School Notes: Yale Law School
January/February 2025

Law School military community continues to grow

Since 2017, the number of veterans and service members at the Law School has expanded from just 1 percent of the incoming class to over 9 percent of the JD class of 2027. In the current first-year class, there are 19 veterans and service members; approximately 45 students across the JD population this year are receiving Veterans Affairs benefits. The Law School has also worked to build community among the veteran population and ensure students have the resources and support they need while on campus and in their future careers. 

Promoting academic freedom

The Center for Academic Freedom and Free Speech launched during the fall term. It is directed by David BoiesProfessor of Law Keith E. Whittington, a renowned scholar who recently joined the Yale Law School faculty. “The issues that the center will tackle are in the headlines every day, and they are vital to the functioning of universities and ultimately to American democracy,” Whittington said. “I’m excited to help the Law School play an important role in leading these critical debates.”

Latin American program endowment honors professor

The Law School’s Latin American Linkage Program has been named in honor of Sterling Professor Emeritus of Law Owen Fiss, one of the founders of the multifaceted program which includes an informal exchange initiative between YLS students and students at some of the most prominent law schools in Argentina, Brazil, and Chile. The endowment for the program—now the Owen Fiss Latin American Linkage Program—is possible thanks to a gift from Alexander Leff ’83JD. Fiss, who has taught at the Law School for the past 50 years, helped found the program along with the late Professor Emeritus Robert Burt ’64LLB.