HLS in Focus

1L and Co-Chair of the Public Interest Auction Sarah Jelsema recently sat down for a Q & A with us after this yearly highlight of the HLS calendar.

What is the public interest auction?
The public interest auction is a fundraiser run entirely by the 1L class that raises money to support students who do public interest work over the summer. We solicit donations from faculty, staff, alumni, parents, students, firms, and local businesses. Some donate money and some donate things to auction off. We receive all sorts of donations – things like Red Sox tickets, gift certificates to restaurants and salons, lunches and fishing trips with professors, cookies and brownies made by the librarians, and a tour of the Northwest Corner Construction project. The auction is one of the biggest social events of the year. Every year the auction has a theme, and we decorate Austin Hall accordingly. This year the theme was “Bright Lights: Bid City” and so the different rooms were decorated as different big cities – London, Paris, and New York.

What has gone into preparing for this event and what have you gotten out of the experience as a co-chair?
Almost all of the 1L class helps out with the auction. We divide the students up by committees and committees mostly help out either by asking for donations, calling alumni and asking them to donate, emailing firms, going door to door in Cambridge, or by helping process the donations and get them ready to sell, or by helping out on the night of the auction. As one of the auction co-chairs, I had the opportunity to work with a group of amazing people to try to plan and coordinate this huge event – it was definitely a  challenging experience for all of us. From coordinating hundreds of student volunteers to keeping track of hundreds of donations, to making sure everything comes together on the night of the auction, being a co-chair was a lot of work, but it was extremely rewarding. It was also a good opportunity to meet new students.

The event is always a lot of fun for students, faculty and staff. What was your favorite part of the evening? Did anything surprise you?
The event was a huge success. My favorite part of the evening was the live auction. Our auctioneers – this year Professors Elizabeth Warren and Jonathan Zittrain – were auctioning off the “right to be – or not be – in the 2010 parody.” The first bidder was the Dean of Students because they gave her a hard time this year in the parody, but then Professor Mann, who bought this item last year, got in a bidding war with Professor Warren and everyone was laughing so hard!

Why should admitted and prospective students seeking a strong public interest community choose Harvard? Why did you?
I think that students looking for a strong public interest community should choose Harvard because they can go anywhere and do anything with a degree from Harvard Law. We are a bigger law school, but as a result, we have so many more options to pick from than other law schools. Good public interest law jobs are really competitive – and since I want one, I’m glad I chose Harvard. I know that the connections and friends that I will make here, with professors and fellow students, will be of benefit for the rest of my life.

Starting April 15, HLS will begin accepting transfer applications for the fall. Over the last couple of years, there have been increased opportunities for Harvard Law students to study off-campus through joint degree and foreign study programs which make it possible for us to admit more transfer students than ever before.

The question of whether to apply as a transfer student is the right move is up to you, but we think that a little research will show you the vast benefits of transferring to HLS. With 102 full-time professors and more than 300 courses, HLS is home to the most intellectually stimulating legal community in the world. Outside the classroom, there are 14 journals, over100 student organizations, clinical placements in approximately 30 areas of the law, and more than enough opportunities for you to experience the incredible diversity of the HLS community during your second- and third- year. For example, the Harvard Law Review encourages transfer applicants to apply for membership and several past transfer students have been successful in that endeavor.

Bottom line? Whether you are interested in constitutional law or environmental law or human rights advocacy or any number of other areas, the breadth and depth of our offerings is incredible. Whether you want to clerk at the circuit court level, follow the path to academia, or pursue a career in public service, the opportunities presented to our graduates are unsurpassed.

For more details on the transfer application process including eligibility guidelines, deadlines, and application requirements, please visit: http://www.law.harvard.edu/prospective/j…

Also, stay tuned in the coming days and weeks for blog entries of a few students talking about their experience transferring into Harvard Law School!

While at HLS, alumnus Lam Ho was a public interest dynamo. As president of the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau, a supervising member of Reaching Out About Depression (R.O.A.D.), and Founder & Coordinator of the Giving Tree, which raises holiday gifts for children of the HLS clinical and student practice organization clients, Lam never shied away from going above and beyond the call of duty… including 60-90 hours a week dedicated to his clinicals.

Lam is currently on a Skadden Fellowship starting a community legal clinic for low income youths and their families in Chicago. Admissions staffer Julia Foresman recently caught up with Lam in the wake of a victory he scored with the Legal Assistance Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago. Lam had been trying to get Chicago Public Schools to follow through with the Individualized Educational Plan that CPS and his client Mary Greenlee had put in place for her 6 year old grandson, Rayvaughn.  “It’s been extremely rewarding to educate and empower my clients,” he said.  “… this is what gets me up in the morning.”

Podcast: Lam Ho (13:09)

I’m guessing most of you out there aren’t daily Crimson readers.  So you probably missed this nice piece on the latest happenings at HLS.

Alexa Shabecoff heads up the Bernard Koteen Office of Public Interest Advising. I thought a little Q&A with her would help highlight our philosophy and practices in the area of public interest and public service advising and programming. I’ll do one Q and one A each day for the next 3…

Q: What is the advantage to students at Harvard Law School of having an entire office devoted to public interest advising (as opposed to having just one person or being part of a general career services office, as is the case at other schools)?

A: One advantage of an entire office with a number of advisers is that in peak seasons we still have plenty of staff to go around. Since we (and all law schools) aren’t allowed to provide 1Ls with individual career counseling until November 1^st, the floodgates open then and I would imagine that even at a small school one person would be swamped. We also are able to offer a wide range of backgrounds, personalities and expertise.

For example, we have a staffer with a ton of experience in criminal work. We have a staffer who does nothing but federal government advising and runs our Heyman Fellowships program. We have someone who only does Fellowships advising–her expertise is a main driver of our success at winning competitive outside fellowships (which is why we haven’t had to resort to having many of our own fellowships).

Our large staff means that we can build up expertise on a wide range of issues; for example, one person is developing a lot of expertise in human rights placements (on top of the expertise that the many attorneys in our Human Rights Program already have). Finally, it means we have people with different personality types that fit the wide array of personalities at HLS–extroverts, introverts, people who will hold your hand a lot and people who will help but let you do your own thing if you don’t need too much guidance–so that students can find the right adviser for them.

We are very fortunate in having a full office with its own budget as that allows us to focus on public service, continue to refine our expertise and create programs—not just advising but also community-building programs—that we think can best serve the students and alumni at Harvard Law School while working closely with other offices at the law school.

Anyone who’s considered working for the federal government after law school probably knows how coveted the positions are. Still, in spite of the prestige, the compensation can fall quite short of what one’s classmates can expect from the private sector (though with LIPP and the new Public Service Initiative’s 3L Tuition benefit, HLS can help a bit with that).

We recently reached out to Joan Ruttenberg, the Program Director for the Heyman Fellowship Program, to pick her mind on the issue.

Q: Generally speaking, what does HLS have to offer students interested in federal government work?

A: HLS has made a real priority of encouraging students to consider federal government work, and of supporting students who try it out. We offer targeted career advising for federal government work, extra stipends for federal summer internships, a competitive post-graduate fellowship program that offers both stipends and significant loan repayment assistance for grads starting federal careers, and on-campus programming with federal lawyers from all practice settings. Perhaps most important, Harvard’s network of willing alumni mentors in federal careers is unparalleled.

The result of these benefits is tangible: at DOJ alone, for example, in the past decade, from 26% to 41% of Harvard Law students applying to the extremely competitive post-grad DOJ Honors Program have received offers every year (from 14 to 26 students); the percentages for students receiving offers for the competitive second year DOJ Summer Law Intern Program are comparable, ranging from 22% to 46% of applicants each year (from 12 to 25 students). Typically, Harvard Law students receive more offers for the Honors and SLIP programs than students at any other law school in the nation. And dozens of students participate in the second year Volunteer Law Intern program at DOJ as well.

Q: What is the Heyman Fellowship Program?

A: The Heyman Fellowship Program was established in 2000 by HLS alumnus Samuel J. Heyman, ’63. Heyman spent the early years of his career in Robert Kennedy’s Justice Department, and still regards that experience as unmatched in excitement, challenge and commitment. Through the Heyman Fellowship Program, he seeks to encourage more of the best and the brightest of HLS students to enter federal public service. The Heyman Program has several components: a summer internship program, offering extra stipends to students in federal summer internships and providing the opportunity for students to meet and converse with prominent federal lawyers and judges; the graduate fellowship program, providing fellowship payments to 15-20 young HLS graduates in federal careers annually and (to a subset with heavy debt loads) loan repayment assistance on top of HLS’ already-generous loan repayment program; and on-campus programming, including visits from Heyman Fellows to talk about their careers, as well as brownbags and one-on-one counseling sessions with federal lawyers from a variety of practice settings.

Q: How does the Heyman Fellowship Program work?

A: Any first or second year student who is pursuing a summer job in federal government can apply to be a Heyman Summer Intern. Any federal position other than a judicial internship is eligible, whether in DC or elsewhere. Those selected will receive a stipend (that is in addition to any guaranteed Summer Public Interest Funding [SPIF] they may already be getting from HLS). During the summer, Heyman Summer Interns will be able to attend lunches with lawyers like the Legal Adviser to the State Department, top legislative counsels on Capitol Hill and United States Attorneys. They will also socialize with graduate Heyman Fellows and find mentors among them.

Current HLS graduates and those from the prior two years’ classes who are going into federal government work are eligible to apply for the graduate Heyman Fellowship Program. Those who are selected as Heyman Fellows will receive a $5,000 one-time fellowship payment, and some, based on debt load, will also be eligible for up to $25,000 in additional loan repayment assistance. Heyman Fellows agree to spend at least three years in federal government, and to act as mentors to HLS students and graduates interested in federal public service.

Programming throughout the year creates a wonderful sense of community among the Heyman Fellows; for example, upwards of 60 Fellows and program alumni attend our annual banquet in Washington, DC every year, where they welcome the new class of Fellows and hear comments from Dean Elena Kagan, founder Samuel J. Heyman, and other HLS alumni with impressive federal careers.

The Heyman Fellows are a growing and inspiring network of HLS graduates in federal public service. This network is available for all HLS students and graduates to use in their own career planning and exploration. Heyman Fellows have helped students get some great summer jobs at the last minute when other plans have fallen through (for example, when one student’s security clearance did not come through in time for her internship at the Department of Defense, a Heyman Fellow was able to point her to an opening in the Office of Foreign Assets Control at the Department of Treasury, where she had a fantastic summer) and give each other the heads-up about job opportunities in their own offices (more than one Heyman Fellow has found a second federal job through information on the Heyman network). Heyman Fellows also return regularly to HLS to speak on panels and offer one-on-one counseling with HLS students interested in or curious about federal practice.

Q: How does the Heyman Fellowship Program differ from similar programs at other schools?

A: There are essentially no comparable programs at other law schools. A few schools have much smaller programs that offer assistance to one or two students a year, but none are of the magnitude of HLS’ program. Federal public service (or even government work in general) is often excluded from other schools’ loan repayment assistance programs, either categorically or de facto because of resource limitations. HLS has always had an incredible set of alumni who have had spent stellar careers (or portions of their careers) in federal government. But the Heyman Program has added to this a growing sense of community and giving back among its federal government alumni that is of tremendous value to current and future students. The size of the HLS student body and of the Heyman Program itself have resulted in a critical mass of alumni federal lawyers and active mentors that is not replicated at any other school.

For more details, and to see a roster of Heyman Fellows and where they work, go to www.law.harvard.edu/students/opia/fellowships/heyman/

For all you Chi-Town fans out there (like me!), I recently sat in on a presentation for the City of Chicago Mayor’s Office Fellowship and Summer Internship Program. There to speak about their experiences were: Michael Masters ‘06, Assistant to the Mayor for Public Safety; Kate McAdams, Coordinator of the Fellowship Program; and Tawa Jogunosimi, Assistant to the Mayor in the Department of Education.

“Mayor [Richard] Daley started this initiative five years ago with a vision of innovation for the city,” said McAdams. “It is a wonderful opportunity for graduate students who are interested in local government and public policy.”

“This is the best fellowship I could have asked for,” said Masters. “I’m working for an iconic man [in Mayor Daley] and a great innovator who’s very good at his job.” Through a series of weekly talks, panels, and tours, participants get a broad overview of municipal government, as well as unique, hands-on experience in the development of new policy and program initiatives. “One of the really great things,” explained Masters, “is that as interns you get to research and evaluate the benefits of various policies for Chicago, construct recommendations, and draft memoranda for senior staff on upcoming issues and new initiatives.” Masters recalled one instance in which one of his fellow participants suggested selling off public assets, such as the Airport Skyway, to generate additional money for city programs. “There are few other ways in which your impact could be so directly felt.”

Though the deadline for this year’s round has ended, the program is definitely something to keep in mind next summer or after graduation. For more information, please contact visit www.cityofchicago.org/mayorfellowship.

I thought this article in the Record from last week did a good job of talking about a number of fellowships our students have won as well as how the fellowship application process works here. Visit this link.

I recently wrote about a new summer fellowship program designed to allow students to get serious writing experience. (See earlier blog entry here) The program provides for “workshopping” of the articles with classmates and faculty members. Recently I sat in on one of these workshops and was quite literally blown away by the level of discussion.

The workshop started at noon and the presenting student, Clifford Chen, was standing by the podium gathering his thoughts. I had read his draft, entitled “Delegating to the President: Unique Problems in Nondelegation,” before attending. In short, the article talks about the implications of Congress delegating powers of regulation directly to the President, as opposed to delegating to agency heads or cabinet secretaries.

By 12:05, students and faculty had filed in and filled their plates with free sandwiches and cookies. I counted 11 faculty members, a group which included quite a few leading administrative law scholars (Dean Kagan among them). They had all read the article, too, and took additional notes while Clifford presented his work. Then Professor Jack Goldsmith kicked off the discussion by calling on Professor Dan Meltzer, who asked Clifford, “Does it even matter whether Congress delegates to the president directly? If it delegates to an agency head isn’t that the same thing as delegation to the president?”

Professor John Manning then weighed in on the structure of the paper, suggesting that Clifford should state his frame of analysis at the beginning. He also gave the student the name of a scholar who had written on the subject as a future research item. Almost every faculty member in the room contributed suggestions and guidance to the discussion, and I know that many of them had more feedback to give off line.

Wow. So here’s the score: one student with a rough draft and eleven faculty members coaching, critiquing and nudging. I’d say Mr. Chen is ready to hit the job market running.

I saw this in my inbox this morning and thought it was worth a mention here. You may have listened to my earlier interview with Einer Elhauge, the faculty director of the Petrie-Flom Center. He promised a lot of new and intresting initiatives. Here is one of them:

“The Joseph H. Flom Global Health and Human Rights Initiative is a new partnership between Harvard Law School’s Human Rights Program and the Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics. Its mission is to promote academic research as well as engagement in practical measures to develop and apply global public health and human rights norms.

“The initiative is offering a post-graduate fellowship starting in September 2006. The role of the fellow will be to lead research or clinical projects on global health and human rights. This is a one- or two-year full-time residential fellowship paying an annual stipend of up to $60,000 plus benefits. Applicants should have background and expertise in the field of global health and human rights, and must hold a degree in law.

“Detailed information about the fellowship and how to apply is available at this link. Applications are due no later than June 16, 2006.”

I suspect HLS grads would have an inside track on such a fellowship…