School Notes: Yale Law School
November/December 2011

Initiative focuses on information law

A new program at the Law School will foster research and intellectual community in the burgeoning area of information law. The Thomson Reuters Initiative on Law and Technology at the Yale Information Society Project (ISP) enables the selection of two Thomson Reuters fellows who will work closely with Yale faculty and staff to study cutting-edge issues at the intersection of law, technology, and media. It also provides funding for workshops, a speaker series, a conference, and support for the leadership of the ISP. The initiative is made possible by a grant from Thomson Reuters.

Alumni gather to discuss human rights

Yale Law School alumni, faculty, students, and friends gathered on campus November 4–6 for Alumni Weekend 2011, “Human Rights in a Turbulent World.” The weekend included a series of panel discussions on the subject of human rights, with such topics as “Emerging Challenges to the Freedom of Expression: From Hate Speech to Social Networks”; “Reporting on Human Rights: The Responsibility of Journalists and NGOs?”; and “Navigating the Tension Between National Security and Human Rights.” Other highlights included a talk on international law and US foreign policy by former YLS dean Harold Hongju Koh, now legal adviser to the US State Department; an all-alumni reception and dinner; a student-alumni breakfast; and presentation of the Yale Law School Award of Merit. This year’s award went to Luzius Wildhaber ’65LLM, ’68JSD, former judge and president of the European Court of Human Rights.

Law School mourns former dean

Sterling Professor Emeritus Harry H. Wellington, who served as dean of both Yale Law School and New York Law School, died August 8 at age 84. A specialist in the areas of labor law, constitutional law, and legal theory, Wellington joined the Yale Law School faculty in 1956, and was named Edward J. Phelps Professor of Law in 1967 and Sterling Professor in 1983. He became dean of the Law School in 1975 and served in that role until 1985. Upon his retirement from the faculty in 1992, Wellington joined the faculty at New York Law School, where he served as president and dean until 2000. He retired from teaching in 2007. A memorial service is to be held November 13 in the Law School auditorium.