The opening event of Harvard Law School’s Bicentennial summit was one for the history books. Gathering at Sanders Theater were six Supreme Court justices (five current and one retired): Neil Gorsuch ’91, Elena Kagan ’86, David H. Souter ’66, Stephen G. Breyer ’64, Anthony M. Kennedy ’61, and Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. ’79. In a roundtable discussion with Dean John F. Manning ’85, the justices shared memories and more than a few priceless anecdotes.
The mood was festive, rather than disputatious, on Friday evening as Supreme Court Associate Justices Stephen G. Breyer, J.D. ’64, and Neil M. Gorsuch, J.D. ’91, sat down to discuss “the rule of law,” capping off a Harvard Marshall Forum dinner in celebration of the 70th anniversary of the trans-Atlantic scholarship.
A look back at 2016, highlights of the people who visited, events that took place and everyday life at Harvard Law School.
President of the European Court of Justice Koen Lenaerts LL.M. ’78 keeps a photo engraving of Austin Hall in his home office in Leuven, Belgium. The image reminds him of the course he took from then HLS Professor Stephen Breyer ’64 (a 2L named John G. Roberts was also in the class), his LL.M. thesis with Duncan Kennedy, and hours spent perusing newspapers from around the world at Out of Town News in the Square. HLS is also now the alma mater of one of his six daughters.
U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Stephen Breyer ’64 visited Harvard Law School on Jan. 25 to discuss his new book, “The Court and the World: American Law and the New Global Realities.” Breyer, who taught at HLS from 1967 to 1994, spoke about his analysis of U.S. courts’ role in an increasingly globalized world.
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.
A former NBA All Star turned humanitarian. Supreme Court justices. Student protests. Take a look at some highlights of the people who visited and events that took place this semester at Harvard Law School.
To celebrate the 20th anniversary of his appointment to the United States Supreme Court, Associate Justice Stephen Breyer visited Harvard Law School on Oct. 1 for an informal chat with HLS Dean Martha Minow, and later took part in a panel discussion with several HLS professors who examined his tenure and some of his most notable opinions.
In October, the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice sponsored a two-day conference looking back at Cooper v. Aaron and the impact it’s had on law and education over the course of 55 years. The event brought together legal scholars, students, and civil-rights lawyers and featured a moot-court proceeding involving U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer and nine appellate judges, to revisit the legal questions raised by Cooper.
At HLS Reunion Weekend last weekend, Justices Breyer and Souter (who retired from the court in 2009) exchanged good-humored banter and insights about their service on the nation’s highest court, in an event, “A Conversation with the Justices,” moderated by HLS Dean Martha Minow.
