Welcome Back—Spring 2026
Dean Daniel Abebe shares a message welcoming the community back at the start of the spring semster.
Dear members of the Columbia Law School community,
Happy New Year! I am delighted to welcome you back to Columbia Law School for the start of the spring semester.
We return to campus at an exhilarating time in the life of our great institution. The extraordinary Li Lu Law Library has quickly surpassed expectations as a hub for learning and collaboration. As I walked through the Library at several points during the finals period, I was struck by the number of students making use of every corner of the new space—at reading room tables and study carrels, in lounge chairs and group study rooms—emphasizing the importance of this transformational project and its immediate impact in reenergizing our community.
Building on the tremendous success of the Library, we are poised to advance a bold vision for the Law School’s future—a vision that affirms our fundamental commitments to free expression and academic excellence, prepares students for the future of legal practice, strengthens our institutional fabric, and compels us to take up the mantle of leadership that has defined Columbia Law School for generations. In that spirit, I am excited to share the following updates:
Clinical Professor Nicole Smith Futrell joined the Law School faculty on January 1. She will develop and lead a new clinic focused on decarceration, reentry, and expanding opportunity and access for currently and formerly incarcerated persons.
Two distinguished leaders will join us for marquee events this spring:
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg will participate in a special Lawyers, Community, and Impact event on Monday, February 9.
Professor Tom Ginsburg, the inaugural faculty director of the Forum for Free Inquiry and Expression at the University of Chicago, will deliver a special lecture on Monday, March 2, as part of the newly established Dean’s Distinguished Speaker Series.
As part of our commitment to equipping students with the skills necessary to succeed in a dynamic and increasingly complex profession, we will be implementing innovative strategies for evolving our curriculum and growing our institutional capacity for teaching and research in the age of generative artificial intelligence. We look forward to sharing more about the Law School’s AI-related initiatives this spring.
We will also celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Harlan Fiske Stone Moot Court competition in 2026. The final round will take place on April 13 and will feature a special panel of chief judges of federal appeals courts from around the country. And, in May, we will host Columbia Law School’s second annual Weil, Gotshal & Manges Judicial Clerkship Training Institute.
These are but a few visible examples of our ongoing efforts. It is no secret that the bulk of our collective work happens out of sight—in classrooms and faculty offices, at co-curricular gatherings and student organization events, in advising sessions and staff meetings, and in the study rooms of the Li Lu Law Library. Each of us has an opportunity to meaningfully contribute to realizing our shared vision, and I look forward to working together to shape a bright future for Columbia Law School.
With gratitude and best wishes,
Daniel Abebe
Dean and Lucy G. Moses Professor of Law