India grants power to the president of India to appoint, in consultation ...
, Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud; the incumbent Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal of Hong Kong, Andrew Cheung Kui-nung; former chief justice of the
Republic of the Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
,
Renato Corona Renato Tereso Antonio Coronado Corona (October 15, 1948 – April 29, 2016) was a Filipino judge who was the 23rd chief justice of the Philippines from 2010 to 2012. He served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines, ass ...
; chief justice,
Sundaresh Menon Sundaresh Menon (born 26 February 1962) is a Singaporean lawyer and jurist who has been serving as the fourth chief justice of Singapore since 2012, appointed by President Tony Tan. Education Sundaresh graduated from the National University of ...
; former president of the
World Bank Group The World Bank Group (WBG) is a family of five international organizations that make leveraged loans to developing countries. It is the largest and best-known development bank in the world and an observer at the United Nations Development Gr ...
,
Robert Zoellick Robert Bruce Zoellick (; ; born July 25, 1953) is an American public official and lawyer who was the eleventh president of the World Bank, a position he held from July 1, 2007 to June 30, 2012. He was previously a managing director of Goldman Sa ...
; former
United Nations high commissioner for human rights The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, commonly known as the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) or the United Nations Human Rights Office, is a department of the Secretariat of the United Nat ...
, Navanethem Pillay; the former
president of Ireland The president of Ireland ( ga, Uachtarán na hÉireann) is the head of state of Ireland and the supreme commander of the Irish Defence Forces. The president holds office for seven years, and can be elected for a maximum of two terms.Constitu ...
,
Mary Robinson Mary Therese Winifred Robinson ( ga, Máire Mhic Róibín; ; born 21 May 1944) is an Irish politician who was the 7th president of Ireland, serving from December 1990 to September 1997, the first woman to hold this office. Prior to her elect ...
; Lady Arden,
Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom Justices of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom are the judges of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom other than the president and the deputy president. The Supreme Court is the highest court of the United Kingdom for civil and crimin ...
and Solomon Areda Waktolla, Deputy Chief Justice of the Federal Supreme Court of Ethiopia. Deputy Chief Justice Solomon Areda Waktolla is also member of the Court of the
Permanent Court of Arbitration The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) is a non-UN intergovernmental organization located in The Hague, Netherlands. Unlike a judicial court in the traditional sense, the PCA provides services of arbitral tribunal to resolve disputes that aris ...
.
Lobsang Sangay Lobsang Sangay (, ; born 5 September 1968) is a Tibetan-American politician who was Kalon Tripa of the Tibetan Administration from 2011 to 2012, and Sikyong of the Central Tibetan Administration from 2012 to 2021. The Tibetan Administration ...
is the first elected
sikyong The () is the political leader of the Central Tibetan Administration, a Tibetan exile organisation also known as the Tibetan Government-in-Exile based on the 2011 Charter of Tibetans-in-exile. The title was created in 2012 after the 14th Dalai ...
of the Tibetan Government in Exile. In 2004, he earned a
S.J.D. A Doctor of Juridical Science (SJD; ), or a Doctor of Science of Law (JSD; ), is a research doctorate in law equivalent to the more commonly awarded Doctor of Philosophy degree. Australia The S.J.D. is offered by the Australian National Un ...
degree from Harvard Law School and was a recipient of the 2004 Yong K. Kim' 95 Prize of excellence for his dissertation "Democracy in Distress: Is Exile Polity a Remedy? A Case Study of Tibet's Government-in-exile". Sixteen of the school's graduates have served on the
Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point ...
, more than any other law school. Four of the current nine members of the court graduated from HLS: the chief justice,
John Roberts John Glover Roberts Jr. (born January 27, 1955) is an American lawyer and jurist who has served as the 17th chief justice of the United States since 2005. Roberts has authored the majority opinion in several landmark cases, including '' Nat ...
; associate justices
Neil Gorsuch Neil McGill Gorsuch ( ; born August 29, 1967) is an American lawyer and judge who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was nominated by President Donald Trump on January 31, 2017, and has served sinc ...
;
Ketanji Brown Jackson Ketanji Onyika Brown Jackson ( ; born September 14, 1970) is an American jurist who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Jackson was nominated to the Supreme Court by President Joe Biden on February 25, 20 ...
; and
Elena Kagan Elena Kagan ( ; born April 28, 1960) is an American lawyer who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. She was nominated by President Barack Obama on May 10, 2010, and has served since August 7, 2010. Kagan ...
, who also served as the dean of Harvard Law School, from 2003 to 2009. Past Supreme Court justices from Harvard Law School include
Antonin Scalia Antonin Gregory Scalia (; March 11, 1936 – February 13, 2016) was an American jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1986 until his death in 2016. He was described as the intellectu ...
,
David Souter David Hackett Souter ( ; born September 17, 1939) is an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1990 until his retirement in 2009. Appointed by President George H. W. Bush to fill the seat ...
,
Harry Blackmun Harry Andrew Blackmun (November 12, 1908 – March 4, 1999) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1970 to 1994. Appointed by Republican President Richard Nixon, Blac ...
, William J. Brennan,
Louis Brandeis Louis Dembitz Brandeis (; November 13, 1856 – October 5, 1941) was an American lawyer and associate justice on the Supreme Court of the United States from 1916 to 1939. Starting in 1890, he helped develop the "right to privacy" concept ...
,
Felix Frankfurter Felix Frankfurter (November 15, 1882 – February 22, 1965) was an Austrian-American jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1939 until 1962, during which period he was a noted advocate of judi ...
, Lewis Powell (LLM), and
Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. (March 8, 1841 – March 6, 1935) was an American jurist and legal scholar who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1902 to 1932.Holmes was Acting Chief Justice of the U ...
, among others.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg Joan Ruth Bader Ginsburg ( ; ; March 15, 1933September 18, 2020) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1993 until her death in 2020. She was nominated by President ...
attended Harvard Law School for two years. Attorneys General Loretta Lynch,
Alberto Gonzales Alberto R. Gonzales (born August 4, 1955) is an American lawyer who served as the 80th United States Attorney General, appointed in February 2005 by President George W. Bush, becoming the highest-ranking Hispanic American in executive govern ...
, and
Janet Reno Janet Wood Reno (July 21, 1938 – November 7, 2016) was an American lawyer who served as the 78th United States attorney general. She held the position from 1993 to 2001, making her the second-longest serving attorney general, behind only Wi ...
, among others, and noted federal judges
Richard Posner Richard Allen Posner (; born January 11, 1939) is an American jurist and legal scholar who served as a federal appellate judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit from 1981 to 2017. A senior lecturer at the University of Chicag ...
of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals,
Michael Boudin Michael Boudin ( ; born November 29, 1939) is a former United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. He served as Chief Judge of that court from 2001 to 2008. Before his service on the First Circuit, he ...
of the First Circuit Court of Appeals, Joseph A. Greenaway of the
Third Circuit Court of Appeals The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (in case citations, 3d Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts for the following districts: * District of Delaware * District of New Jersey * E ...
,
Laurence Silberman Laurence Hirsch Silberman (October 12, 1935 – October 2, 2022) was an American lawyer, diplomat, jurist, and government official who served as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ...
of the
D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (in case citations, D.C. Cir.) is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals. It has the smallest geographical jurisdiction of any of the U.S. federal appellate cou ...
, Lawrence VanDyke of the
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (in case citations, 9th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court of appeals that has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts in the following federal judicial districts: * District ...
, and
Pierre Leval Pierre Nelson Leval (born September 4, 1936) is a senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. At the time of his appointment by President Bill Clinton in 1993, he was a United States District ...
of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, among many other judicial figures, graduated from the school. The former Commonwealth solicitor general of Australia and current justice of the
High Court of Australia The High Court of Australia is Australia's apex court. It exercises original and appellate jurisdiction on matters specified within Australia's Constitution. The High Court was established following passage of the ''Judiciary Act 1903''. It ...
, Stephen Gageler,
senior counsel The title of Senior Counsel or State Counsel ( post-nominal letters: SC) is given to a senior lawyer in some countries that were formerly part of the British Empire. "Senior Counsel" is used in current or former Commonwealth countries or jurisdicti ...
graduated from Harvard with an LL.M. Many HLS alumni are leaders and innovators in the business world. Its graduates include the current senior chairman of Goldman Sachs,
Lloyd Blankfein Lloyd Craig Blankfein (born September 20, 1954) is an American investment banker who has served as senior chairman of Goldman Sachs since 2019, and chairman and chief executive from 2006 until the end of 2018. Previous to leading Goldman Sachs, ...
; former chief executive officer of
Reddit Reddit (; stylized in all lowercase as reddit) is an American social news news aggregator, aggregation, Review site#Rating site, content rating, and Internet forum, discussion website. Registered users (commonly referred to as "Redditors") subm ...
,
Ellen Pao Ellen Kangourou Pao (born 1970) is an American investor and former CEO of social media company Reddit. Pao first became known in 2012 for filing a failed gender discrimination suit against her employer, venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins, a ...
; current chairman of the board and majority owner of
National Amusements National Amusements, Inc. is an American privately owned movie theater operator and mass media holding company incorporated in Maryland and based in Norwood, Massachusetts. It is the controlling shareholder of Paramount Global. History The ...
Sumner Redstone; current president and CEO of
TIAA-CREF The Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America-College Retirement Equities Fund (TIAA, formerly TIAA-CREF), is a Fortune 100 financial services organization that is the leading provider of financial services in the academic, research, ...
, Roger W. Ferguson Jr.; current CEO and chairman of
Toys "R" Us Toys "R" Us is an American toy, clothing, and baby product retailer owned by Tru Kids (doing business as Tru Kids Brands) and various others. The company was founded in 1957; its first store was built in April 1948, with its headquarters loca ...
, Gerald L. Storch; and former CEO of
Delta Air Lines Delta Air Lines, Inc., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. One of the world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The airline, along wi ...
, Gerald Grinstein, among many others. Legal scholars who graduated from Harvard Law include
Payam Akhavan Payam Akhavan (Persian language, Persian: پیام اخوان) is an Iranian-born lawyer. He is a Member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague. He is a senior fellow at Massey College, Toronto, Massey College at the University o ...
, William P. Alford, Rachel Barkow,
Yochai Benkler Yochai Benkler (; born 1964) is an Israeli-American author and the Berkman Professor of Entrepreneurial Legal Studies at Harvard Law School. He is also a faculty co-director of the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Univer ...
, Alexander Bickel, Andrew Burrows,
Erwin Chemerinsky Erwin Chemerinsky (born May 14, 1953) is an American legal scholar known for his studies of United States constitutional law and federal civil procedure. Since 2017, Chemerinsky has been the dean of the UC Berkeley School of Law. Previously, he a ...
,
Amy Chua Amy Lynn Chua (born October 26, 1962), also known as "the Tiger Mom", is an American lawyer, legal scholar, and writer. She is the John M. Duff Jr. Professor of Law at Yale Law School with an expertise in international business transactions, law ...
, Sujit Choudhry, Robert C. Clark,
Hugh Collins Hugh Collins, (born 21 June 1953) is emeritus Vinerian Professor of English Law at the University of Oxford and a fellow of All Souls College. He retains the former title as emeritus after Timothy Endicott took up the professorship on 1 July 2 ...
, James Duane (professor), I. Glenn Cohen,
Ronald Dworkin Ronald Myles Dworkin (; December 11, 1931 – February 14, 2013) was an American philosopher, jurist, and scholar of United States constitutional law. At the time of his death, he was Frank Henry Sommer Professor of Law and Philosophy at New Y ...
, Christopher Edley Jr., Melvin A. Eisenberg, Susan Estrich, Jody Freeman, Gerald Gunther, Andrew T. Guzman, Louis Henkin,
Harold Koh Harold Hongju Koh (born December 8, 1954) is an American lawyer and legal scholar who served as the legal adviser of the Department of State in the Obama administration. He was nominated to this position by President Barack Obama on March 23, ...
,
Richard J. Lazarus Richard J. Lazarus is the Howard J. and Katherine W. Aibel Professor of Law at the Harvard Law School. Early life and education Lazarus graduated from University High School in Urbana, Illinois. He holds a B.S. in chemistry and a B.A. in economi ...
, Arthur R. Miller, Gerald L. Neuman, Eric Posner,
Richard Posner Richard Allen Posner (; born January 11, 1939) is an American jurist and legal scholar who served as a federal appellate judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit from 1981 to 2017. A senior lecturer at the University of Chicag ...
, John Mark Ramseyer, Jed Rubenfeld,
Lewis Sargentich Lewis Daniel "Lew" Sargentich (b. 1944), frequently referred to simply as "Sarge", has been a professor at Harvard Law School since 1973 where he teaches courses tort law and jurisprudence. Sargentich is well known for his record as a student at H ...
,
John Sexton John Edward Sexton (born September 29, 1942) is an American lawyer, academic, and author. He is the Benjamin F. Butler Professor of Law at New York University where he teaches at the law school and NYU's undergraduate colleges. Sexton served as t ...
, Jeannie Suk, Kathleen Sullivan (lawyer), Kathleen Sullivan, Cass Sunstein, Laurence Tribe, Edwin R. Keedy, C. Raj Kumar and Tim Wu. In sports, David Otunga is the first and only Harvard Law alum to work for WWE. He is a two-time WWE Raw Tag Team Championship, WWE Tag Team Champion.


Faculty

* William P. Alford * Deborah Anker *
Yochai Benkler Yochai Benkler (; born 1964) is an Israeli-American author and the Berkman Professor of Entrepreneurial Legal Studies at Harvard Law School. He is also a faculty co-director of the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Univer ...
* Robert C. Clark * I. Glenn Cohen * Susan P. Crawford * Noah Feldman * Roger Fisher (academic), Roger Fisher * William W. Fisher * Jody Freeman * Charles Fried * Gerald Frug * Nancy Gertner * Mary Ann Glendon * Jack Goldsmith * Lani Guinier * Morton Horwitz * Vicki C. Jackson * David Kennedy (jurist), David Kennedy * Duncan Kennedy (legal philosopher), Duncan Kennedy * Randall Kennedy * Michael Klarman *
Richard J. Lazarus Richard J. Lazarus is the Howard J. and Katherine W. Aibel Professor of Law at the Harvard Law School. Early life and education Lazarus graduated from University High School in Urbana, Illinois. He holds a B.S. in chemistry and a B.A. in economi ...
* Lawrence Lessig * Kenneth W. Mack * John F. Manning * Frank Michelman * Martha Minow * Robert Harris Mnookin * Ashish Nanda * Charles Nesson * Ruth Okediji * Charles Ogletree * John Mark Ramseyer * Mark J. Roe *
Lewis Sargentich Lewis Daniel "Lew" Sargentich (b. 1944), frequently referred to simply as "Sarge", has been a professor at Harvard Law School since 1973 where he teaches courses tort law and jurisprudence. Sargentich is well known for his record as a student at H ...
* Robert Sitkoff * Jeannie Suk * Ronald S. Sullivan Jr. * Cass Sunstein * Laurence Tribe * Mark Tushnet * Rebecca Tushnet * Roberto Unger * Adrian Vermeule * Steven M. Wise * Jonathan Zittrain


Former faculty

* Paul M. Bator * Joseph Henry Beale * Derrick Bell * Derek Bok * Stephen Breyer * Zechariah Chafee * Abram Chayes * Vern Countryman * Archibald Cox * Alan Dershowitz * Christopher Edley Jr. *
Felix Frankfurter Felix Frankfurter (November 15, 1882 – February 22, 1965) was an Austrian-American jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1939 until 1962, during which period he was a noted advocate of judi ...
* Paul A. Freund * Lon Fuller * John Chipman Gray * Erwin Griswold * Lani Guinier * Henry M. Hart Jr. *
Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. (March 8, 1841 – March 6, 1935) was an American jurist and legal scholar who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1902 to 1932.Holmes was Acting Chief Justice of the U ...
*
Elena Kagan Elena Kagan ( ; born April 28, 1960) is an American lawyer who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. She was nominated by President Barack Obama on May 10, 2010, and has served since August 7, 2010. Kagan ...
* Christopher Columbus Langdell * Daniel Meltzer * Soia Mentschikoff * Arthur R. Miller * Elisabeth Owens * John Palfrey * Roscoe Pound * John Rawls *
Joseph Story Joseph Story (September 18, 1779 – September 10, 1845) was an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, serving from 1812 to 1845. He is most remembered for his opinions in '' Martin v. Hunter's Lessee'' and '' United Stat ...
* Kathleen Sullivan (lawyer), Kathleen Sullivan * Elizabeth Warren * Joseph H. H. Weiler * Samuel Williston


Research programs and centers

* Animal Law & Policy Program * Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society * Center on the Legal Profession (CLP) * Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice * Child Advocacy Program (CAP) * Criminal Justice Policy Program (CJPP) * East Asian Legal Studies Program (EALS) * Environmental & Energy Law Program * Foundations of Private Law * Harvard Initiative on Law and Philosophy * Harvard Law School Project on Disability (HPOD) * Human Rights Program (HRP) * Institute for Global Law and Policy (IGLP) * John M. Olin Center for Law, Economics and Business * The Julis-Rabinowitz Program on Jewish and Israeli Law * Labor and Worklife Program (LWP) * The Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics * Program in Islamic Law (PIL) * Program on Biblical Law and Christian Legal Studies (PBLCLS) * Program on Behavioral Economics and Public Policy * Program on Corporate Governance * Program on Institutional Investors (PII) * Program on International Financial Systems (PIFS) * Program on International Law and Armed Conflict (PILAC) * Program on Law and Society in the Muslim World * Program on Negotiation (PON) * Shareholder Rights Project (SRP) * Systemic Justice Project (SJP) * Tax Law Program


Buildings gallery

File:Areeda Hall, Harvard Law School.jpg, Areeda Hall File:Austin Hall, Harvard University.JPG, Austin Hall File:Griswold Hall, Harvard Law School. Cambridge, Massachusetts.jpg, Griswold Hall File:Hauserhall.jpg, Hauser Hall File:Harvard Law School Library in Langdell Hall at night.jpg, Langdell Hall File:Pound Hall 3.jpg, Pound Hall File:Wasserstein Hall.JPG, Wasserstein Hall


In popular culture


Books

'' The Paper Chase'' is a novel set amid a student's first ("One L") year at the school. It was written by John Jay Osborn, Jr., who studied at the school. The book was later turned into a film and a television series (see below).
Scott Turow Scott Frederick Turow (born April 12, 1949) is an American author and lawyer. Turow has written 13 fiction and three nonfiction books, which have been translated into more than 40 languages and sold more than 30 million copies. Turow’s novels ...
wrote a memoir of his experience as a first-year law student at Harvard, '' One L''.


Film and television

Several movies and television shows take place at least in part at the school. Most of them have scenes filmed on location at or around Harvard University. They include: * ''Love Story (1970 film), Love Story'' (1970) * ''The Paper Chase (film), The Paper Chase'' (1973) * ''The Paper Chase (TV series), The Paper Chase'' (1978–1979, 1983–1986 television series) * ''Soul Man (film), Soul Man'' (1986) * ''The Firm (1993 film), The Firm'' (1993) * ''A Civil Action (film), A Civil Action'' (1998) * ''How High'' (2001) * ''
Legally Blonde ''Legally Blonde'' is a 2001 American comedy film directed by Robert Luketic in his feature-length directorial debut, and scripted by Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith from Amanda Brown's 2001 novel of the same name. It stars Reese Wit ...
'' (2001) * ''Catch Me If You Can'' (2002) * ''Love Story in Harvard'' (2004 Korean TV series) * ''Suits (U.S. TV series), Suits (TV Series)'' (2011–2019) * ''On the Basis of Sex'' (2018) Many popular movies and television shows also feature characters introduced as Harvard Law School graduates. The central plot point of the TV series ''Suits (U.S. TV series), Suits'' is that one of the main characters did not attend Harvard but fakes his graduate status in order to practice law.


See also

* Ames Moot Court Competition * Harvard Association for Law & Business * Harvard/MIT Cooperative Society * List of Harvard University people * List of Ivy League law schools


References


Further reading

* * * Chase, Anthony. "The Birth of the Modern Law School," ''American Journal of Legal History'' (1979) 23#4 pp. 329–4
in JSTOR
* Coquillette, Daniel R. and Bruce A. Kimball. ''On the Battlefield of Merit: Harvard Law School, the First Century'' (Harvard University Press, 2015) 666 pp. * * Kimball, Bruce A. "The Proliferation of Case Method Teaching in American Law Schools: Mr. Langdell's Emblematic 'Abomination,' 1890–1915," ''History of Education Quarterly'' (2006) 46#2 pp. 192–24
in JSTOR
* Kimball, Bruce A. '"Warn Students That I Entertain Heretical Opinions, Which They Are Not To Take as Law': The Inception of Case Method Teaching in the Classrooms of the Early C.C. Langdell, 1870–1883," ''Law and History Review'' 17 (Spring 1999): 57–140. * LaPiana, William P. ''Logic and Experience: The Origin of Modern American Legal Education'' (1994) *
v.2v.3


External links

* {{authority control Environmental law schools Harvard Law School, Law schools in Massachusetts Harvard University schools, Law School 1817 establishments in Massachusetts Educational institutions established in 1817 Universities and colleges in Cambridge, Massachusetts Robert A. M. Stern buildings