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Features
Barry Mills
Barry Mills '79 is just as comfortable driving educational innovation at Bowdoin College as he is blogging on the school's widely read website.
Gardner's Bounty
Law School graduates in high-ranking positions at the State Department, the International Court of Justice, and economic power centers throughout the world point to Professor Richard Gardner as a mentor who helped them launch and build successful careers.
Inspiring Minds
From leadership posts at the American Museum of Natural History, New York City Center, the Seattle Opera, and the Houston Ballet, Columbia Law School graduates are working to make cities more vibrant by bringing the arts to tens of thousands each year.
Lee Bollinger
With his recent book on First Amendment rights in an era of globalization, Columbia University President Lee C. Bollinger ’71 analyzes some of the most pressing challenges of the information age.
Sharon Davies
In a new book about a 1920s murder trial, Sharon Davies ’87 highlights a seldom-discussed period of anti-Catholic sentiment in the American South.
A Drop in the Bucket
Conventional wisdom says the campaign finance decision rendered in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission is destined to change the world—or at the very least elections as we know them. Corporations equated to humans! Elections overrun by foreign money and influence! Democracy hijacked! Perhaps a closer look is in order.
Charging Forward
On the heels of a financial crisis of epic proportions, Congress has passed the most sweeping overhaul of America’s financial system since the 1930s. Will the 2,000-page behemoth of a law be enough to fix a flawed system?
Only on the Web
Go Beyond: Financial Reform Law Poll
Is the new financial reform law strong enough? Vote and see poll results.
Listen In: Download a Podcast of Bharara's Speech
Download a podcast of U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara discussing how prosecutors in the Southern District of New York investigate crimes here and abroad.
View More: Video of Professor Tim Wu's Criminal Law Mock Trial
Watch a video of the mock trial proceedings from Professor Tim Wu's criminal law course.
In Session
Dean David M. Schizer's Welcoming Remarks to the Class of 2010
Dean Schizer welcomes the Class of 2010 to the Columbia family.
Abbe R. Gluck
Professor Abbe Gluck is applying her expertise in legislation and federalism to advance the field of health care law.
Farhang Heydari
As the editor-in-chief of the Columbia Law Review, Farhang Heydari '11 and his hardworking staff are in a position to influence leading academics and lawyers.
Kristine Saul
Kristine Saul '11 uses her ability to manage a jam-packed schedule to stay involved in Law School activities both in the classroom and beyond.
Nona Farahnik
Even during her days as an undergraduate at Duke University, Nona Farahnik '12 has continued to emphasize the importance of due process in the American justice system.
Sarah H. Cleveland
As counselor on international law at the U.S. Department of State, Professor Sarah Cleveland is making an impact and gaining insights that will benefit future students.
Thomas W. Merrill
Professor Thomas Merrill is one of the nation’s foremost administrative and property law scholars, making him a trusted adviser at the highest levels of government and industry.
Thorbjorg Gunnlaugsdottir
Thorbjorg Gunnlaugsdottir '11 LL.M., who previously worked as a prosecutor for the Reykjavik police department in Iceland, is spending this semester delving more into fields of law that are both old and new.
In Profile
Cathy M. Kaplan '77
As a partner at Sidley Austin and an expert in international transactional work, Cathy M. Kaplan '77 shows that success often comes through adaptation and energy.
Da Chen '90
New York Times best-selling author Da Chen '90 recounts his unlikely journey from rural China to halls of Columbia Law School and New York City in his published works and public speaking career.
Eric Zachs '85
Eric Zachs '85 serves as the managing partner of Bantry Bay Ventures-Asia, a private equity firm that finances infrastructure, energy, and technology projects around the world.
Kaitlin Cordes '08
Having recently spent several months living in India, Kaitlin Cordes '08, the Sander Fellow at Human Rights Watch, continues to pursue human rights advocacy work around the world.
René Aubry '99
Rene Aubry '99 helped raise $30,000 and send 50 doctors and nurses, along with 25,000 pounds of medical equipment, into Haiti. Now, he is working to launch a $100 million venture fund named Ciel Capital Partners with the aim of creating long-term change for the country.
Questions Presented
David J. Stern '66
As commissioner of the National Basketball Association, David J. Stern oversees one of the world’s most successful professional sports leagues. Since the beginning of his tenure in 1984, Stern has transformed the NBA into a truly global phenomenon.
Happenings
Attorney General Commends Class of 2010
Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Jr. '76 congratulated the roughly 700 J.D., LL.M., and J.S.D. students in the Class of 2010 for successfully completing three years of intense legal training and urged the newest members of the legal community to use their finely tuned skills for the betterment of society.
Brett Dignam Launches Federal Prisoners' Rights Clinic
This fall, Brett Dignam, a forceful advocate for prisoners’ rights, brings her two decades of experience in the field to Columbia Law School, where she has launched a new clinical program.
Chinese Law Colloquium Draws Crowds
Scholars specializing in law, history, and the social sciences recently drew standing-room-only crowds to Jerome Greene Hall for the Chinese Law and Society Colloquium.
Corporate Law Expert Joins Law School Faculty
This fall's curriculum includes a new course by Associate Professor Robert J. Jackson Jr., the newest member of Columbia Law School's world-renowned group of faculty specializing in corporate law.
Curricular Innovations Include D.C. Externship
Recent enhancements to the upper-year curriculum that strengthen the bridge between theory and practice include the formation of an initiative with Columbia Business School to encourage joint teaching and research, a new program on national security law, a global alliance in finance and law with Oxford, and a semester-long federal government externship in Washington, D.C.
Gerrard Named Leading Environmental Lawyer
The legal publication Best Lawyers recently named Professor Michael B. Gerrard the 2010 New York Environmental Lawyer of the Year.
Graduates Examine Judicial Roles in Economic Crisis
Capital Markets Law Journal recently published an article by Jeffrey B. Golden ’78 that examines the preparedness of U.S. courts in dealing with the financial crisis.
Graduates Return to Law School for Reunion Weekend
On a warm, sunny weekend in early June, nearly 1,000 Columbia Law School alumni returned to Morningside Heights for Reunion 2010.
Graduates and Fellows Earn New Faculty Appointments
Columbia Law School offers several programs and fellowships that prepare prospective professors for careers in the legal academy. From 2008 to 2010, more than 30 graduates and legal fellows have secured teaching appointments at prestigious institutions of higher learning.
IFRS Appoints Goldschmid as Trustee
After a worldwide public search, the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Foundation recently appointed former SEC Commissioner Harvey J. Goldschmid to serve as one of the organization’s trustees.
India Endows Chair and Fellowship at Law School
Meera Shankar, the Indian ambassador to the United States, visited the Law School in April to announce that the country would endow both a professorial chair devoted to Indian constitutional law and a fellowship named after Professor Jagdish Bhagwati.
Law School Earns Pro Bono Honor
Legal Services NYC has presented Columbia Law School with the organization’s Pro Bono Leaders award.
Law School Holds Inaugural Private Sector Career Symposium
Columbia Law School's inaugural Private Sector Career Symposium featured attorneys from 36 law firms and inspired more than 300 students to brave some of the winter’s worst weather to attend.
Law School Trains Iraqi Practitioners in Arbitration
As part of Iraq’s efforts to rebuild its economy, 20 lawyers, engineers, and economists from the embattled country spent three days at Columbia Law School this past spring studying best practices for alternative dispute resolution.
Nasseri Named Best Oralist at Stone Moot Court
Mina Nasseri '10 received the Lawrence S. Greenbaum Prize for best oralist at this year’s Harlan Fiske Stone Moot Court competition.
New Scholarship Honors Judge Wilfred Feinberg '43
This past spring, more than 100 former clerks of judge Wilfred "Bill" Feinberg '43 of the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals came together to establish a Columbia Law School student scholarship in his name.
Philip Hamburger Examines Review Board Impact
Professor Philip Hamburger believes academic freedom is in serious peril and that institutional review boards are a primary threat.
Professor Johnson Releases New Diversity Study
Professor Conrad Johnson’s research on national law school admissions rates for minority students garnered extensive media attention throughout this past winter and spring.
Professors Host Conference on Systemic Risk
This spring, Professors Jeffrey N. Gordon and Ronald J. Gilson helped organize an of-the-moment conference at the Law School on systemic risk.
Robert Hormats Speaks at Center on Global Governance Event
To ensure future economic growth, the United States must embrace globalization, said Robert Hormats at a recent talk hosted by Columbia Law School’s Center on Global Governance.
Shaw Supports 9/11 Civilian Trials
Professor Theodore M. Shaw '79 recently weighed in on the desire of Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Jr. '76 to try the men accused of plotting the 9/11 attacks in civilian court, instead of in a military tribunal, and the White House's indecision on the matter.
State Department Officials Visit HRI
Columbia Law School's Human Rights Institute (HRI) hosted a fact-finding visit by officials in the Obama administration earlier this year.
Strauss Elected to Academy of Arts and Sciences
Professor Peter L. Strauss was recently selected to join the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the country’s most prestigious honorary societies.
Summer Associate Opportunities on the Rise
In what may be one encouraging sign of economic recovery, the number of law firms interviewing students at Columbia Law School’s Early Interview Program (EIP) jumped 17 percent compared to last year, said Petal Modeste, Dean of Career Services.
U.S. Attorney Takes on Crime at Home and Abroad
In a speech at Columbia Law School, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara ’93 discussed how the Southern District’s 200-some prosecutors have traveled to 42 countries in recent years, investigating crimes and forming alliances with foreign law enforcement officials.
Wu Holds Mock Trial Based on Craigslist Case
Professor Tim Wu recently held a two-day mock trial based on the case involving Philip Markoff, a Boston medical student who became known as the "Craigslist Killer."
Faculty Books and Publications
Foundations of Commercial Law
In their new book, Professor Robert E. Scott and his co-author, Harvard Law School Professor George G. Triantis, set forth the foundational principles of commercial law and offer detailed analysis of some of the field's central themes.
Investing in the United States: Is the U.S. Ready for FDI from China?
Lecturer-in-Law Karl P. Sauvant, founding executive director of the Vale Columbia Center on Sustainable International Investment, edited a new book that examines the impending influx of foreign direct investment into the U.S. economy from emerging markets, particularly China.
Multijuralism: Manifestations, Causes, and Consequences
Multijuralism, as defined in the newly released volume edited by Professor Katharina Pistor, et al, is the "coexistence of two or more legal systems or sub-systems within a broader normative legal order to which they adhere."
Offshoring of American Jobs: What Response from U.S. Economic Policy?
Offshoring of American Jobs: What Response from U.S. Economic Policy?, the recent book by Professor Jagdish Bhagwati and Princeton University’s Alan S. Blinder, addresses the controversial and complicated subject of U.S. job outsourcing.
The Law of Green Buildings: Regulatory and Legal Issues in Design, Construction, Operations and Financing
Professor Michael B. Gerrard and J. Cullen Howe, an environmental law specialist at Arnold & Porter, have assembled a variety of experts who examine the legal issues involved in constructing, financing, and leasing green buildings.
The Law of the World Trade Organization (WTO): Documents, Cases & Analysis
In their new casebook, Columbia Law School Professors Petros C. Mavroidis and George A. Bermann, along with co-author Mark Wu of Harvard Law School, provide a comprehensive analysis of the World Trade Organization’s legal regime.
The Master Switch: The Rise and Fall of Information Empires
In his new book, The Master Switch: The Rise and Fall of Information Empires, communications law expert Professor Tim Wu submits that the internet may one day yield its openness to the forces of industry.
The Oxford Introductions to U.S. Law: Constitutional Law
In The Oxford Introductions to U.S. Law: Constitutional Law, Professor Trevor M. Morrison '98 and Michael C. Dorf discuss judicial review, methods of interpretation, federalism, separation of powers, equal protection, and individual liberties.
The Oxford Introductions to U.S. Law: Property
In their new book, The Oxford Introductions to U.S. Law: Property, Professor Thomas W. Merrill and Harvard Law School Professor Henry E. Smith provide an analytical overview of U.S. property law.
Uninhibited, Robust, and Wide-Open: A Free Press for a New Century
In his new book, Columbia University President and Professor of Law Lee C. Bollinger '71 traces the turbulent evolution of American freedom of the press, which he touts as "one of the greatest achievements of the United States."
