Harvard Law School Handbook of Academic Policies 2023-2024

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies 
Page 1 of 122 
Harvard Law School 
Handbook of Academic Policies 
2023-2024 
Table of Contents 
Notice: Delivery of Academic Programs ....................................................................................................... 8 
Preface ....................................................................................................................................................................... 9 
A. HLS Community Principles ...................................................................................................................... 9 
B. HLS Community Principle on Non-Attribution ................................................................................ 9 
C. Harvard University-Wide Statement on Rights and Responsibilities* ................................ 10 
I. Requirements for the J.D. Degree ............................................................................................................. 14 
A. Residence ..................................................................................................................................................... 14 
B. Statement of Learning Outcomes ....................................................................................................... 14 
C. First-Year J.D. Course and Credit Requirements ........................................................................... 15 
D. Upper-Level J.D. Course and Credit Requirements ..................................................................... 15 
1. Required Law School Classroom Work ........................................................................................ 15 
2. Required Additional Credits ............................................................................................................. 16 
3. Transfer Student J.D. Program - Special Considerations ....................................................... 16 
4.  Minimum Credit Requirement for VA Benefit-Eligible Students ...................................... 17 
E. Definition of the Law School Credit Hour ........................................................................................ 17 
F. Experiential Learning Requirement .................................................................................................. 18 
G. Professional Responsibility Requirement ....................................................................................... 18 
H. International and Comparative Law Course Requirement ...................................................... 19 
I. Negotiation/Leadership Requirement .............................................................................................. 19 
J. Upper-Level J.D. Residency Requirements ....................................................................................... 19 
K. Joint and Coordinated Degree Credit and Residency Requirements .................................... 20 
L. J.D. Written Work Requirement .......................................................................................................... 20 
1. Option 1 of the J.D. Written Work Requirement ....................................................................... 21 
2. Option 2 of the J.D. Written Work Requirement ....................................................................... 22 
3. Written Work Requirement for J.D. Students Matriculating Fall Term 2023 and later
 .......................................................................................................................................................................... 23 
4. Experiential Learning, Professional Responsibility, and Written Work ......................... 24 
5. Supervision ............................................................................................................................................. 24 
6. Supervision by Visiting Faculty ....................................................................................................... 24 

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies 
Page 2 of 122 
7. Prohibition against Compensation ................................................................................................ 24 
8. Multiple Use of Papers ........................................................................................................................ 24 
9. Human Subjects Research ................................................................................................................. 25 
M. Pro Bono Requirement .......................................................................................................................... 25 
N. Pro Bono and Written Work Credit for Political Activities ...................................................... 26 
1. Pro Bono Credit ..................................................................................................................................... 26 
2. Written Work Credit ............................................................................................................................ 27 
O. Class Attendance and Participation; Overlapping Class Times .............................................. 27 
P. Grades for J.D. Students .......................................................................................................................... 28 
1. Honors, Pass, Low Pass, or Fail Grades ........................................................................................ 28 
2. Dean’s Scholar Prizes .......................................................................................................................... 28 
3. Credit/Fail Grades ................................................................................................................................ 29 
Q. Extensions ................................................................................................................................................... 29 
R. Grade Changes ........................................................................................................................................... 30 
S. Completion of Course Evaluations and Grade Release ............................................................... 30 
T. Graduation with Honors ........................................................................................................................ 30 
U. Satisfactory Academic Progress .......................................................................................................... 33 
1. Minimum Grades for J.D. Students ................................................................................................. 33 
2. Minimum Annual Progress for J.D. Students .............................................................................. 33 
V. Retaking Courses, Taking a Different Examination in the Same Course, and Substitute 
Work ................................................................................................................................................................... 35 
II. Requirements for Graduate Degrees ..................................................................................................... 36 
A. Master of Laws (LL.M.) ........................................................................................................................... 36 
1. LL.M. Residence and Credit Requirements ................................................................................. 36 
2. Recommended Courses ...................................................................................................................... 37 
3. Class Attendance and Participation; Overlapping Class Times .......................................... 38 
4. Grades for LL.M. Students ................................................................................................................. 39 
5. Completion of Course Evaluations and Grade Release .......................................................... 41 
6. LL.M. Written Work Requirement .................................................................................................. 41 
7. Additional Rules Relating to the LL.M. Written Work Requirement ................................ 42 
B. Doctor of Juridical Science (S.J.D.) ...................................................................................................... 45 
1. Study Plan ................................................................................................................................................ 45 
2. First Year in Residence ....................................................................................................................... 45 
3. Oral Examination .................................................................................................................................. 46 

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies 
Page 3 of 122 
4. Prospectus ............................................................................................................................................... 46 
5. Presentations at the S.J.D. Colloquium ......................................................................................... 46 
6. Submission and Acceptance of the Doctoral Dissertation .................................................... 47 
7. Oral Defense of the Dissertation ..................................................................................................... 48 
8. Submission of Dissertation to the Library .................................................................................. 49 
III. Additional Academic Opportunities (J.D. and Graduate Programs) ........................................ 49 
A. Additional Written Work Opportunities ......................................................................................... 49 
1. Optional Written Work ....................................................................................................................... 49 
2. Winter Term Writing Program ........................................................................................................ 50 
B. Clinical Legal Education ......................................................................................................................... 52 
1. Overview .................................................................................................................................................. 52 
2. Requirements for Clinical Credits .................................................................................................. 53 
3. Enrollment and Credits ...................................................................................................................... 54 
4. International J.D. Students in Clinics ............................................................................................. 54 
5. Opportunities for Student Practice ................................................................................................ 55 
C. Cross-Registration .................................................................................................................................... 57 
1. Cross-Registration from Harvard Law School ........................................................................... 57 
2. Cross-Registration into Harvard Law School ............................................................................ 59 
D. Auditing a Harvard Law School Course ........................................................................................... 60 
E. Joint, Coordinated, and Concurrent Degree Opportunities for J.D. Students ..................... 61 
1. Joint Degree Programs ........................................................................................................................ 61 
2. Coordinated J.D./Ph.D. Program ..................................................................................................... 61 
3. Concurrent Degrees ............................................................................................................................. 61 
4. Rules and Policies ................................................................................................................................. 62 
F. J.D. Studies at Other Schools ................................................................................................................. 62 
1. Study Abroad for J.D. Students ........................................................................................................ 62 
2. Berkeley Exchange Program for J.D. Students ........................................................................... 63 
3. Visits at Other Law Schools............................................................................................................... 63 
4. Coordinating Approved Studies at Other Schools .................................................................... 63 
IV. Examinations ................................................................................................................................................. 63 
A. General Examination Policy .................................................................................................................. 63 
B. Deferred Examination Policy ............................................................................................................... 64 
C. Retaking an Examination ....................................................................................................................... 67 
V. Academic Honesty ........................................................................................................................................ 67 

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies 
Page 4 of 122 
A. Violation of Examination Rules; Dishonesty in Examinations ................................................ 67 
B. Preparation of Papers and Other Work—Plagiarism and Collaboration ............................ 68 
C. Multiple Use of Papers ............................................................................................................................ 69 
VI. Registration Schedule and Course Change Deadlines ................................................................... 69 
A. Registration Overview ............................................................................................................................ 69 
B. Check-in ........................................................................................................................................................ 69 
1. Check-in Process and Administrative Clearance ...................................................................... 69 
2. Check-in Dates and Administrative Clearance Dates ............................................................. 69 
3. Certification ............................................................................................................................................ 70 
C. Course and Clinic Registration Periods ............................................................................................ 70 
D. Course Add/Drop Deadlines ................................................................................................................ 71 
E. Course Withdrawal Deadlines ............................................................................................................. 71 
F. Clinic Add/Drop Deadlines .................................................................................................................... 72 
G. Clinic Withdrawal Deadlines ................................................................................................................ 73 
H. Course and Clinic Waitlists ................................................................................................................... 73 
VII. Written Work Registration Deadlines ............................................................................................... 74 
A. Summary of Written Work Registration Deadlines .................................................................... 74 
B. Registration for the J.D. Written Work Requirement ................................................................. 75 
1. Option 1 .................................................................................................................................................... 75 
2. Option 2 .................................................................................................................................................... 75 
C. Registration for the LL.M. Written Work Requirement ............................................................. 76 
D. Mandatory Registration for the Written Work Requirement ................................................. 76 
E. Registration for Optional Written Work .......................................................................................... 76 
F. Application and Registration for the Winter Term Writing Program .................................. 77 
G. Additional Credit for J.D. Written Work ........................................................................................... 77 
H. Registration for Written Work for Upper-Level J.D. and LL.M. Writing Groups .............. 77 
VIII. Deadlines for Submission of Law School Work ............................................................................ 78 
A. Submission Deadlines for Academic Work ..................................................................................... 78 
B. Submission Deadlines for Academic Work in Courses, Seminars, & Reading Groups ... 78 
C. Submission Deadlines for Option 1 of the J.D. Written Work Requirement; LL.M. 
Written Work Requirement; Optional Written Work; Winter Term Writing Program ..... 79 
1. Deadline for All Students ................................................................................................................... 79 
2. Extensions for May Degree Candidates (J.D. and LL.M.) ........................................................ 79 
3. Extensions for 1Ls and 2Ls ............................................................................................................... 79 

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies 
Page 5 of 122 
D. Submission Deadlines for Option 2 of the J.D. Written Work Requirement ...................... 79 
IX. Deadlines for Applying to Special Programs ..................................................................................... 80 
A. Joint and Concurrent Degree and Study Abroad Deadlines ..................................................... 80 
B. Berkeley Exchange Program ................................................................................................................ 80 
C. Program for Visits at Other Law Schools ......................................................................................... 80 
X. Leaves and Withdrawals ............................................................................................................................ 80 
A. Voluntary Leave of Absence ................................................................................................................. 80 
B. Requesting a Leave .................................................................................................................................. 81 
C. Involuntary Leaves of Absence ............................................................................................................ 81 
D. While on a Leave of Absence ................................................................................................................ 83 
E. Extending Voluntary Leaves ................................................................................................................. 84 
F. Returning to School .................................................................................................................................. 85 
G. Agreements to Engage in Treatment ................................................................................................ 87 
H. Clearance for Return Related to Serious Concerns about the Health or Well-being of a 
Student ............................................................................................................................................................... 87 
Procedure for Notice and Consultation ............................................................................................ 88 
I. Financial Implications of Taking a Leave .......................................................................................... 88 
XI. Administrative Board ................................................................................................................................. 90 
A. Disciplinary Actions ................................................................................................................................. 90 
B. Procedures for Disciplinary Cases* ................................................................................................... 91 
XII. Other Rules and Important Information ........................................................................................... 95 
A. Notice of Non-Discrimination and Harvard Non-Discrimination and Anti-Bullying 
Policies ............................................................................................................................................................... 95 
B. Title IX Policies and Information ........................................................................................................ 96 
C. Harvard Law School FERPA Policy .................................................................................................... 96 
1. Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (“FERPA”) .......................................................... 96 
2. Education Records ............................................................................................................................... 96 
3. Access ........................................................................................................................................................ 96 
4. Directory Information ......................................................................................................................... 97 
5. Other Disclosures Permitted under FERPA ................................................................................ 98 
6. Student Rights under FERPA............................................................................................................ 98 
D. Protest and Dissent Guidelines ........................................................................................................... 98 
1. Picketing and Distributing Literature ........................................................................................... 99 
2. Silent or Symbolic Protest ................................................................................................................. 99 
3. Noise .......................................................................................................................................................... 99 

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies 
Page 6 of 122 
4. Force or Violence ................................................................................................................................ 100 
5. Audience Responsibility .................................................................................................................. 100 
6. Moderator/Facilitator....................................................................................................................... 100 
E. Student Complaints Implicating Compliance with ABA Standards for Legal Education
 ............................................................................................................................................................................. 100 
F. Class Recordings ...................................................................................................................................... 101 
1. Reasons for Student Class Recording Requests ...................................................................... 101 
2. Automated Recordings ..................................................................................................................... 102 
3. Publication of Recordings................................................................................................................ 103 
G. Student International Travel .............................................................................................................. 103 
H. Student Employment ............................................................................................................................ 105 
I. Use of University Libraries ................................................................................................................... 105 
J. Information Technology Services ...................................................................................................... 105 
1. Harvard Law School Computer and Network Resources Usage Agreement ............... 105 
2. Use of Computer and Network Resources ................................................................................ 105 
3. Compliance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 ..................................... 106 
4. Policy on Access to Electronic Information .............................................................................. 107 
5. Security and Privacy .......................................................................................................................... 107 
6. Anonymous and Pseudonymous Communications ............................................................... 108 
7. Misuse of Resources .......................................................................................................................... 108 
8. Emergency Situations and Compliance with Account Quotas .......................................... 109 
9. Copyright and Software Licenses ................................................................................................. 109 
10. Cases of Misconduct ........................................................................................................................ 109 
11. Leaving Harvard Law School ....................................................................................................... 110 
K. Multimedia Studio .................................................................................................................................. 110 
L. Video Security Policies .......................................................................................................................... 110 
M. Harvard University I.D. Cards ........................................................................................................... 110 
N. Payment of Bills ...................................................................................................................................... 111 
O. Harvard Law School Drug and Alcohol Policy ............................................................................. 112 
1. Policy ....................................................................................................................................................... 112 
2. Provisions Regarding Alcohol Service and Use at Harvard Law School ........................ 113 
3. Drinking Age ......................................................................................................................................... 113 
4. Bartenders ............................................................................................................................................. 113 
5. Police Presence .................................................................................................................................... 114 

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies 
Page 7 of 122 
6. Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages ............................................................................................. 114 
7. Off-campus Events – Private Residence ..................................................................................... 114 
8. Off-campus Events – Bars, Restaurants, and Off-Site Function Facilities ..................... 114 
9. Liquor Licenses.................................................................................................................................... 114 
P. Cambridge No Smoking Ordinance and Harvard No Smoking Policy ................................ 115 
1. City of Cambridge No Smoking Ordinance ................................................................................ 115 
2. Harvard No Smoking Policy ............................................................................................................ 115 
Q. Harvard Law School Missing Persons Policy ............................................................................... 115 
R. Nonresident Student Driver Statements and Decals ................................................................ 116 
S. Voter Registration ................................................................................................................................... 116 
T. Massachusetts Anti-Hazing Statute ................................................................................................. 117 
269:17. Hazing; organizing or participating; hazing defined ................................................. 117 
269:18. Failure to report hazing ........................................................................................................ 117 
269:19. Copy of secs. 17–19; issuance to students and student groups, teams and 
organizations; report ............................................................................................................................. 117 
610 CMR 5.00: Hazing Reporting ...................................................................................................... 118 
Appendix A: Harvard Law School: The Well, Harvard University Health Services, Counseling 
and Mental Health Services, and Center for Wellness and Health Promotion ......................... 121 
Appendix B: Emergency and Safety Information ................................................................................. 122 
 
 
   

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 8 of 122

Notice: Delivery of Academic Programs

In recent years, Harvard Law School has had to act quickly to implement

contingency scenarios in order to protect the health and safety of our community, while

ensuring the continuity of our teaching and research mission. Harvard Law School

continues to retain the discretion to adjust its mode of teaching as it deems necessary in

extraordinary circumstances, including by making recourse to online instruction and

implementing compulsory testing and tracing programs as required conditions for

accessing the Harvard campus or Harvard facilities.

Students are expected to make themselves familiar with the policies in this

Handbook of Academic Policies and with related updates and guidance as provided

throughout the year, which are herein incorporated by reference to the Handbook.

Notwithstanding the policies set out in this Handbook, students interested in

applying for, or with questions about, accommodations should be in contact with Harvard

Law School’s Accessibility Services team.

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 9 of 122

Preface

A. HLS Community Principles

The Law School's commitments to fairness, respect for the rule of law, and free inquiry

require an environment of trust and mutual respect, free expression and inquiry, and a

commitment to truth, excellence, and lifelong learning. Students, program participants,

faculty, staff, and alumni accept these principles when they join the Harvard Law School

community and thereby agree to respect the rights, dignity, and differences of others,

pursue honesty and integrity in dealing with all members of the community in person and

online, and accept personal responsibility in these efforts.

B. HLS Community Principle on Non-Attribution

To fulfill Harvard Law School’s mission of training excellent lawyers, our classrooms must

offer an environment in which all participants feel able to engage in free, open, respectful

discussion of complex, sensitive, and consequential questions. Our classrooms are places in

which students make arguments sometimes because they deeply believe in them,

sometimes because they’re exploring what they believe, and sometimes because they’re

trying to understand a contrary view or have been asked by the professor to take a position

with which they may disagree. Everybody is learning, everybody has to think and respond

within fast-moving discussions, and everybody will make mistakes as part of the law school

learning process. In training to be the best lawyers they can be, students must be able to try

arguments on for size, change their minds, and take risks.

The proliferation of social media affects this learning environment. Because of the potential

permanence and widespread dissemination of communications through social media and

other forms of communication designed to reach members of the public, if statements

made in class are quoted or described with attribution in those media, students may be

reluctant to approach any question, particularly controversial ones, with the openness and

vulnerability they need to grow as lawyers and to learn from one another. Moreover, given

the particular pedagogy of law classes, it may be hard, when quoting statements made in

class, to accurately distinguish when speakers are expressing their own views or speaking

in the role of advocate, to capture all of the qualifications or nuance that speakers may have

provided, or to fairly convey the full context necessary to understand why speakers took a

particular position on a complex legal question. In addition, the widespread dissemination

of such statements with attribution may risk subjecting the speaker to online harassment,

bullying, or worse.

The Harvard Law School Community Principles generally address these types of concerns

by requiring all of us “to respect the rights, dignity, and differences of others, pursue

honesty and integrity in dealing with all members of the community in person and online,

and accept personal responsibility in these efforts.” See Preface A above. That community

includes students, staff, and faculty. However, because it is especially important for

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 10 of 122

students to bring an attitude of openness and experimentation to their learning, and

because our pedagogy often requires students to speak in class and take positions on topics

not of their choosing, an additional Community Principle, modeled on the Chatham House

Rule, is appropriate for student statements made in class. In particular, the following

principle applies to classroom discussion:

When using social media or other forms of communication designed to reach

members of the public, no one may repeat or describe a statement made by a

student in class in a manner that would enable a person who was not present

in the class to identify the speaker of the statement.

In addition to this non-attribution principle, it is important always to work to identify and

foster the norms and conditions that will encourage free, open, and respectful classroom

discourse that will build community, enable all in a broad and diverse community to learn

from one another, and support excellence in teaching and learning.

Interpretive Comments:

a. The phrase “statement made in class” includes a verbal statement made in any class

session of a course, as well as a written statement made in class or classroom-

related spaces (such as a Zoom chat or a Canvas discussion thread).

b. Nothing in the foregoing prevents: (a) a faculty member or students in a course from

otherwise communicating, in person or electronically, with one another in a manner

that attributes statements to a student; or (b) face-to-face discussion or email, text,

or other interpersonal exchanges about class discussion, provided that exchanges

under these subsections (as with all exchanges) respect the generally applicable

Harvard Law School Community Principles outlined above.

c. Nothing in the foregoing prevents: (a) a student or faculty member from referring to

a statement made in class with attribution in seeking assistance from HLS or

University administrators or faculty or reporting to appropriate officials misconduct

under law or University or HLS policy; or (b) a faculty member from otherwise

performing ordinary responsibilities as an advisor or recommender.

d. In order to further facilitate open classroom discussion, faculty members may adopt

additional guidelines regarding recounting or reporting on statements made in

class. Any such guidelines should be stated clearly and prominently in writing at the

outset of the course in a syllabus or statement of classroom policies.

C. Harvard University-Wide Statement on Rights and

Responsibilities*

The central functions of an academic community are learning, teaching, research, and

scholarship. By accepting membership in the University, an individual joins a community

ideally characterized by free expression, free inquiry, intellectual honesty, respect for the

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 11 of 122

dignity of others, and openness to constructive change. The rights and responsibilities

exercised within the community must be compatible with these qualities.

The rights of members of the University are not fundamentally different from those of

other members of society. The University, however, has a special autonomy and reasoned

dissent plays a particularly vital part in its existence. All members of the University have

the right to press for action on matters of concern by any appropriate means. The

University must affirm, assure, and protect the rights of its members to organize and join

political associations, convene and conduct public meetings, publicly demonstrate and

picket in orderly fashion, advocate, and publicize opinion by print, sign, and voice.

The University places special emphasis, as well, upon certain values which are essential to

its nature as an academic community. Among these are freedom of speech and academic

freedom, freedom from personal force and violence, and freedom of movement.

Interference with any of these freedoms must be regarded as a serious violation of the

personal rights upon which the community is based. Furthermore, although the

administrative processes and activities of the University cannot be ends in themselves,

such functions are vital to the orderly pursuit of the work of all members of the University.

Therefore, interference with members of the University in performance of their normal

duties and activities must be regarded as unacceptable obstruction of the essential

processes of the University. Theft or willful destruction of the property of the University or

its members must also be considered an unacceptable violation of the rights of individuals

or of the community as a whole.

Moreover, it is the responsibility of all members of the academic community to maintain an

atmosphere in which violations of rights are unlikely to occur and to develop processes by

which these rights are fully assured. In particular, it is the responsibility of officers of

administration and instruction to be alert to the needs of the University community; to give

full and fair hearing to reasoned expressions of grievances; and to respond promptly and in

good faith to such expressions and to widely expressed needs for change. In making

decisions that concern the community as a whole or any part of the community, officers are

expected to consult with those affected by the decisions. Failures to meet these

responsibilities may be profoundly damaging to the life of the University. Therefore, the

University community has the right to establish orderly procedures consistent with

imperatives of academic freedom to assess the policies and assure the responsibility of

those whose decisions affect the life of the University.

No violation of the rights of members of the University, nor any failure to meet

responsibilities, should be interpreted as justifying any violation of the rights of members

of the University. All members of the community—students and officers alike—should

uphold the rights and responsibilities expressed in this Statement if the University is to be

characterized by mutual respect and trust.

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 12 of 122

1. Interpretation

It is implicit in the language of the Statement on Rights and Responsibilities that intense

personal harassment of such a character as to amount to grave disrespect for the dignity of

others be regarded as an unacceptable violation of the personal rights on which the

University is based.

It is implicit in the University-wide Statement on Rights and Responsibilities that any

unauthorized occupation of a University building, or any part of it, that interferes with the

ability of members of the University to perform their normal activities constitutes

unacceptable conduct in violation of the Statement and is subject to appropriate discipline.

This University-wide Statement and its first interpretation were adopted on an interim basis

by the Governing Boards on September 20, 1970, and were voted to remain in effect

indefinitely in May 1977. The second interpretation was adopted by the Governing Boards in

January-February 2002.

2. Statement of the President and Deans on University Rights and

Responsibilities (2002):

In view of events last spring and beyond, questions have been raised about Harvard’s

policies regarding protests and demonstrations. We take this opportunity to affirm our

shared commitment to an academic community in which all members of the University are

able to express their views freely and vigorously. We also affirm our commitment to

ensuring that all members of the University are able to carry out their normal duties and

activities in support of the University’s mission without interference or constraint by

others. These commitments are expressed in the longstanding University-wide Statement

on Rights and Responsibilities. We believe it is timely to remind the University community

of this longstanding policy statement and its application to unauthorized occupation of

University buildings. To highlight that aspect of the existing policy, we have proposed and

the Governing Boards have adopted an “interpretation” of the Statement, parallel to a prior

“interpretation” regarding personal harassment. The newly adopted interpretation has

been appended to the University-wide Statement on Rights and Responsibilities and now

appears at the bottom of its text.

While we recognize that the determination of specific penalties for violation of this policy

by students is primarily the responsibility of the several faculties, we regard it as essential

that there be shared understandings across the University that emphasize the serious

nature of building occupations that interfere with the ability of members of the University

to carry out their normal duties and activities and the serious consequences that should

follow from such interference. We are therefore informing the relevant officers and

committees in our faculties of our shared view that students who engage in such conduct

should ordinarily be subject to suspension, and that others who engage in similar conduct

should be subject to appropriate sanction. Of course, applicable laws may also bear on such

conduct, and the University-wide Statement itself has potential application to many other

forms of conduct.

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 13 of 122

We also believe it important, when a building occupation or similar acts involve

participants from different Schools, that steps be taken toward coordination in the

approach to discipline, including possible reference to the University-wide Committee on

Rights and Responsibilities.

*To implement and effectuate the University-Wide Statement of Rights and Responsibilities,

the Law School’s policies include Protest and Dissent Guidelines (Section XII(D)) applicable

to all in the HLS Community.

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 14 of 122

I. Requirements for the J.D. Degree

A. Residence

1. Attendance at Harvard Law School is full-time, in-person for a period of three

academic years, which consists of the fall, winter and spring terms. Students are

expected to maintain the minimum credit requirements stated in the Upper-Level

J.D. Residency Requirements (Section I(J)). To be awarded the J.D. degree, a

student must complete a minimum of 88 credits.

2. Students enrolled at the Law School may not be simultaneously enrolled, either full-

time or part-time, in any other school or college either within Harvard University or

at any other institution, unless they are enrolled in one of the Law School’s joint

degree programs, are completing a semester at a foreign institution in an approved

study abroad program, or are cross-registered in courses authorized by the Law

School.

3. Except in extraordinary circumstances and as approved by the Law School’s

Administrative Board, students must complete the degree requirements for the J.D.

within seven years of matriculation in law school. Additionally, students should

note that some jurisdictions prescribe a shorter period of time during which the J.D.

must be completed. For example, New York requires that the J.D. degree be

completed within five years after a student has commenced the study of law in a law

school.

4. In accordance with Harvard Law School policy, students may not be employed for

more than 20 hours of work per week during the academic year while classes are in

session.

5. The relevant registration, application, and submission deadlines for the current year

are set forth in Sections VI through IX.

B. Statement of Learning Outcomes

Harvard Law School prepares students to be outstanding lawyers who will achieve success

in all parts of the profession and become leaders who further the best ideals of law and

justice across many fields. The Law School’s programs and activities are designed to enable

each student to achieve, at a minimum, the following competencies:

1. Knowledge and understanding of substantive and procedural law, and the domestic,

international, and transnational institutions that make and apply law;

2. Aptitude for legal analysis and legal reasoning;

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 15 of 122

3. Appreciation of and commitment to the values and responsibilities of members of

the legal profession;

4. Proficiency in the use of professional skills including: research as to law and fact,

communication, presentation, and problem solving.

C. First-Year J.D. Course and Credit Requirements

Beginning with students matriculating in the fall 2019, the first-year J.D. degree

requirements are:

1. The required first-year courses: Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Contracts,

Criminal Law, Legislation and Regulation, Property, and Torts;

2. Completion of the January Experiential Term;

3. First-Year Legal Research and Writing, which includes the First-Year Ames Moot

Court Program; and

4. A spring upper-level elective course of a minimum of two and a maximum of four

Law School classroom credits.

The courses noted in this section constitute full-time enrollment during the first year of

study. Clinic participation and cross-registration are not permitted during the 1L year.

D. Upper-Level J.D. Course and Credit Requirements

Table 1 - Upper-Level Credit Requirements

Total Minimum

Credits

Minimum

Classroom

Credits

Maximum

Clinical Credits

Maximum

Writing Credits

Maximum Cross-

Registration

Credits

After satisfactory completion of the first-year Law School requirements, all J.D. students

must earn no fewer than 52 additional credits in upper-level work, including:

1. Required Law School Classroom Work

Students must complete at least 36 credits in Law School classroom work (a category that

includes courses, seminars and reading groups, but not writing, clinical, or cross-

registration credits). Classroom courses taken in fulfillment of the Professional

Responsibility Requirement, the International and Comparative Law Course Requirement,

and the Negotiation/Leadership Requirement count toward this minimum. See Section

I(G), Section I(H), and Section I(I).

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies 
Page 16 of 122 
2. Required Additional Credits 
 
Students may earn the remaining required 16 credits by completing written, clinical or 
additional classroom work and by completing courses taken through cross-registration. 
Written work, clinical and cross-registration credits do not count toward the Law School 
classroom credit minimum. 
 
The following rules apply to these additional credits: 
 
a)  Clinical Work: Up to 16 credits may be earned through clinical work. Students may 
enroll in only one clinic per term. Questions about clinical credits should be 
addressed to the Office of Clinical and Pro Bono Programs. See also Section 
III(B)(2). 
 
b)  Written Work: Up to 12 credits may be earned through written work (including 
work satisfying the J.D. Written Work Requirement) completed either in conjunction 
with a seminar or course or independently (see Section I(L) and Section III(A)). 
Credits earned through writing in conjunction with a course, seminar, or workshop 
are assigned to the same term as the course, seminar, or workshop, or in the case of 
a three-credit winter course, to the adjacent spring term.  
 
c)  Cross-Registration and Joint, Coordinated, and Concurrent Degrees: Up to 12 
credits may be earned in courses taken through cross-registration or in most cases 
at another school as part of a joint or coordinated degree program. See Section 
III(C) and Section III(E)). See requirements for individual joint degree programs 
for details. 
 
d)  Ordinarily, a student may not exceed the maximum limits on credits for clinical 
work, written work, and cross-registration. In exceptional cases, when a student is 
on track to meet the upper-level credit requirements as set out in this Handbook 
(including the minimum of 36 law school classroom credits), the student may be 
permitted to exceed the credit limits for clinical work (with the permission of the 
Office of Clinical and Pro Bono Programs) ) or written work or cross-registration 
(with permission of the Dean for Academic and Faculty Affairs), provided that in so 
doing the student exceeds the 52 upper-level credit minimum by the same number 
of credits. In addition, any clinical or written work credits taken in excess of the 
maximum credit limits will not count toward Latin honors. See Section I(T)(8)(c). 
 
3. Transfer Student J.D. Program - Special Considerations 
 
a)  Law courses taken before matriculation at Harvard Law School will be considered 
part of the transfer student's first year of J.D. studies and may not be used to meet 
any Harvard Law School upper-level credit requirements and will not be included in 
Latin honors calculations. 
 

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 17 of 122

b) Transfer students must satisfy the Law School’s first-year requirements (with the

exception of the 1L January Experiential Term) and can do so through

demonstrating completion of comparable courses at their prior institution or

completion of qualifying courses after matriculation at Harvard Law School. For the

list of qualifying courses, please consult the Office of the Registrar.

c) Harvard Law School courses taken by a transfer student—including first-year law

school courses and qualifying courses taken after matriculation to bring the transfer

student into compliance with Harvard Law School's first-year requirements—may

be used toward the 52 upper-level credit minimum and will count in overall

performance in the 2L or 3L year according to the rules set forth in this Handbook

(i.e., credit/fail and cross-registration courses are not included in Latin honors

calculations (see Section I(T)). Transfer students who need to complete a first-year

Harvard Law School required course must complete the course(s) during their first

year of matriculation into the law school.

d) All transfer students, regardless of the number of credits completed in their 1L year,

must complete a minimum of 83 total credits in order to earn the J.D.

e) Transfer students may seek pro bono credit for work completed at their prior law

school or during the summer prior to coming to Harvard Law School. For more

information about the Pro Bono requirement, please see the Pro Bono Requirement

webpage or contact the Office of Clinical and Pro Bono Programs.

4. Minimum Credit Requirement for VA Benefit-Eligible Students

The VA considers 12 credits to be a full-time course load at HLS. Students eligible for

benefits through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) must enroll in a minimum of 12

credits in the fall term and a minimum of 12 credits combined in the winter and spring

terms to be eligible to receive 100% of their VA benefits for each term. Students who take

fewer than 12 credits in a term will see their housing allowance benefit prorated based on

their reduced credit load. Tuition related benefits are not affected by this requirement. The

VA will pay the full tuition-related benefits for which a student is eligible regardless of

whether or not the student is enrolled in 12 credits.

E. Definition of the Law School Credit Hour

The American Bar Association standards for accrediting law schools use a formula for

calculating the amount of work that constitutes one credit hour. In accordance with ABA

Standard 310(b), "a 'credit hour' is an amount of work that reasonably approximates: (1)

not less than one hour of classroom or direct faculty instruction and two hours of out-of-

class student work per week for fifteen weeks, or the equivalent amount of work over a

different amount of time; or (2) at least an equivalent amount of work as required in

subparagraph (1) of this definition for other academic activities as established by the

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 18 of 122

institution, including simulation, field placement, clinical, co-curricular, and other academic

work leading to the award of credit hours."

Harvard Law School meets the requirements of Standard 310 as follows:

1) For classroom and simulation courses, courses must meet 60 minutes per week over

12 weeks for each credit awarded.

2) For clinical courses during the fall and spring semesters, students must work four

60-minute hours each week over 12 weeks for each credit earned. For more

information about clinical credit hours see Section III(B).

Faculty are required to evaluate their syllabi to ensure that assigned reading and writing

exercises required in preparation for class are a reasonable approximation of the out-of-

class student work standard of two hours per week per credit hour.

F. Experiential Learning Requirement

Students must earn no fewer than six credits qualified as “experiential learning” courses.

The HLS Course Catalog identifies which courses and clinical offerings fulfill the

experiential learning requirement. In accordance with ABA requirements, students may not

use the same course to satisfy more than one of either the professional responsibility

requirement, the writing requirement, or the experiential learning requirement. Individual

state bars may have separate experiential learning (or equivalent) requirements for

admission; students are advised to check those requirements for any state in which they

may seek to practice.

G. Professional Responsibility Requirement

1. All students must complete a minimum of two classroom credits to satisfy the

Professional Responsibility Requirement.

2. The classroom components of certain clinical courses, as identified in the course

descriptions, may satisfy this requirement. A list of clinical courses that satisfy this

requirement can be found on the Office of the Registrar’s website.

3. Ordinarily, students are not allowed to enroll in two non-clinical professional

responsibility courses that satisfy the requirement. Students who have enrolled in a

clinical course that satisfies the Harvard Law School Professional Responsibility

Requirement may enroll in one additional Legal Profession course if

desired. Questions about this rule should be directed to the Dean for Academic and

Faculty Affairs.

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 19 of 122

4. Students may not use the same course to satisfy both the professional responsibility

requirement and the requirement of experiential learning credits or the writing

requirement.

5. Students may not use writing in a professional responsibility course to satisfy the

writing requirement.

H. International and Comparative Law Course

Requirement

Beginning with students matriculating into the J.D. program in the Fall 2019, J.D. students

must complete one course of at least three classroom credits that satisfies the International

and Comparative Law Course Requirement. All transfer students must also complete one

course of at least three classroom credits that satisfies this requirement. A listing of

qualified courses can be found in the HLS Course Catalog. Successful completion of an HLS-

approved study abroad program (see Section III(F)(1)) will fulfill the International and

Comparative Course Requirement.

I. Negotiation/Leadership Requirement

Beginning with students matriculating into the J.D. program in the Fall 2023, J.D. students

must complete one course or clinic of at least 2 credits that satisfies the

Negotiation/Leadership Requirement. Offerings satisfying this requirement are designated

in the HLS Course Catalog, some of which may be taken in the 1L January Experiential Term

or Spring Term.

J. Upper-Level J.D. Residency Requirements

1. The upper-level residency requirements are:

Table 2 - Upper-Level J.D. Residency Requirements

Residency Requirements

Minimum Total Credits

Maximum Total Credits

Each Year

Each Fall and Spring Term

Each Winter Term

2. In addition to fulfilling the upper-level course and credit requirements in Section

I(D), upper-level students must register for and receive a grade or an "Extension"

(EXT) notation (see Section I(Q)) in:

a) Not fewer than 24 nor more than 35 credits each year in each of the 2L and

3L years, regardless of the number of credits needed to complete the

required 52 upper-level credits;

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 20 of 122

b) Not fewer than 10 nor more than 16 credits in each fall and spring term, no

fewer than eight of which each semester must be for Law School work. No

fewer than four of the eight Law School credits must be for classroom or

clinical work.

c) Not fewer than two nor more than three credits in each of two upper-level

winter terms, all of which must be for Law School classroom or clinical work

or for written work under the Winter Term Writing Program (see Section

III(A)(2)). Full-time residency is required during each of the two required

upper-level winter terms. Cross registration into other schools during the

winter term may be allowed in limited circumstances. Students considering

winter term cross-registration should contact the Office of the Registrar.

d) Individual state bars may have additional law school residency

requirements; students are advised to check those requirements for any

state in which they may seek to practice.

3. Waivers: Any student wishing to seek a waiver to these upper-level J.D. residency

policies should contact the Office of the Registrar. The rules and practices with

respect to waivers are established and administered under the supervision of the

Administrative Board.

K. Joint and Coordinated Degree Credit and Residency

Requirements

Students enrolled in one of the School’s joint or coordinated degree programs may meet

credit and residency requirements in part through courses taken at the other school. For

more information, see Section III(E) and the relevant program description. For questions

about the joint, concurrent, and coordinated degree program opportunities for J.D.

students, contact the Associate Director of Academic Affairs. For questions about degree

requirements at the other school, students should contact the appropriate administrator at

the relevant school.

L. J.D. Written Work Requirement

All students are expected to pursue serious written work. The Written Work Requirement

for students who matriculate into HLS as of the Fall Term 2023 or later is set forth in

Section 3 below. For J.D. students who matriculated into HLS prior to the Fall Term 2023,

the minimum requirement can be satisfied by a substantial research paper or by two

smaller projects, as detailed here. In satisfaction of this requirement, students have the

option to complete either option 1 or 2:

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 21 of 122

1. Option 1 of the J.D. Written Work Requirement

a) Description: Option 1 requires a substantial research paper of publishable or

professional quality, to be written in close consultation with a Law School faculty

member or instructor with a Law School teaching appointment, in conjunction with

a course, seminar or workshop (for an additional 1, 2, or 3 credits), or through

independent study (for 2 or 3 credits). (Note: credits earned through writing in

conjunction with a course, seminar, or workshop are assigned to the same term as

the course, seminar, or workshop, or in the case of a three-credit winter course, to

the adjacent spring term.)

The substantial work involved in these papers typically produces a final product of

30-60 pages for a two-credit effort. Students may also pursue a larger project for

three credits and aim for 100-200 pages. These papers can take the form of

academic scholarship, policy analysis, or professional legal analysis and must be a

substantial undertaking at least comparable to the time demanded by a semester-

long course or seminar. When pursuing an empirical project, appropriate length,

scope, breadth, etc., should be determined in consultation with the faculty

supervisor.

Work done as a research assistant or teaching fellow with a Law School faculty

member may, in some circumstances, be used to satisfy Option 1. See Section

III(A)(1)(c).

Work that cannot be used to satisfy Option 1 includes, but is not limited to,

continuation of previous work, required coursework (except for writing done in

conjunction with a course or seminar), or paid work.

b) Registration for Option 1:

i. Deadlines (see also Section VII): Students must register for Option 1 of the

J.D. Written Work Requirement in advance of engaging in the work by

submitting the required registration form and proposal to the faculty

supervisor for approval and then submitting the form and proposal to the

Registrar’s Office by the second Friday in October for fall term (2Ls and 3Ls),

by the second Friday in November for the winter term, and by the second

Friday in February for spring term (all J.D. students). Forms are available in

hard copy at the Office of the Registrar, WCC 4007 and online.

ii. Proposal: The proposal should set forth the intended topic in a few

sentences and describe the approach proposed for the work, the extent and

type of research, interest in the topic, previous work done in the area, and

the intended written product (e.g., 30-page paper, research memo, etc.).

Since faculty members may require additional preliminary work, such as an

elaboration of the question to be addressed, the methodology to be used, a

draft outline, or a longer description before accepting a proposal, students

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 22 of 122

are advised to seek approval well in advance of the registration deadline. The

Registrar’s Office will not accept J.D. Written Work Registration forms

without a proposal attached and approved by the faculty supervisor.

iii. Second-year students who register to fulfill Option 1 of the J.D. Written

Work Requirement during the second year, and who anticipate that they may

not complete this work by the end of the academic year, should be aware that

if they have not completed 24 graded credits for the year, of which no fewer

than 18 are for Law School work, they will not be eligible for the Sears Prize.

2. Option 2 of the J.D. Written Work Requirement

a) Description: Option 2 requires two pieces of writing, which could include any of the

following, provided that at least one of the pieces is written under the supervision of

a Law School faculty member or instructor with a Law School teaching appointment:

i. Lawyer’s work product: including substantial original writing in a clinic

(with approval of the clinic director), upper-level moot court briefs, or the

equivalent, as certified by the supervisor of the relevant program, but not

written work from a summer job or paid work;

ii. Law school course and seminar papers: substantial writing as part of a

clinical course or seminar, including the standard series of reaction papers,

amounting to no fewer than 15 pages;

iii. Law journal writing: including draft code and legislation, notes, book

reviews, descriptions of developments in the law, and the like (totaling no

fewer than 10 publishable pages);

iv. Nontraditional writing produced under faculty supervision: including

interactive web-based material, surveys of students or practitioners with

analysis, case study materials appropriate for classroom use, or other law-

related persuasive or descriptive writing as approved by a Law School

faculty member or instructor with a Law School teaching appointment.

b) Registration for Option 2 (see also Section VII): Students must register for Option

2 of the J.D. Written Work Requirement by submitting the registration form with

required signatures to the Office of the Registrar by February 1 of the third year or

the following business day if February 1 falls on a weekend. The form is available in

hard copy at the Office of the Registrar and online. A student with concerns about

whether a particular piece or type of writing satisfies Option 2 or with questions

about registering should contact the Office of the Registrar. For clinical writing,

questions should be directed to the Office of Clinical and Pro Bono Programs.

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 23 of 122

3. Written Work Requirement for J.D. Students Matriculating Fall Term

2023 and later

Beginning with first-year J.D. students matriculating into HLS in the Fall Term 2023, J.D.

students will be required in their upper-level years to complete an analytical paper and a

piece of professional writing before graduating.

a) Analytical paper requirement. In their second or third year each J.D. student is

required to write a research paper of no fewer than 25 pages under the supervision

of an HLS faculty member or an HLS instructor holding a Law School teaching

appointment. This required paper may be satisfied, with the approval of the

supervising faculty member, through independent papers, including those written

in the context of a writing group, seminar papers, papers written in conjunction

with a course for extra writing credit, and the like.

b) Professional writing requirement. In their second or third year each JD student is

required to complete a piece of professional writing that builds skills such as how to

tailor communications for a particular audience or purpose. Clinical work product

(such as court or agency filings or reports), legal lab blog posts, contracts in

simulation courses, policy papers, and other work that replicates the kinds of

writing one would conduct in a professional setting will, with the approval of an HLS

instructor holding a teaching appointment, satisfy this requirement.

c) Paper Length and Credits. The parameters for written work credit for analytical

papers under this requirement and optional written work (Section III(A)(1)) are as

follows. Instructors may determine that a shorter paper in any of the categories

below merits full credit due to the nature of the work involved, such as papers

involving extensive data collection and/or analysis.

i. One credit for 25 pages: can be written independently or in conjunction

with a course that requires a paper.

ii. Two credits for 50 pages: can be written independently or in conjunction

with a course or seminar that requires a paper.

iii. Three credits for 75 or more pages: can be written independently or in

conjunction with a course or seminar that requires a paper.

Further information regarding satisfaction of each prong of the written work requirement

in this section will be forthcoming during the 2023-24 academic year.

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 24 of 122

4. Experiential Learning, Professional Responsibility, and Written Work

Students may not count written work toward both the experiential learning requirement

and the written work requirement or toward the professional responsibility requirement

and the written work requirement.

5. Supervision

Students may ask any Law School faculty member or instructor with a Law School teaching

appointment to supervise written work. Faculty on certain types of leave may not be

available in a given term.

6. Supervision by Visiting Faculty

Writing credits under the supervision of visiting faculty must be registered for, and

ordinarily completed during the term(s) of the visitor’s appointment. Note that many

visitors have Law School appointments for only one term. Students with questions about

visiting faculty supervision outside of the faculty member's term of appointment should

contact the Dean for Academic and Faculty Affairs.

7. Prohibition against Compensation

A student may not receive academic credit for written work for which they also receive

compensation, with the exception of summer internships for which J.D. students may seek

approval from the Dean for Academic and Faculty Affairs to receive academic credit.

8. Multiple Use of Papers

Occasionally students seek to submit one paper for two or more courses or seminars. In

such cases, the paper must be of sufficiently greater scope or depth to warrant such

multiple credit. In order to assure compliance with this requirement, any student planning

to submit the same or similar written work in more than one academic offering must first

get the approval of the Dean for Academic and Faculty Affairs by submitting a memo that

documents the project plan. The instructors involved should discuss appropriate ways to

make sure that the submitted work meets this greater burden. This memo must be signed

by the instructors for both courses and must set forth the way in which the paper will meet

the added requirement described herein.

Once the Dean for Academic and Faculty Affairs approves the project, the memo must then

be submitted to the Office of the Registrar before the student is accorded the requested

credits. This rule applies to submission of work in any offering whether at the Law School

or elsewhere. A student who submits the same, or substantially the same, work in more

than one course without such prior permission, will be subject to disciplinary action.

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 25 of 122

9. Human Subjects Research

Law School projects involving human subjects are reviewed by The Committee on the Use

of Human Subjects (CUHS) within the Office of the Vice Provost for Research (OVPR).

Students considering projects that fall under IRB purview, i.e., regulated research with

human subjects (including surveys or interviews) should review the University’s policies

on the use of human subjects in research available on the CUHS Website and discuss their

work with an IRB Administrator at CUHS. Note that students should allow sufficient time

for IRB review; late requests for review may not be granted. Requests are triaged within

CUHS; please email [email protected] or call (617) 496-2847. In addition, students whose

research involves the collection or storage of human subject information must establish

data security procedures that reflect the sensitivity of the data and in accordance with the

Harvard Research Data Security Policy. Please contact ITS at [email protected] for

additional information.

M. Pro Bono Requirement

The Office of Clinical and Pro Bono Programs administers the Pro Bono Requirement.

Participation in most clinics will satisfy the HLS Pro Bono Requirement. For more

information about Clinical Legal Education, see Section III(B).

As a condition for graduation, Harvard Law School requires all J.D. students to contribute at

least 50 hours of uncompensated, pro bono legal work. Individual state bars may have

separate pro bono requirements for admission; students are advised to check those

requirements for any state in which they may seek to practice.

Work qualifying for the pro bono service requirement must be legal and supervised by a

licensed attorney and must be performed on behalf of (1) people who cannot afford, in

whole or in part, to pay for legal services; (2) the government; (3) a non-profit organization

as defined under IRS sections 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(4); (4) a law firm working on a pro bono

basis; or (5) a foreign equivalent of any of the above. The work must involve the application

or interpretation of law, the formulation of legal policy, the drafting of legislation or

regulations and/or work done in anticipation of litigation. The work should not be clerical

and must be uncompensated. Political campaign-related work may be credited toward the

Harvard Law School pro bono service requirement under the conditions indicated in the

School’s Pro Bono and Written Work Credit for Political Activities (Section I(N)) policies.

The pro bono work may be, but need not be, performed in a setting in which Harvard Law

School clinical credit is given or, in some instances, through the Law School’s volunteer

student practice organizations. Summer public interest work funded through the Summer

Public Interest Funding Program (SPIF) will count toward the requirement if the work

meets the pro bono requirements, is legal, and is supervised by a licensed attorney.

Pro bono service may be performed in an approved supervised setting anytime between

the start of the 1L year and spring break of the 3L year, including the summers between

law school years. Transfer students may seek pro bono credit for work completed at their

prior law school or during the summer prior to coming to Harvard Law School.

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 26 of 122

For more information about the Pro Bono requirement, please see the Pro Bono

Requirement webpage or contact the Office of Clinical and Pro Bono Programs.

N. Pro Bono and Written Work Credit for Political

Activities

Harvard Law School is committed to the free and open expression of ideas, and Harvard

Law School’s institutional commitment to free expression applies with equal force in the

context of electoral politics. Harvard Law School encourages members of the community—

faculty and staff as well as students—to participate, in their personal capacities, in politics

at all levels.

However, federal law provides that Harvard may not “participate in, or intervene in

(including the publishing or distributing of statements), any political campaign on behalf of

(or in opposition to) any candidate for public office.” This prohibition on Harvard’s direct

and indirect institutional participation in partisan politics is expressed in Sections

501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, as a condition that Harvard must satisfy in order to

preserve and retain its status as a tax-exempt organization. In addition, the Federal

Election Campaign Act (“FECA”) prohibits corporations from making direct and indirect

“contributions” in connection with a campaign or candidate. Contributions include services

and anything of value.

Below is information based on guidance from Harvard’s Office of General Counsel on the

applicability of FECA and Section 501(c)(3) to students’ proposed submission for credit of

pro bono hours and written work relating to political campaign activities. For details

regarding the School's requirements for pro bono legal work, see Section I(M).

1. Pro Bono Credit

Harvard Law School’s current practice, which permits a student to receive credit towards

the School’s pro bono requirement for legal work on campaigns for public office is

reasonable. A student’s time spent volunteering for a political campaign may be credited

toward the Harvard Law School pro bono service requirement under the following

conditions:

a) As set forth in Harvard Law School policy, service on political campaigns should

continue to be one of a broad array of service-related pro bono activities (including

work for nonprofit organizations, charities, NGOs, government entities) from which

students may freely choose.

b) Faculty and staff should take care not to steer students to a campaign as a means of

satisfying the pro bono requirement.

c) Harvard Law School should administer the award of credit in an evenhanded,

politically neutral manner.

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 27 of 122

d) Students, faculty and staff should not use University resources in undertaking the

political activity.

2. Written Work Credit

The question whether Harvard Law School may award academic credit for written work

relating to campaign activity presents more complications because work for academic

credit is typically more likely to involve the use of Harvard resources, including faculty

involvement and assistance. It is one thing for a student to receive writing supervision and

credit for independently pursuing an issue that arose in connection with their campaign

activity; it is another for a student to receive writing supervision and credit for work

conducted for use by a campaign. Awarding of academic credit for written work drawing

on campaign experience is appropriate, but only under the following conditions:

a) A student may receive academic credit for, and faculty may supervise, a writing

project that arises out of campaign-related activities, provided the work is not

directed by, prepared for, or to be submitted to a political campaign or any

individual working with a campaign.

b) All written work submitted for academic credit must comply with the ordinary

terms and conditions Harvard Law School imposes for granting writing credits, as

stated in this Handbook.

c) Faculty and staff should take care not to steer students to a campaign as a means of

obtaining writing credits.

d) Harvard Law School should administer the award of credit for written work in an

evenhanded, politically neutral manner.

Finally, whether Harvard Law School would be viewed as participating indirectly or

directly in a campaign will depend on the facts giving rise to the particular request.

Harvard’s Office of the General Counsel (OGC) will discuss individual requests for guidance

as they are presented. For more information, visit the OGC website.

O. Class Attendance and Participation; Overlapping Class

Times

Class work is essential to the educational program at the Law School. Regular, in-person

attendance at classes and clinics, participation in class and clinic work, and compliance

with rules and norms for classrooms and clinics, are expected of all students. In the case of

substantial delinquency in attendance, unsatisfactory performance of clinic

responsibilities, or failure to comply with classroom or clinic rules and norms, the Law

School may, after written notice, involuntarily withdraw a student from the course or clinic

in question.

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 28 of 122

Students who believe they need to miss classes for an extended period of time must speak

with the Dean of Students who can assist with such situations and can help students

comply with the Law School’s attendance policy and related academic policies. In most

cases, a student’s absence from all of their classes for more than two weeks will be cause

for a leave of absence and administrative withdrawal from all courses. The permissible

period of absence for short courses and winter term courses will be less than two weeks.

Students will not receive credit for courses (including courses taken through cross-

registration), clinics, seminars, or reading groups with meeting times that overlap in whole

or in part. Students must also allow for sufficient travel time between classes. Students

may not make arrangements with faculty members to arrive late or leave early from a class.

Pursuant to the requirements of the law set forth in Chapter 151C, Section 2B of the

Massachusetts General Laws, a copy of this section is printed in full:

Any student in an educational or vocational training institution, other than a religious or

denominational educational or vocational training institution, who is unable, because of his

religious beliefs, to attend classes or to participate in any examination, study, or work

requirement on a particular day shall be excused from any such examination or study or

work requirement, and shall be provided with an opportunity to make up such

examination, study, or work requirement which he may have missed because of such

absence on any particular day; provided, however, that such makeup examination or work

shall not create an unreasonable burden upon such school. No fees of any kind shall be

charged by the institution for making available to the said student such opportunity. No

adverse or prejudicial effects shall result to any student because of their availing

themselves of the provisions of this section.

Students anticipating missing class should consult the Law School’s Class Recording Policy

which is available in Section XII(F).

P. Grades for J.D. Students

1. Honors, Pass, Low Pass, or Fail Grades

All Law School courses, seminars, clinics and written work—with the exception of courses

offered Credit/Fail—will be graded Honors, Pass, Low Pass, or Fail (“H, P, LP, or F”).

2. Dean’s Scholar Prizes

Dean’s Scholar Prizes (represented on the transcript as an H*) may be awarded in

recognition of outstanding work in classes and clinics with seven or more Law School J.D.

and LL.M. students following the add/drop period. Dean’s Scholar Prizes may not be

awarded in courses or clinics graded on a Credit/Fail basis, or for any writing credits and

independent clinics.

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 29 of 122

3. Credit/Fail Grades

a) All reading groups and independent clinics will be graded on a Credit/Fail

basis. Faculty may not award Credit/Fail grades without prior consultation with the

Dean for Academic and Faculty Affairs.

b) All work done at foreign institutions as part of the Law School’s study abroad

programs will be reflected on the student’s transcript on a Credit/Fail basis.

Q. Extensions

1. Extensions are available for required coursework (excluding exams) or papers only

with the approval of the faculty member or instructor, or the Dean of Students in

consultation with the faculty member or instructor in cases of personal or medical

emergency. See Section VIII(B). The due date is established in coordination with

the student and faculty member or instructor, and the Dean of Students office when

appropriate. In order to track the progress of student papers in a course or written

work for which an extension has been given, the Law School uses an “Extension”

(EXT) transcript notation. Students who have an approved extension will receive an

EXT notation on the transcript until the work is completed and graded. EXT

notations must be resolved by no later than the last day of classes of the semester

(fall or spring) that follows the originally scheduled completion of the course or

written work or earlier deadline as set by the faculty member or instructor. If a

student fails to complete the work by that date or to receive a further extension, the

Registrar’s Office generally will withdraw the student from the course or written

work and enter a WD on the transcript However, if failure to complete credits for a

course or written work will result in a student dropping below the semester or year

required credit minimum, the student must complete the work or receive an F

grade.

2. First and second-year J.D. students should note that course, seminar, or writing

credits with EXT notations may not be used to meet any credit requirements in the

following year(s).

3. If a student has an EXT at the end of the academic year, and as a result, has not

completed the minimum number of required credits for the year (see Section I(C),

Section I(D), and Section I(J)), the student will be ineligible for the grade-based

Sears Prize and Morgan and Helen Chu Prizes (both 1L and Upper-Level) and may

not be eligible for clinical student court practice certification.

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 30 of 122

R. Grade Changes

After an instructor has submitted a grade to the Registrar, the instructor may change the

grade only if the grade is incorrect as a result of an arithmetical, administrative, or other

mechanical error. The instructor will determine whether or not the grade is a result of

such an error. The Dean for Academic and Faculty Affairs must approve any grade changes

pursuant to this policy.

An instructor’s grade determination is not subject to review on the merits by the Dean,

Deputy Deans, the Dean of Students, the Registrar, or other administrators. An instructor

may not change a grade based on a reevaluation of a student’s work, except by requesting

and obtaining approval for such change from the faculty.

After degrees are voted and approved by the faculty, grades for graduating students cannot

be changed by an individual faculty for any reason.

Under the circumstances specified in the Standing Policies of the Administrative Board

Concerning Exam Administration a student may be entitled to grading relief for a grade

affected adversely by an administrative irregularity (for example, a failure of exam

software). The procedures for seeking such relief are set out in those Policies. Grade

changes may also be made by the School’s administration as the result of a disciplinary

proceeding against a student.

Questions about grading policies and their application in particular instances can be

directed to the Registrar’s office or the Dean of Student’s office.

S. Completion of Course Evaluations and Grade Release

Course evaluations provide valuable feedback about the curriculum to faculty,

administrators, and students. To encourage submission of evaluations, starting in fall 2019,

students who complete and submit all of their course evaluations in a given term will

receive grades for that term one or more weeks prior to students who do not submit all

course evaluations. This policy does not apply to graduating students in their final term.

T. Graduation with Honors

1. A student who completes the requirements for the J.D. degree with distinction will

receive the degree with one of the following Latin honors: cum laude, magna cum

laude, or summa cum laude.

2. Latin honors at graduation will be based on the average of the three annual grade

point averages (GPA). GPA will be calculated for each year of study and then

averaged across the three years to determine Latin honors.

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 31 of 122

3. (a) The annual GPA will be calculated by assigning the following values to grades:

Honors: 4; Pass: 3; Low Pass: 2; Fail: 0. Dean’s Scholar Prize awards will carry an

additional point.

(b) For all students, in calculating annual GPAs, each grade, including the Dean's

Scholar Prize, is weighted in accordance with the number of credits earned in the

course.

4. The summa cum laude will be determined by the requirement of a 4.75 GPA. The

honor is exact and does not involve "rounding off"; i.e., a GPA of 4.749 does not

result in a degree summa cum laude. If, in a given year, no student earns a GPA of

4.75 or higher, summa cum laude will be awarded to the student (or students in the

case of a tie) with the highest overall GPA.

5. The magna cum laude will be awarded to the next ten percent of the entire class.

6. The cum laude will be awarded to the next 30 percent of the entire class.

7. All students who are tied at the margin of a percentage required for Latin honors

will be deemed to have achieved the required percentage for the appropriate Latin

honors. Students who graduate in November, February or March will be granted

Latin honors to the extent that students with the same GPAs received Latin honors

the previous May.

8. The following are not included in Latin honors calculations for any student:

a) Credit/Fail courses, including study abroad courses.

b) Cross-registration courses.

c) Clinical work or written work done after a student has completed the

maximum credits as noted in Section I(D)(2).

d) Courses taken outside of Harvard Law School through a Law School joint or

coordinated degree program.

e) Courses taken through the Berkeley Exchange Program or the Program for

Third-Year Visits.

f) Grades earned in law school prior to matriculation to Harvard Law School.

g) "Withdrew after Deadline" (WD) notations.

9. Latin Honors Calculation for J.D. Students with Spring Term 2020 Credit/Fail Grades

Because of the Pandemic:

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 32 of 122

The ordinary basis for the award of Latin Honors may be found in Section I(T),

subsections 1-8 of this Handbook. For spring 2020, HLS adopted a mandatory

Credit/Fail grading system due to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic that required the

completion of the school year remotely. The following describes how Latin Honors

calculations will be adjusted in light of the temporary mandatory grading scheme.

For students enrolled as 1Ls in spring 2020, the calculation for the award of Latin

honors at the time of graduation will be a weighted average of the GPA for each of

the three years of study, with a weighting factor of 50% given to the GPA for the 1L

year.

For upper-level J.D. students enrolled in spring 2020, the calculation for the award

of Latin honors at the time of graduation will be a weighted average of the GPA for

each of the years in which HLS grades were received:

a) Full weight will be given to the years in which grades were received in all

terms.

b) The Law School will calculate the overall GPA for Latin honors three different

ways for each student using three different weighting calculations for 2019-

20 in relation to the other years in which HLS grades were received.

c) The three weighted factors will be:

i) 50%;

ii) 60%; and

iii) an individualized percentage for each student, calculated by dividing

the number of graded credits the student completed in 2019-20 that

are included in the calculation of Latin honors in the ordinary course

by the student’s total number of credits in enrolled courses that are or

would have been included in the Latin honors calculation in the

ordinary course.

d) In assessing Latin honors for students who were enrolled for the Spring

Term 2020, students who qualify for honors under any one of the

calculations, regardless of which one, will receive the respective honors

designation associated with their best outcome. In other words, under this

approach, we will calculate GPAs three independent ways, creating three

different GPA pools. Students falling into the top 10% in any of the three

pools will receive magna cum laude honors, and students falling into the next

30% in any of the three pools will receive cum laude honors.

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies 
Page 33 of 122 
U. Satisfactory Academic Progress 
 
1. Minimum Grades for J.D. Students 
a) The minimum grade required for completion of the J.D. credit requirements is a 
grade of Credit in the first-year January Experiential Term course and a grade of 
Low Pass in all other required courses and for the total number of credits required 
for the J.D. degree (see Section I(C), Section I(D), and Section I(J)), with the 
exception of coursework taken outside of the Law School for which the minimum 
grade is a grade of C or its equivalent. 
b) Papers written to satisfy the J.D. Written Work Requirement must receive a grade 
of Low Pass or better with the exception of papers written for courses graded 
Credit/Fail which must receive a grade of Credit. 
2. Minimum Annual Progress for J.D. Students 
 
a)  First Year  
i)  Satisfactory completion of the first-year program—consisting of the required 
1L courses (see Section I(C)(1-3)) and the required upper-level elective 
credits (see Section I(C)(4)) —requires a grade of at least a Low Pass in 
every course, with the exception of the first-year January Experiential Term 
course in which students must receive a grade of Credit. 
ii)  Subject to Section I(U)(2)(f) below and Section I(V), a student receiving a 
grade of Fail in any required course in the first year, in order to maintain 
minimum annual progress, must make up the failed credits in that course 
during their second year by enrolling in and passing a different instance of 
the course or by earning a passing grade on an examination in a different 
instance of the course. 
iii)  Subject to Section I(U)(2)(f) below and Section I(V), a student receiving a 
grade of Fail in the spring upper-level elective course must make up the 
failed credits in that course during the second year by enrolling in and 
passing a different instance of the course, earning a passing grade on an 
examination in a different instance of the same course, or by taking a 
different course in order to maintain their minimum annual progress. 
 
iv)  Credits for retaking a course, passing a different exam in a different instance 
of the same course, or taking a different elective course, in order to complete 
first-year work are not counted for purposes of meeting the minimum credit 
requirements for the second year. 
   

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 34 of 122

b) Second Year

The following minimum requirements must be met:

i) Grades of Low Pass or better in the minimum number of required credits for

the second year of study (see Section I(C), Section I(D), and Section I(J).

Credits for retaking a course or taking a different course in order to make up

failed upper-level credits are counted for this purpose.

ii) Subject to Section I(V), a student receiving a grade of Fail in a second-year

course must make up the failed credits by enrolling in and passing a different

instance of the course, earning a passing grade on an examination in a

different instance of the same course, or taking a different course, and has

the option of not making up the failed credits if the credits are not needed for

the semester or annual minimums.

iii) Special dispensation to continue in the Law School after the second year of

residence without having met these requirements may be granted by the

Administrative Board under such terms as it deems appropriate.

c) Third Year

If the minimum grade requirements for the J.D. degree have not been met after

completing three years of residency (see Section I(U)(1)) the following may be

used to meet the degree requirements:

i) Additional courses may be taken to meet necessary degree requirements.

Degree requirements must be completed within seven years of matriculation.

See Section I(A)(3).

ii) Subject to Section I(V), if a failing grade is the reason for failure to meet the

degree requirements, a student may meet degree requirements by enrolling

in and passing a different instance of the course, earning a passing grade on

an examination in a different instance of the same course, or taking a

different course, or in another manner approved by the Administrative

Board.

d) International and Comparative Law Course Requirement

Subject to Section I(V), a student receiving a grade of Fail in a course taken to

satisfy the International and Comparative Law Course Requirement must make up

the failed credits by enrolling in and passing a different instance of the course,

earning a passing grade on an examination in a different instance of the same

course, or taking a different qualifying international and comparative law course.

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 35 of 122

e) Legal Profession Course (Professional Responsibility Requirement)

Subject to Section I(V), a student receiving a grade of Fail in the required Legal

Profession course must make up the failed credits in that course by enrolling in and

passing a different instance of the course, earning a passing grade on an

examination in a different examination instance of the same course, or taking a

different Legal Profession course in order to meet the School’s Professional

Responsibility Requirement.

f) Negotiation/Leadership Requirement

Subject to Section I(V), a student receiving a grade of Fail in a course or clinic taken

to satisfy the Negotiation/Leadership Requirement must make up the failed credits

by enrolling in and passing a different instance of the course or clinic, earning a

passing grade in a different instance of the same course or clinic, or taking a

different qualifying Negotiation/Leadership course or clinic.

g) Minimum G.P.A./Two or More Failing Grades

Any student receiving a grade point average of lower than a Low Pass average for

any semester, or receiving two or more grades of Fail during any academic year, will

be referred to the Administrative Board. The Administrative Board may decide, in

such a case, that the student has failed to meet academic requirements and/or is

unable to advance to the next year and may place the student on involuntary leave

for unfulfilled academic requirements (see Section X(C)(7)). Students must

maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress in order to remain eligible for federal

student aid consideration. See HLS Policy for Financial Aid Recipients.

V. Retaking Courses, Taking a Different Examination in

the Same Course, and Substitute Work

1. The Registrar, Dean for Academic and Faculty Affairs, Dean of Students and relevant

faculty members will consult to determine whether taking an examination in a

different instance of the same course is the appropriate method for a student to

make up failed credits. The Registrar, Dean for Academic and Faculty Affairs, Dean

of Students and the relevant faculty members may consult a Deputy Dean or the

Chair of the Administrative Board in determining options and appropriate method.

2. If it is determined that a student should retake a course or take an examination in a

different instance of a course, the student will be required to do so at the next

scheduled time the course or examination in question is being offered.

3. The grade for retaking a course or for taking an examination in a different instance

of the same course, or for taking a different course to make up the failed credits, if

higher than the original grade, takes the place of the earlier grade for determining

completion of J.D. degree requirements and minimum annual progress. It does not

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 36 of 122

take the place of the earlier grade for purposes of determining Latin honors (for

which the original grade will be used). Both the original grade and the grade for

retaking the course, for taking an examination in a different instance of the same

course, or for taking a different course to make up the failed credits will be recorded

on the transcript.

4. With the exception noted in Section I(U)(2)(a)(iv), courses retaken and new

courses taken to make up failed credits are included in calculations regarding

compliance with minimum and maximum registration requirements.

5. Special Dispensation: Exceptions from the rules regarding retaking courses, taking

a different examination in the same course, taking a different course and substitute

work may be granted only by the Administrative Board upon a showing of good

cause.

II. Requirements for Graduate Degrees

The following section provides information on the requirements for the LL.M. and S.J.D.

degrees at Harvard Law School. Note that the information in this section relates

specifically to requirements for Harvard Law School degree completion. It does not relate

to qualification for any bar examination or other professional licensing.

A. Master of Laws (LL.M.)

1. LL.M. Residence and Credit Requirements

To qualify for the LL.M. Degree, candidates must fulfill the following requirements:

a) Attendance at Harvard Law School is full-time, in-person for a period of one

academic year, which consists of the fall, winter and spring terms.

i. Students are expected to maintain the minimum credit requirements stated

in Section II(4)(d)(i)]. To be awarded the LL.M. degree, a student must

complete a minimum of 23 credits.

ii. LL.M. students enrolled at the Law School may not be simultaneously

enrolled, either full-time or part-time, in any other school or college either

within Harvard University or at any other institution, unless they are cross-

registered in courses authorized by the Law School.

iii. In accordance with Harvard Law School policy, students may not be

employed for more than 20 hours of work per week during the academic

year while classes are in session.

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 37 of 122

iv. LL.M. students must complete degree requirements for the LL.M. within 36

months of first matriculating at the Law School. A leave of absence will not

extend the period for completing degree requirements.

b) A course of study consisting of a minimum of 23 credits and a maximum of 28

credits (including the one credit assigned for completion of the portion of the Legal

Research, Writing and Analysis course that takes place during LL.M. Orientation):

i) LL.M. degree candidates must register for between nine and 13 credits in the fall

term, between eight and 12 credits in the spring term, and at least two credits in

the winter term. In some cases, different minimums may apply for visa purposes.

ii) LL.M. degree candidates may register for no more than 13 credits in the fall

term, no more than 12 credits in the spring term, and no more than three credits

(from a single offering) in the winter term. These term-specific credit maximums

include the credit(s) for required written work (see Section II(A)(6) below) and

the fall-term credit maximum includes the one credit assigned for completion of

the Legal Research, Writing and Analysis course that takes place during LL.M.

Orientation.

iii) For LL.M. candidates who do not hold a J.D. degree from a law school in the

United States (including Puerto Rico), at least one core course, of at least three

credits, in U.S. law from the following list of designated “primary” courses in U.S.

law: Civil Procedure; Constitutional Law: First Amendment; Constitutional Law:

Separation of Powers, Federalism, and the Fourteenth Amendment; Contracts;

Corporations; Criminal Law; Evidence (only those sections bearing three or

more credits); Family Law; Legislation and Regulation; Property; Separation of

Powers; Taxation; or Torts. The Committee on Graduate Studies will consider

petitions to substitute another substantive course in U.S. law. Petitions will be

considered from students who have significant grounding in U.S. law or in a

substantially similar common law equivalent (as determined by the Committee

on Graduate Studies).

c) The LL.M. Written Work Requirement (see Section II(A)(6) below).

Any questions about academic requirements should be directed to the Graduate Program

Office.

2. Recommended Courses

The Committee on Graduate Studies strongly recommends that each LL.M. candidate also

take at least one course focusing on legal history, legal theory, policy analysis or legal

process. In addition, students who hold a J.D. degree from a school in the United States

(including Puerto Rico), and who are hoping to embark on a law teaching career, are

strongly encouraged to take at least one course that is primarily focused on legal theory or

jurisprudence. Students are invited to consult with the Assistant Dean for the Graduate

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies 
Page 38 of 122 
Program and International Legal Studies or the Director of Administration and Student 
Affairs for the Graduate Program for further discussion of possible course selections in this 
area. 
3. Class Attendance and Participation; Overlapping Class Times 
Class work is essential to the educational program at the Law School. Regular, in-person 
attendance at classes and clinics, participation in class and clinic work, and compliance 
with rules and norms for classrooms and clinics, are expected of all students. In the case of 
substantial delinquency in attendance, unsatisfactory performance of clinic 
responsibilities, or failure to comply with classroom or clinic rules and norms, the Law 
School may, after written notice, involuntarily withdraw a student from the class or clinic 
in question.  
Students who believe they need to miss classes for an extended period of time must speak 
with the Dean of Students, the Assistant Dean for the Graduate Program and International 
Legal Studies, or the Director of Administration and Student Affairs for the Graduate 
Program, who can assist with such situations and can help students comply with the Law 
School’s attendance policy and related academic policies.  In most cases, a student’s 
absence from all of their classes for more than two weeks will be cause for a leave of 
absence and administrative withdrawal from all courses. The permissible period of 
absence for short courses and winter term courses will be less than two weeks.  
Students will not receive credit for courses (including courses taken through cross-
registration), clinics, seminars, or reading groups with meeting times that overlap in whole 
or in part. Students must also allow for sufficient travel time between classes.  Students 
may not make arrangements with faculty members to arrive late or leave early from a class. 
Pursuant to the requirements of the law set forth in Chapter 151C, Section 2B of the 
Massachusetts General Laws, a copy of this section is printed in full: 
Any student in an educational or vocational training institution, other than a religious or 
denominational educational or vocational training institution, who is unable, because of his 
religious beliefs, to attend classes or to participate in any examination, study, or work 
requirement on a particular day shall be excused from any such examination or study or 
work requirement, and shall be provided with an opportunity to make up such 
examination, study, or work requirement which he may have missed because of such 
absence on any particular day; provided, however, that such makeup examination or work 
shall not create an unreasonable burden upon such school. No fees of any kind shall be 
charged by the institution for making available to the said student such opportunity. No 
adverse or prejudicial effects shall result to any student because of their availing 
themselves of the provisions of this section. 
Students anticipating missing class should consult the Law School's Class Recording Policy 
which is available in Section XII(F). 

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 39 of 122

4. Grades for LL.M. Students

a) Honors, Pass, Low Pass, or Fail Grades

All Harvard Law School courses, seminars, clinics and written work—with the

exception of courses offered Credit/Fail (see Section II(A)(4)(c) below) —will be

graded Honors, Pass, Low Pass, or Fail (“H, P, LP or F”).

b) Dean’s Scholar Prizes

Dean’s Scholar Prizes (represented on the transcript as an H*) may be awarded to

LL.M. students in recognition of outstanding work in upper-level classes with seven

or more Harvard Law School J.D. and LL.M. students following the add/drop period.

Dean’s Scholar Prizes may not be awarded in courses graded on a Credit/Fail basis,

or for any writing credits and independent clinics.

c) Credit/Fail Grades

All reading groups and independent clinics will be graded on a Credit/Fail

basis. Faculty may not award Credit/Fail grades without prior consultation with the

Dean for Academic and Faculty Affairs.

d) Minimum Grades; Degree Completion

i) In order to be eligible for the LL.M. degree, LL.M. candidates must complete a

total of at least 23 credits (including course work and written work and

including the one credit assigned for completion of the portion of the Legal

Research, Writing, and Analysis course that takes place during LL.M.

Orientation), graded Low Pass (LP) or higher; of those 23 credits, no fewer

than three must be graded Pass (P) or higher.

ii) LL.M. candidates must earn a minimum grade of Low Pass on the paper

submitted to satisfy the LL.M. Written Work Requirement, assuming they

have met the minimum grade requirements stated in Section II(A)(4)(d)(i)

above.

iii) Students failing to earn minimum grades necessary to meet degree

requirements may be allowed, by decision of the Graduate Committee, to

undertake substitute work, take a different examination in the same course,

or retake courses within the next academic year following the end of the

LL.M. year. All additional work must be completed no later than 12 months

after the end of the year in which the student matriculated in the LL.M.

program. Outside of the foregoing circumstance, however, all work must be

completed within a single academic year consistent with the fact that the

LL.M. is a single academic year degree program.

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 40 of 122

iv) Students who have taken a leave of absence must complete the LL.M. degree

requirements within 36 months of matriculating at the Law School in order

to be eligible for the LL.M. degree. Further information on Leaves and

Withdrawals is found in Section X.

e) Extensions

Extensions are available for required coursework (excluding exams) or papers only

with the approval of the faculty member or instructor, or the Dean of Students in

consultation with the faculty member or instructor in cases of personal or medical

emergency (see Section VIII(B)). The due date is established in coordination with

the student and faculty member or instructor, and the Dean of Students office when

appropriate. In order to track the progress of student papers in a course or written

work for which an extension has been given, the Law School uses an “Extension”

(EXT) transcript notation. Students who have an approved extension on non-exam

related work will receive an EXT notation on the transcript until the work is

completed and graded. EXT notations must be resolved by no later than the last day

of classes of the semester (fall or spring) that follows the originally scheduled

completion of the course or written work or earlier deadline as set by the faculty

member or instructor. If a student fails to complete the work by that date or to

receive a further extension, the Registrar’s Office generally will withdraw them from

the course or written work and enter a WD on the transcript. However, if failure to

complete credits for a course or written work will result in a student dropping

below the semester or year required credit minimum, the student must complete

the work or receive an F grade.

If a student has an EXT at the end of the academic year, and as a result, has not

completed the minimum number of required credits for the year, the student will be

ineligible for the grade-based Morgan and Helen Chu Prize.

f) Grade Changes

After an instructor has submitted a grade to the Registrar (generally through

HELIOS), the instructor may change the grade only if the grade is incorrect as a

result of an arithmetical, administrative, or other mechanical error. The instructor

will determine whether the grade is a result of such an error. The Dean for Academic

and Faculty Affairs must approve any grade changes pursuant to this policy.

An instructor’s grade determination is not subject to review on the merits by the

Dean, Deputy Deans, the Dean of Students, the Registrar, or other administrators. An

instructor may not change a grade based on a reevaluation of a student’s work,

except by requesting and obtaining approval for such change from the faculty.

After degrees are voted and approved by the faculty, grades for graduating students

cannot be changed by an individual faculty for any reason.

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 41 of 122

Under the circumstances specified in the Standing Policies of the Administrative

Board Concerning Exam Administration, a student may be entitled to grading relief

for a grade affected adversely by an administrative irregularity (for example, a

failure of exam software). The procedures for seeking such relief are set out in those

Policies. Grade changes may also be made by the School’s administration as the

result of a disciplinary proceeding against a student.

Questions about grading policies and their application in particular instances can be

directed to the Registrar’s office or the Dean of Student’s office.

5. Completion of Course Evaluations and Grade Release

Course evaluations provide valuable feedback about the curriculum to faculty,

administrators, and students. To encourage submission of evaluations, starting in fall 2019,

students who complete and submit all of their course evaluations in a given term will

receive grades for that term one or more weeks prior to students who do not submit all

course evaluations. This policy does not apply to graduating students in their final term.

6. LL.M. Written Work Requirement

All LL.M. candidates must satisfy the Written Work Requirement for the LL.M. degree. To

fulfill this requirement, LL.M. students must complete a paper that involves independent

reflection, formulation of a sustained argument, and, in many cases, in-depth research. The

paper must be an individual effort: group papers or works of joint authorship do not

qualify. The paper may be written in conjunction with a Law School course or seminar that

already requires a paper that would satisfy the LL.M. Written Work Requirement—

commonly referred to as writing “in conjunction” with a course or seminar—or as an

independent paper supervised by a member of the Law School faculty (including

instructors with Law School teaching appointments). Where a student seeks to write a

paper “in conjunction” with a course or seminar, it must be clear that (i) the course or

seminar already requires a paper that would satisfy the LL.M. Written Work Requirement,

(ii) the proposed paper is not in lieu of an exam or other assignment(s) for the course

(unless such option is specified in the syllabus and is available to all enrollees in the

course), and (iii) the paper is an individual assignment and not part of a group project.

(Note: credits earned through writing in conjunction with a course, seminar, or workshop

are assigned to the same term as the course, seminar, or workshop, or in the case of a

three-credit winter course, to the adjacent spring term.) Where there is no course or

seminar in the field in which a student wants to work, candidates generally will be able to

find a faculty member who will be available to guide research in the particular field.

LL.M. students who hold J.D. degrees from a law school in the U.S. (including Puerto Rico)

must write a 50-page paper (see description below). LL.M. students whose primary law

degrees are from schools other than those in the United States (including Puerto Rico) may

select either of the two options described below.

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 42 of 122

The parameters for paper length and credits earned are as follows:

 25-page paper: one credit if written independently, no credit (beyond the

associated course credit) if written in conjunction with a course that requires a

paper

 50-page paper: two credits if written independently, one credit if written in

conjunction with a course that requires a paper

The requirement cannot be satisfied with a series of shorter papers or journal entries,

works of joint authorship, moot court briefs, or clinical work product. As the foregoing list

of exclusions is not exhaustive, students should confirm with the Graduate Program that

the proposed format meets the LL.M. Written Work Requirement.

Further guidance on the Written Work Requirement is available from the Graduate

Program Office.

Registration deadlines. All LL.M. students must formally register for the Written Work

Requirement. This registration is done through submission of a form that is signed by the

faculty supervisor. The process is more fully described below in 7(f). Students writing the

50-Page Paper, or the 25-Page Paper in the fall term, must register for the paper at the

Graduate Program Office by October 16, 2023, as set forth in Section VII(C). Students

writing the 25-Page Paper in the spring term must register for the paper by February 5,

2024. LL.M. students who fail to register for the LL.M. Written Work Requirement by

February 5, 2024, as set forth in Section VII(C), may be removed from the May 2024

degree list.

7. Additional Rules Relating to the LL.M. Written Work Requirement

The mandatory schedule for registering for, completing, and submitting the LL.M. Written

Work Requirement is set forth in Section VII(C) and Section VIII(C). The following rules

and guidelines also apply to the LL.M. Written Work Requirement:

a) Supervision: Students may ask any Law School faculty member or instructor

with a Law School teaching appointment to supervise written work. Faculty on

certain types of leave may not be available in a given term.

b) Supervision by Visiting Faculty: Writing credits under the supervision of

visiting faculty ordinarily must be registered for and completed during the

term(s) of the visitor’s appointment. Note that many visitors have Law School

appointments for only one term. Students who are contemplating supervision by

visiting faculty for projects that might fall outside of the faculty member's term

of appointment should contact the Graduate Program staff for guidance on this

point.

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 43 of 122

c) Prohibition against Compensation: A student may not receive academic credit

for written work for which they also receive compensation with the exception of

the Graduate Program Summer Academic Fellowship.

d) Multiple Use of Papers: Occasionally students seek to submit one paper for two

or more courses or seminars. In such cases, the paper must be of sufficiently

greater scope or depth to warrant such multiple credit. In order to assure

compliance with this requirement, any student planning to submit the same or

similar written work in more than one academic offering must first get the

approval of the Dean for Academic and Faculty Affairs by submitting a memo

that documents the project plan. The instructors involved should discuss

appropriate ways to make sure that the submitted work meets this greater

burden. This memo must be signed by the instructors for both courses and must

set forth the way in which the paper will meet the added requirement described

in the preceding paragraph.

Once the Dean for Academic and Faculty Affairs approves the project, the memo

must then be submitted to the Office of the Registrar before the student is

accorded the requested credits. This rule applies to submission of work in any

offering whether at the Law School or elsewhere. A student who submits the

same, or substantially the same, work in more than one course without such

prior permission, will be subject to disciplinary action.

e) Human Subjects Research: Law School projects involving human subjects are

reviewed by The Committee on the Use of Human Subjects (CUHS) within the

Office of the Vice Provost for Research (OVPR), which serves as the University-

wide Institutional Review Board (IRB). Students considering projects that fall

under IRB purview, i.e., regulated research with human subjects (including

surveys or interviews) should review the University’s policies on the use of

human subjects in research available on the CUHS Website and discuss their

work with an IRB Administrator at CUHS. Note that students should allow

sufficient time for IRB review; late requests for review may not be

granted. Requests are triaged within CUHS; please email [email protected] or

call (617) 496-2847.

In addition, students whose research involves the collection or storage of human

subject information must establish data security procedures that reflect the

sensitivity of the data and in accordance with the Harvard Research Data

Security Policy. Please contact ITS at [email protected] for additional

information.

f) Registration for Written Work: A student must register for the LL.M. Written

Work Requirement in advance by submitting a LL.M. Written Work Requirement

Registration and Proposal form to the proposed faculty advisor for signature

and, once reviewed and signed, submitting the completed paperwork to the

Graduate Program Office by no later than the published dates set forth

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 44 of 122

in Section VII(C). Details about the proposal will be provided by the Graduate

Program. Faculty members may require additional preliminary information,

such as a discussion of the subject matter, an outline, or a longer description. A

student should submit the Registration and Proposal form to the faculty

member, as well as any other material requested, well in advance of the

published dates set forth in Section VII(C) since faculty members may require

additional preliminary work before accepting a proposal.

g) Submission of Paper to the Library: Once the paper for the LL.M. Written

Work Requirement has been completed and submitted to the faculty supervisor,

a copy of the final paper—in the form submitted to the supervisor for grading--

must be submitted (unbound) to the Graduate Program for deposit with the Law

School Library. At this time, a Library Authorization form must also be signed.

h) Credit Adjustments:

i. An LL.M. student writing the 25-Page Paper may seek to extend the work

to a 50-Page paper provided that (1) the student has the faculty

supervisor's advance approval for the change, (2) the faculty supervisor

confirms that the final paper significantly exceeds the original

parameters in form (at least 25 additional pages) and in substance, (3)

the additional credit would not cause the student to exceed the maximum

credit parameter for the term or the year, (4) approval is confirmed by

the Graduate Program and noted to the Office of the Registrar, and (5) all

such steps are completed by no later than April 13, 2024. The foregoing

is the only circumstance where an additional credit may be considered

and granted.

ii. An LL.M. student who has registered for the 50-Page Paper and whose

writing plans change may reduce the project to a 25-Page paper provided

that (1) the student has the faculty supervisor's advance approval for the

change, (2) the final paper fulfills the narrower scope of a 25-Page paper

in form (no more than 25 pages) and in substance, (3) the credit

reduction would not cause the student to fall below the minimum credit

requirement for the term and the year , (4) the student has not taken

part in the Winter Term Writing Program, (5) approval is confirmed by

the Graduate Program and noted to the Office of the Registrar, and (6) all

such steps are completed by no later than April 13, 2024.

i) Additional writing opportunities for LL.M. students include Optional Written

Work and the Winter Term Writing Program (see Section III(A)). An LL.M.

student may seek no more than one credit for involvement in a moot court brief,

and must submit a narrative describing that student’s individual contributions—

in terms of form and substance—to the final brief. In order to qualify for

academic credit, the writing must be at least 25 pages of the student’s individual

written work. LL.M. students interested in registering for moot court writing

credit should complete the required registration form, along with the narrative

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 45 of 122

description, and submit it for review to the Graduate Program Office. LL.M.

additional writing opportunities are subject to applicable rules related to

political activities outlined in Section I(N).

B. Doctor of Juridical Science (S.J.D.)

To qualify for the S.J.D. degree, candidates must fulfill the following requirements, which

are discussed at length in the Graduate Program Handbook and incorporated by reference

herein.

1. Study Plan

Each S.J.D. candidate must submit an approved study plan, including arrangements for

course work and reading lists, in the first year of candidacy. Candidates must submit drafts

of their study plans to their principal supervisors and orals committee members early in

September of the first year of the program and should discuss with them the desirability of

pursuing specific courses, selected readings, interdisciplinary study, skills enhancement

(e.g., languages, mathematics, statistics), and other academic projects in their specific fields

of study. On the basis of these discussions, must submit a draft study plan to Jane Bestor no

later than October 15, and final draft of the plan approved by all supervisors must be

submitted to the Graduate Program office, for review and approval by the Committee on

Graduate Studies, by January 31 in the first year of study. Upon review, the Committee on

Graduate Studies may request adjustments to the study plan. These adjustments should be

made on the timeline set forth by the Committee on Graduate Studies. Once a plan has

been finalized and filed with the Graduate Program, a candidate must consult with the

Graduate Program before making any changes to a field and/or supervisor (and resubmit

the plan thereafter).

2. First Year in Residence

Candidates must complete the first year of study in residence at the Law School, under the

supervision of a faculty member and an orals committee selected by the candidate and

approved by the Committee on Graduate Studies. The first year of study is spent reading for

fields under the supervision of the candidate's principal supervisor and the orals

committee and completing, ordinarily, at least eight credits of course work (typically on an

audit basis).

a) S.J.D. candidates in the first year must normally complete course work carrying a

minimum of eight credit hours (typically on an audit basis) at the Law School or, if

appropriate, at other departments of the University (in which case the credits are

calculated in accordance with the Law School’s equivalency guidelines).

Arrangements for fulfilling the course work requirement must be set forth in the

Study Plan. Any S.J.D. candidate who does not hold a primary degree in law from a

U.S. law school:

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 46 of 122

i) must complete at least one course in U.S. law during the first year of S.J.D.

studies if not completed during the LL.M. year.

ii) is strongly encouraged to complete at least one course in legal history, legal

process, or legal thought during the first year of S.J.D. studies if not

completed during the LL.M. year.

The content of courses pursued in connection with the fields of study will typically

be examined in the context of the oral (general) examination.

b) Attendance Policy: S.J.D. candidates taking classes on a for-credit basis must

adhere to the class attendance policy set forth above and are subject to the

protections of the Massachusetts law set forth therein.

c) Grades: All Harvard Law School courses, seminars, clinics and written work—with

the exception of courses offered Credit/Fail—will be graded Honors, Pass, Low Pass,

or Fail (“H, P, LP or F”). S.J.D. students must receive a minimum grade of P in any

course taken for credit. Grades of LP or F are not passing grades for the S.J.D.

degree.

3. Oral Examination

Candidates must successfully complete an oral (general) examination in each of the fields

of study outlined in the study plan. Candidates must sit for the S.J.D. oral (general)

examination in their fields of study during the first or second year of study, and in any

event by no later than March 31 of the second year. The examination must be completed

before starting work on the dissertation. Each student and their principal supervisor will

agree on a target month (no later than the deadline set out earlier in this paragraph) for

completion of the oral (general) examination at the time the student develops their study

plan.

4. Prospectus

By December 15 of the third year of study, candidates must complete and submit to the

Graduate Program a written prospectus, of between 2,000 and 3,500 words of text (with no

more than an additional 1,000 words in footnotes). The prospectus should be developed in

conjunction with the principal supervisor and other members of the orals committee, and

must have the written approval of the principal supervisor before submission to the

Graduate Program. Please refer to the Graduate Program Handbook for details about the

content of the prospectus.

5. Presentations at the S.J.D. Colloquium

Twice during the program, S.J.D. candidates are required to present their dissertation work

at the S.J.D. Colloquium. The first presentation at the S.J.D. Colloquium will be scheduled

after the prospectus is submitted, and must be completed by April 30 of the third year

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 47 of 122

(though candidates wishing to complete the program in four years should plan to complete

this requirement well before this deadline). The second presentation must be completed at

least six months prior to the expected graduation date and may take place up to 12 months

prior to the intended graduation date (preferably well before the dissertation is finalized

for submission so that the student can still benefit from feedback given at the Colloquium).

Attendance at the S.J.D. Colloquium is mandatory for all in-residence S.J.D. students.

6. Submission and Acceptance of the Doctoral Dissertation

Important: Please refer to the Graduate Program Handbook for detailed information

regarding deadlines and degree dates.

S.J.D. candidates should generally expect to complete and submit their dissertation within

three years of passing the oral examination. Dissertations based on substantial fieldwork or

archival research, however, may take longer to complete.

A candidate’s dissertation should make a substantial contribution to the existing

scholarship in its chosen area. It will do so most commonly (a) by formulating a research

problem that probes some aspect of the conceptual framework for thinking about an issue

and investigating the problem systematically from this angle to construct an original

argument, or (b) by developing a new approach to addressing a recognized and significant

problem and showing how understanding of its dimensions is advanced by this

methodology. The claim the dissertation advances should be clear and the supporting

arguments should be well structured and appropriately referenced. A dissertation that

merely surveys, catalogs, or compiles relevant literature, legislation, case material or the

ideas of others will not satisfy the standard.

Prohibited Submissions: Commissioned studies, committee reports, writings of joint

authorship, and academic work, papers, or dissertations written in or submitted as part of

another degree program or academic requirement at another academic institution will not

be accepted in fulfillment of the dissertation requirement. Academic work, papers, or

dissertations written in or submitted as part of another degree program or academic

requirement at Harvard will not be accepted in fulfillment of the dissertation requirement

without permission from the Graduate Committee (and the corresponding department or

program, as applicable).

Form of Dissertation: Depending on the nature of the project, the dissertation may be in

the form of (a) a monograph; or (b) multiple essays connected with a comprehensive

synthetic essay that draws on and establishes a general thesis supported by the other

essays. Projects that are historically, sociologically, or philosophically oriented are

generally best served by a monographic form, but in other cases a series of related essays

may be acceptable with the approval of the Graduate Committee.

Permission and Requirements for Multiple Essay Submissions: To request permission

to submit a dissertation in the form of multiple essays, candidates must submit a petition

for the Graduate Committee’s review. The petition should be incorporated in, or submitted

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 48 of 122

together with, the prospectus. If a candidate with a project originally envisioned as a

monograph later decides to petition for approval of a multiple-essay submission, the

candidate may submit a “late petition” at that time, but in no event less than one year

before the candidate’s intended graduation date. Petitions submitted within a year prior to

graduation will not be accepted.

Note: Inclusion of essays submitted for publication prior to the supervisor’s approval of the

prospectus is strongly discouraged.

Petition for Multiple-Essay Dissertation: Whether submitted with the prospectus or

thereafter, a petition for a multiple-essay dissertation must:

 set forth the substance of the dissertation project as a whole

 explain why, in light of the nature and focus of the dissertation project and the norm

for dissertations in the relevant discipline, a multiple-essay format is more

appropriate than a monograph

 acknowledge the requirement to include a comprehensive synthetic essay that

draws on and establishes a general thesis supported by the other essays

 set forth the general thesis of the synthetic essay

 specify the details of publication and provide applicable citations for any of the

essays that have been published or submitted for publication (as noted above,

inclusion of essays submitted for publication prior to the supervisor’s approval of

the prospectus is strongly discouraged)

 be accompanied by a statement from the candidate’s principal supervisor

(a) supporting the multiple-essay format in light of the norm for dissertations in the

relevant discipline; and (b) if applicable, providing a justification for inclusion of any

essay submitted for publication prior to the supervisor’s approval of the prospectus,

which is strongly discouraged

A Late Petition must also set forth in detail the substance of the synthetic essay (or the

candidate may submit a draft of the synthetic essay).

Note: While such requests – when presented in a timely manner and in compliance with

the above specifications – are generally granted, candidates should not assume that

requests for multiple-essay submissions are automatically granted.

7. Oral Defense of the Dissertation

Following completion of the dissertation, and in accordance with information on degree

deadlines described in the Graduate Program Handbook, each candidate must pass an oral

defense examination on the dissertation as a whole. The examination is to be given by a

dissertation defense committee, as specified in the Graduate Program Handbook. A report

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 49 of 122

on the defense must be completed and signed by each member of the defense committee

and submitted to the Graduate Program by the relevant due date, also as specified in the

Graduate Program Handbook.

8. Submission of Dissertation to the Library

Once the dissertation defense committee gives final approval to the dissertation and

corrections, if any, are made, two unbound copies printed on acid-free paper must be

submitted (unbound) to the Graduate Program for deposit with the Law School Library. At

this time, a Library Authorization form must also be signed.

As noted above, detailed specifications for each of the preceding S.J.D. degree requirements

and other relevant information, including the content of the prospectus and dissertation

completion deadlines, are provided in the Graduate Program Handbook.

III. Additional Academic Opportunities

(J.D. and Graduate Programs)

A. Additional Written Work Opportunities

1. Optional Written Work

In addition to the Written Work Requirement for each degree, upper-level and graduate

students have the option of doing additional written work for credit. With the agreement of

the instructor, a student may do such optional written work for additional credit in

conjunction with a Law School seminar or course, or on an independent basis with Law

School faculty supervision. These are excellent opportunities for pursuing topics in depth,

for exploring issues beyond the formal curriculum, for developing publishable scholarship,

and for tailoring the law school experience to the student’s personal interests.

a) Credits: J.D. student optional written work may receive one or more writing credits

and is expected to be of the same scope as a paper written to fulfill Option 1 of the

J.D. Written Work Requirement that receives the same number of credits (see

Section I(L)(1)). LL.M. student optional written work may receive one or two

writing credits and is expected to meet the standards for LL.M. Required Written

work in form (at least 25 pages of the student’s individual written work, for one

credit) and in substance. The number of credits granted for a particular piece of

writing must be arranged in advance between the student and the faculty

supervisor. Rules relating to supervision and registration of optional written work

are the same as those for Option 1 work.

b) Registration for Optional Written Work: (see also Section VII and Section VIII):

J.D. students must register for Optional Written Work by submitting the required

registration form and proposal to the faculty supervisor for approval and then to the

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 50 of 122

Office of the Registrar by the second Friday in October for fall term, by the second

Friday in November for winter term, and by the second Friday in February for

spring term. Forms are available in hard copy in the Office of the Registrar and

online. LL.M. students who pursue Optional Written Work must register for such

work by submitting the required registration form and proposal to the faculty

supervisor for approval and then to the Graduate Program Office by October 16,

2023 for fall term and by February 5, 2024 for spring term. Forms are available in

hard copy in the Graduate Program Office and online.

c) Research Assistant or Teaching Fellow Work for Credit: Law School faculty

members and instructors with a Law School teaching appointment have the

discretion to give a student written work credit for writing done as a research

assistant or teaching fellow, subject to the following conditions (see also Section

I(L)(1) and Section II(A)(6)):

i) In order to qualify for academic credit, the work must engage students in

academic work with sufficient intellectual content and be equivalent in scope

to work that would qualify for optional independent written work credit.

Research assistant and teaching fellow work that does not qualify for

academic credit includes cite-checking and compilations or summaries of

data without analysis.

ii) In no case may a student receive academic credit for research assistant or

teaching fellow work that is also compensated.

iii) To register for Research Assistant or Teaching Fellow Work for Credit, please

complete the required registration form and submit it to the Office of the

Registrar, for J.D. students, or the Graduate Program Office, for LL.M.

students.

d) J.D. students should consult the Office of the Registrar with questions about

optional written work or Research Assistant or Teaching Fellow work for Credit.

e) LL.M. students must consult with the Director of Administration and Student

Affairs for the Graduate Program before undertaking optional written work or

Research Assistant or Teaching Fellow work for Credit.

2. Winter Term Writing Program

Participants in the Winter Term Writing Program (WWP) devote the winter term

exclusively to the intensive research and/or writing of a paper under the supervision of a

Law School faculty member or an instructor with a Harvard Law School teaching

appointment. Participation in the WWP requires registration for Option 1 of the J.D.

Written Work Requirement or Optional Written Work of at least two and no more than

three credits, or for LL.M. students, a 50-Page paper—written independently of a course or

seminar—with the credits assigned to the Winter Term. Participation in the program is in

lieu of taking a Law School course for the winter term, and to meet the minimum residency

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 51 of 122

requirement, the research/writing done during the term must be toward the completion of

a single writing project with a minimum of two credits.

a) J.D. Students

J.D. participation in the WWP, with the credits registered into the Winter Term, will

satisfy Option 1 of the Written Work Requirement if the requirement has not been

previously satisfied.

b) J.D. Students – Special Considerations

i) Option 2 of the J.D. Written Work Requirement does not qualify for the WWP.

ii) Written work for which J.D. students registered in a previous academic year

is not eligible for the WWP in the current year.

iii) Credits for WWP projects are registered into the Winter Term only.

iv) Students participating in the WWP must spend the winter term in

Cambridge, working on the relevant paper unless the nature of their research

requires them to travel.

v) Students should note that taking the WWP instead of a winter course

eliminates the winter term as a source of Law School classroom credits.

Third-year students considering the WWP in lieu of a winter course should

first check their upper-level credits against Harvard Law School degree

requirements to confirm that they will meet the required upper level 36 Law

School classroom credit minimum set forth in Section I(D).

c) LL.M. Students

Students who have registered for a single written work project worth at least two

credits, such as the LL.M. 50-Page Paper written independently of a course, are

eligible to apply for the WWP. LL.M. students who are accepted to the WWP must

spend the winter term in Cambridge, working exclusively on the relevant paper.

d) Application and Registration Process

The WWP registration forms for J.D. students and application forms for LL.M.

students are available online and in hard copy at the Office of the Registrar and in

the Graduate Program Office respectively. See Section VII for more information

about registration and Section VIII for submission deadlines for papers written as

part of the Winter Term Writing Program.

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 52 of 122

B. Clinical Legal Education

1. Overview

Clinics offer students the opportunity to use the analytical, negotiation, and problem-

solving skills they have learned in the classroom to assist clients and/or to develop policy

while receiving academic credit under the supervision of experienced attorneys in a wide

variety of settings. Students can enroll for clinical credit in one of the “in-house” clinics that

are permanently staffed by Law School attorneys, who are experienced in teaching and

supervising students. Students can also enroll for clinical credit in one of the “externship”

clinics, where students are placed at outside agencies or organizations, subject to visa

regulations where applicable. With the permission of a specific clinic and the Office of

Clinical and Pro Bono Programs, students may continue work on a clinic in subsequent

semesters and earn Advanced Clinical credits.

Students interested in a special area of the law not offered through existing clinics may

propose a new clinical placement through the Independent Clinical Program, which

requires pre-approval by the Office of Clinical and Pro Bono Programs, supervision by a

licensed attorney, and sponsorship by a Harvard Law School faculty member.

Remote independent clinical placements can be a strong practice experience for many

students, particularly if the greater Boston legal market does not support certain practice

areas. However, after several semesters of supporting students in remote placements, it is

clear that a certain set of parameters is necessary to ensure an educational and satisfying

work environment. Given this, remote independent clinical placements are only permitted

in a narrow set of circumstances.

Remote independent clinical work is not permitted in the winter term. During winter term,

students must work in person at their placement organizations. Remote work is permitted

in the fall and spring semesters only when the placement organization is operating

completely or primarily remotely, meaning the attorneys are working remotely all the time

or remotely at least 3 or more days a week. Working remotely means the attorneys at the

organization are primarily working from home or another location outside the office versus

working in the office or engaging in in-person legal practice off-site (e.g., representing a

client at the courthouse). Even if the organization advertises remote student positions,

students cannot work remotely if the attorneys are primarily working in person three or

more days a week. Students who have already worked in-person with an organization for

at least three weeks (e.g., during a summer internship or winter term) may apply for a

remote independent clinical over fall or spring term, even if the organization is primarily

in-person. Additional information about the Independent Clinical Program and the full

remote work policy can be found here.

Clinical work is a serious commitment that requires the dedication of a significant amount

of time including substantial hours during the work week. Students should consult with the

Office of Clinical and Pro Bono Programs to find out more about clinical programs or a

specific clinic.

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies 
Page 53 of 122 
Participation in most clinics will satisfy the Pro Bono Requirement.  For more information 
about the Pro Bono Requirement, see Section I(M). 
2. Requirements for Clinical Credits 
a)  Any student seeking to receive academic clinical credit for legal practice work or a 
legal externship must do so in coordination with the Office of Clinical and Pro Bono 
Programs. 
b)  Clinical work must be legal work and involve direct legal advocacy or 
representation, application or interpretation of law, formulation of legal policy, or 
drafting of legislation or regulations.  Clinical work should not be clerical. 
c)  All clinical work must be supervised by an attorney licensed in the relevant 
jurisdiction. 
d)  Clinic students are required to adhere to rules of ethics and professional 
responsibility as set by individual clinics, and follow technology policies set by 
clinics in conjunction with ITS. 
e)  All clinics must have a classroom component with the exception of Independent 
Clinical projects and Advanced Clinical credits.  Independent Clinics and Advanced 
Clinics do not satisfy the J.D. experiential learning requirement (see Section I(F)). 
f)  Work on political campaigns is not eligible for clinical credit, but may count toward 
the pro bono requirement if it meets certain criteria (see Section I(M), Section 
I(N), and Section III(B)(5) below). 
g)  Students must have successfully completed their first year of law school to enroll in 
a clinic. 
h)  Independent clinical work is graded Credit/Fail and capped at two clinical credits 
for the winter term, and three clinical credits for the fall or spring terms. 
i)  A student may not receive academic credit for any clinical work for which they also 
receive compensation. 
j)  Credits awarded for in-house and externship clinics will count toward the 
experiential learning requirement. Credits awarded for clinical courses that are 
limited to students enrolled in the corresponding clinic may also be counted toward 
the experiential learning requirement. Independent clinics, advanced clinics, and 
seminars with only some students enrolled in the corresponding clinic do not count 
towards the experiential learning requirement. See Section I(F). 
k)  Credits awarded for clinical courses that satisfy the experiential learning 
requirement (see Section I(F)), the professional responsibility requirement (see 
Section I(G)), and the written work requirement (see Section I(L)) may be counted 
towards toward one but not more than one of these requirements. 

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 54 of 122

Please refer to the website of the Office of Clinical and Pro Bono Programs for more

detailed information about receiving clinical credits.

3. Enrollment and Credits

Table 3: Clinical Credits

Term

Clinical Credits

Hours per Week

Hours per Term

Fall or Spring

144

192

240

Winter*

Full-Time

*Winter term clinical work concludes on the last day of final winter exams and excludes the

MLK holiday, unless the clinical placement is open on the holiday. Full-time hours are

determined by the placement organization.

a) Upper-level students may enroll in only one clinic per term. Students may earn a

maximum of five clinical credits for their work in a clinic during the Fall or Spring

term and a maximum of two clinical credits for their work in a clinic during the

Winter Term. Students may enroll in a maximum of 16 clinical credits in total during

their 2L and 3L years. See Section I(D)(2)(d).

b) Students seeking to enroll in the same clinic for a subsequent semester of advanced

clinical work may do so with the permission of the clinic and the Office of Clinical

and Pro Bono Programs.

c) Students earn classroom credits for the classroom component of their clinics and

clinical credits for the practice component. Students with questions about these

policies should contact the Office of Clinical and Pro Bono Programs. (LL.M. students

also should consult with the Graduate Program Office for additional clinical credit

policies.)

4. International J.D. Students in Clinics

International J.D. students should consult with the Office of Clinical and Pro Bono

Programs for information on which clinical opportunities are available to them.

International J.D. students on F-1 visas are eligible to participate in all in-house clinics.

Externship clinics require Curricular Practical Training (CPT). Students are required to

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies 
Page 55 of 122 
work with the Office of Clinical and Pro Bono Programs and the Harvard International 
Office to secure CPT authorization. F-1 students are not eligible to participate in domestic 
independent clinical projects or advanced clinicals with externship placements, because 
these opportunities are not eligible for CPT authorization. 
 
Please contact the Office of Clinical and Pro Bono Programs with any questions about this 
process.  
5. Opportunities for Student Practice 
Harvard Law School seeks to ensure that students are given ample opportunities to gain 
hands-on, practical legal experience during their time at Harvard Law School. Harvard Law 
School offers the largest number of in-house clinics and externship programs in the 
country. In addition, Harvard Law School also provides in-house supervision for a broad 
range of pro bono opportunities through the Student Practice Organizations (SPOs). 
Students who are not in approved SPOs and clinics shall not form student organizations 
with the intent of engaging in law practice. 
Harvard Law School offers several carefully designed options for students to engage in 
legal practice, all of which train students to be competent, effective and ethical lawyers 
while providing the supervision necessary for effective pedagogy and compliance with 
relevant statutes and rules governing the practice of law. 
a)  Students can engage in legal work in the following ways: 
i)  Working within an established Harvard Law School clinic or externship. See 
Clinical Programs. 
ii)  Working within an approved Harvard Law School student practice 
organization (“SPO”). Student Practice organizations are student-run with 
supervising attorneys to assist and guide students. See Student Practice 
Organizations. 
iii)  Working within an approved independent clinical placement. See 
Independent Clinical Program. 
iv)  Working on an individual basis for Harvard Law School pro bono credit 
under the direct supervision of a licensed attorney at a law firm or legal 
organization or a Harvard Law School faculty member who is licensed to 
practice in the relevant jurisdiction. See For Attorneys and Supervisors. 
In addition to the methods stated above, students can: 
i)  Earn writing credit for detailed legal research and policy analysis under the 
supervision of a faculty member. Independent written work projects take a 
wide range of forms, from law review articles to drafting proposed statutes 
to writing policy papers to advising public officials or private entities. Those 

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 56 of 122

projects may also include various sorts of public policy analysis, historical

research, and empirical work so long as they include the completion of an

appropriate written work product. See Section I(L). Written work for

academic credit may not constitute the practice of law. Questions should be

directed to the Office of Clinical and Pro Bono Programs.

ii) Students may also gain practice experience under the supervision of outside

attorneys by volunteering individually on a non-credit basis for those

attorneys, but shall not in any way hold themselves out as doing so as part of

a Harvard Law School student group or under the Harvard Law School name.

In these circumstances, it is the responsibility of the student and the

supervising attorney to ensure compliance with all work eligibility

requirements and professional obligations.

b) Harvard Law School student organizations that are not approved SPOs shall not

under any circumstances engage in the practice of law in any form. Disregard for

this policy will subject the student organization to dissolution procedures.

i) Only approved SPOs and clinics (where an in-house attorney supervisor is

provided through a clinic or a stand-alone SPO) may seek out or accept

projects that constitute legal practice or otherwise practice law using the

Harvard name.

ii) Student organizations may present conferences, panels, and other events and

bring in speakers. Members of such organizations may of course talk

generally with others about their practice experiences as long as they comply

with professional rules governing client confidences.

iii) Creating a new SPO or clinic requires an investment of resources to hire

supervising attorney(s), provide space, and ensure data security and client

confidentiality. Students are encouraged to work within existing clinics and

SPOs. Funding to start an SPO or a new clinic comes from the Law School

budget and not through the student funding board or the Dean of Students

Office. Such requests are weighed against on-going requests to support

existing clinics and SPOs. Please contact the Office of Clinical and Pro Bono

Programs for more information.

c) Standards of professional behavior for law students.

As current (for some LL.M. students) and future practicing lawyers, law students

have standards of professional behavior and responsibilities. Please be advised that

every state, including the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, has statutes and rules

that prohibit the “unauthorized practice of law.” (See, e.g., Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 221

§41; Mass. Rules of Professional Conduct, Rule 5.5)

The practice of law is broadly defined and can include providing advice, in addition

to direct representation. Just as one must get a license to practice medicine, one

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 57 of 122

must be admitted to the bar in a particular state to be able to practice law. Law

students are permitted to do legal work for clients as long as the student is working

as an individual supervised by an attorney admitted to practice law in the relevant

jurisdiction and that attorney takes responsibility for the legal work. Engaging in the

unauthorized practice of law may result in criminal penalties, including fines and

imprisonment. See Massachusetts Conveyancers Ass’n, Inc. v. Colonial Title & Escrow,

Inc., 2001 WL 669280 (Mass.Super. 2001) (whether a particular activity constitutes

the practice of law is fact specific); Matter of Shoe Manufacturers Protective

Association, 295 Mass. 369, 372 (1936).

Harvard Law School students are required to comply with rules regarding the

practice of law and the Law School’s policies regarding engagement in the practice

of law while enrolled at the Law School. These rules ensure proper supervision and

compliance with applicable legal requirements. Violation of the rules on the

unauthorized practice of law may result in disciplinary proceedings before the

Administrative Board and may interfere with eligibility for admission to the bar.

C. Cross-Registration

1. Cross-Registration from Harvard Law School

a) Overview: Cross-registration for Harvard Law School students extends to all

Harvard schools with the exception of the Division of Continuing Education

(Harvard Extension School). Law School students also may cross-register at M.I.T.

and the Fletcher School at Tufts University. Students are responsible for knowing

the cross-registration policies and procedures of the Law School and of the school

offering the course. Cross-registration must be completed by published deadlines at

the beginning of the semester in which the course is offered and by the dates posted

in the Law School Cross-Registration Calendar. A cross-registration petition may not

be filed later in the year and operate retroactively. Students interested in cross-

registering should submit petitions through my.Harvard.edu. Individual school

courses and cross-registration policies and dates are available under the Cross

Registration and Enrollment Dates tab of the Harvard University Course Catalog.

b) Requirements: A student must be a currently registered, full-time student of

Harvard Law School in order to cross-register. Any upper-level J.D. and LL.M.

student may cross-register for courses according to these terms:

i) Upper-level J.D. students need to carry at least eight Harvard Law School

credits of classroom, clinical, or written work, of which no fewer than four

are law classroom and/or clinical credits per semester in order to be eligible

to cross-register. See Section I(D). Students are required when cross-

registering to meet the Law School fall and spring semester residency

minimum of 10 credits, which will include the cross-registration credits

converted to Harvard Law School credits.

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 58 of 122

ii) LL.M. students may apply to cross-register for graduate-level courses related

to a program of law study at any of the schools specified in the Overview

section above. To do so, LL.M. students must seek approval from the Director

of Administration and Student Affairs for the Graduate Program through the

cross-registration petition process; cross-registration may be completed only

after such approval has been granted. No law school credit is awarded for

language, field, or studio courses, or for courses not reasonably related to a

program of law study.

iii) Only those S.J.D. students who are in the first year of the S.J.D. program and

who are eligible to take courses for credit are able to cross-register for credit.

Where both conditions have been met, S.J.D. students should consult with

their faculty supervisors before starting the cross-registration process.

c) Process and Approval: It is important to note that host school faculty approval

does not guarantee enrollment in the course. If the faculty member approves, the

student’s request will be forwarded to the host school’s Registrar’s Office. The host

school’s Registrar’s Office will enroll the student if appropriate given the school’s

policies for cross-registration. Students who plan to cross-register for a course

should maintain a full schedule of Law School course credits until courses requested

through cross-registration are confirmed. Following confirmation, cross-registering

students will be permitted to drop a course at HLS without penalty, provided that

the student does so immediately following host school confirmation.

d) Credits: Harvard Law School allows up to 12 credits of cross-registration toward

the J.D. degree and up to six credits of eligible cross-registration toward the LL.M.

degree. J.D. students may enroll in up to six credits of cross-registration per

semester. The number of credits for a course will be assigned by the Law School

Registrar’s Office in accordance with ABA standards. For J.D. students, studio and

field courses are generally limited to two credits and credits awarded for language

courses are limited to three credits (thus, in both situations, credits awarded may

not reflect true in-class hours). “Intensive” language courses (in which a full-year’s

worth of instruction takes place in one semester) may receive up to four credits.

LL.M. students do not receive degree credit for language courses, studio courses,

field courses, or courses not reasonably related to a program of law study.

e) Course Scheduling, Content, and, Grades: The content of a cross-registered

course may not duplicate or overlap course work taken previously or

contemporaneously. The meeting time of the cross-registered course may not

overlap with, or abut, the meeting time of courses on the student’s Law School

schedule, and students must allow for sufficient travel time between schools.

Students may not make arrangements with faculty members to arrive late or leave

early from a class.

Grades awarded by the school offering the cross-registered course are the grades of

record for the Law School transcript. Credits earned in cross-registered courses

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 59 of 122

generally count toward Harvard Law School degree requirements; however, the

grades do not count in Latin honors calculations for J.D. students.

Most schools do not allow graduate or cross-registered students to take courses

pass/fail. Students may not negotiate pass/fail grading separately with faculty, and

any offer of pass/fail grading from the course instructor will be verified by the Law

School Registrar’s Office. Any questions regarding the grading policies of a school

should be directed to the respective Registrar’s Office.

f) Academic Work, Examinations: The Harvard schools generally operate on the

same academic calendar. However, schools continue to offer individualized course

and exam schedules that affect daily class times, add/drop deadlines, exams, and

credits. All academic work for a cross-registered course must be completed in the

term in which the course is taken. Students should review the course and exam

schedule of each school into which they plan to cross-register. Students are

responsible for taking the examination(s) in a cross-registered course when

scheduled by the school offering the course. Requests to defer examinations in any

course, including cross-registered courses, will not be granted except as specified in

the Law School's Deferred Examination Policy. See Section IV(B). In addition, the

examination policies and procedures of the school offering the course must be

observed.

Note: Degree candidates should plan carefully to complete all academic work and

exams in cross-registered courses on schedule to avoid delay in receipt of final

grades that may jeopardize clearance for Harvard Law School graduation.

g) Cross-Registration Deadlines: Harvard Law School students should follow the

deadlines listed on the Law School Cross-Registration Calendar. Note that students

are responsible for notifying the Harvard Law School Registrar’s office of any

dropped cross-registration courses by the appropriate deadline. Failure to do so

may result in a “Withdrew after Deadline (WD)” notation on a student’s transcript.

More detailed information about cross-registration for Law School students is

available on the HLS Cross-Registration webpage or from the Office of the Registrar.

2. Cross-Registration into Harvard Law School

Cross-registration into the Law School is open to all Harvard University students, with the

exception of students from the Division of Continuing Education (Harvard Extension

School), and to graduate students of M.I.T. and the Fletcher School at Tufts University.

Students cross-registering into Harvard Law School from other schools should consult with

their home school Registrar’s Office in advance of submitting a petition to take a Law

School course. For the duration of the course taken through cross-registration, a student

must be registered at their home school and remain in good standing at both the home

school and at the Law School. Students interested in cross-registering into the Law School

should submit petitions through my.Harvard.edu.

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 60 of 122

Cross-registrants into the Law School are allowed to take up to six credits or two courses at

the Law School in an academic year, audits included. Most Law School courses expect

students to have a basic understanding of legal vocabulary and the legal system. Students

must get permission from the instructor to cross-register and should discuss their

qualifications for a course/seminar in detail and in advance with the instructor. Even with

permission, cross-registrants are not guaranteed enrollment in a class until the Law School

Registrar’s Office has given its approval, which will be in part dependent on available seats.

Cross-registration must be completed at the beginning of the semester in which the course

is offered and by the dates posted in the Law School Cross-Registration Calendar. A petition

may not be filed later in the year and operate retroactively. There is no cross-registration

into the first-year basic courses in Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Contracts, Criminal

Law, Legislation and Regulation, Property, and Torts, or into the 1L January Experiential

Term courses, First-Year Legal Research and Writing, or courses satisfying the Law

School’s professional responsibility requirement. All cross-registration placements are

determined by the Law School Registrar’s Office. Students may not make arrangements

outside the Registrar’s Office with a Harvard Law School instructor to cross-register for or

audit a course or regarding grades or credit for academic work.

All academic work must be completed in the term in which cross-registration is taken and

by Law School deadlines. All examinations must be taken as specified in the Harvard Law

School examination schedule. No adjustments will be made, and Harvard Law School does

not give make-up examinations. All Law School courses and written work will be graded

Honors, Pass, Low Pass, or Fail ("H, P, LP, or F") (or Credit/Fail in approved courses) for all

students, including cross-registrants. Dean’s Scholar Prizes may be awarded in recognition

of outstanding work in classes with seven or more Harvard Law School J.D. and LL.M.

students following the add/drop period. Except in courses so designated, Credit/Fail

grading is not an option and may not be arranged separately with the instructor.

D. Auditing a Harvard Law School Course

Only Harvard University affiliates are permitted to audit Harvard Law School classes. HU

affiliates interested in auditing a Harvard Law School course (excluding first-year required

courses) must submit an audit request form to the Office of the Registrar. The form

requires the signature of the instructor of the course. The form will be held in the

Registrar’s Office until the end of the drop/add period. If it is determined that space is

available in the course (there is no HLS waitlist or the waitlist has been cleared and cross-

registrants have been admitted) qualifying auditors will be notified that they may attend

the course and will be added to the course Canvas page. At the conclusion of the term,

auditors will be removed from the course Canvas page; this does not apply for S.J.D.

auditors who will remain. At the discretion of the faculty member, potential qualifying

auditors may continue to sit in the course (provided a physical seat is available) until an

official decision is made by the Registrar. Any audit request which is denied will be

communicated back to the faculty member. The audited course will not appear on the

transcript. Auditors will not be provided a transcript or any other record of having audited

a course.

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 61 of 122

If multiple qualifying students and/or other qualifying HU affiliates request to audit the

same course and there is not space to seat them all, the audit requests will be processed by

first reviewing requests from Law School students, second from other Law School affiliates,

and third from elsewhere within the University.

E. Joint, Coordinated, and Concurrent Degree

Opportunities for J.D. Students

1. Joint Degree Programs

The Law School offers the following formal Joint Degree Programs with other Harvard

Schools:

a) J.D./M.B.A. with the Harvard Business School

b) J.D./M.P.H. with the Harvard School of Public Health

c) J.D./M.P.P. and J.D./M.P.A. in International Development with the Harvard Kennedy

School

d) J.D./M.U.P. with the Harvard Graduate School of Design

The Law School also offers a Joint Degree Program with the University of Cambridge, U.K.

leading to a Harvard J.D. and Cambridge LL.M. For more information about this program

and other international opportunities see Section III(F).

2. Coordinated J.D./Ph.D. Program

The Law School, in conjunction with the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at Harvard

(GSAS), offers a coordinated degree program leading to the J.D. and the Ph.D. degrees. Law

students enrolled in this program are subject to the relevant rules and policies established

by the Law School and by GSAS. Such rules and policies are available online and from the

Office of the Registrar. Students should direct questions about the School’s J.D./Ph.D.

program to the Associate Director of Academic Affairs. Questions relating to Ph.D.

admissions and other policies of GSAS should be addressed directly to the relevant GSAS

administrator or Ph.D. department faculty member.

3. Concurrent Degrees

a) Students may propose concurrent degrees with any Harvard school with which the

Law School does not offer a joint degree program. Students proposing concurrent

degrees with such Harvard schools, the Fletcher School at Tufts University, or M.I.T.

may cross-register into courses at the other school and count those credits—

pursuant to the Law School's cross-registration policy (see Section III(C)) – toward

the Law School's J.D. requirements.

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 62 of 122

b) Students may also propose concurrent degrees with other institutions, and may take

leave from the Law School to pursue studies at the other school. However, credits

earned at the other school may not count toward the J.D. requirements. Students

may not be simultaneously enrolled in the Law School and another degree-granting

institution as part of a concurrent degree program except through cross-registration

from Harvard Law School to other Harvard Schools, Tufts, or M.I.T.

c) All students must comply with the Harvard Law School academic requirements and

residency requirements as defined in Section J.

Further information about joint, coordinated, and concurrent degree opportunities at the

Law School is available from the Associate Director of Academic Affairs.

4. Rules and Policies

Law students enrolled in these degree programs are subject to all relevant rules and

policies established by the Law School and by the other degree-granting school. Summaries

of such rules and policies, including academic or residency requirements available online

and from the Office of the Registrar. For questions about the joint J.D. and master degree

programs, and the J.D./Ph.D. coordinated program, contact the Associate Director of

Academic Affairs. Questions relating to admissions, degree requirements, and other

policies of the second degree-granting school should be addressed directly to the relevant

administrator or faculty member at that school.

F. J.D. Studies at Other Schools

1. Study Abroad for J.D. Students

Harvard Law School offers three types of opportunities for J.D. students to earn credit for

course work at a foreign law school:

a) A semester abroad at one of the institutions with which Harvard Law School has

signed formal exchange agreements. These agreements provide a designated

number of places for Harvard Law School J.D. students. The list of participating

schools currently includes law programs at: University of Sydney (Australia);

Fundação Getulio Vargas (Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, Brazil); University of Chile

(Santiago, Chile); Renmin University (Beijing, China); Sciences Po (Paris, France);

University of Tokyo (Japan); Seoul National University (Korea); University of Geneva

(Switzerland), and the Geneva Graduate Institute (Switzerland).

b) An independent semester abroad at an institution selected by the student and

approved by the School's Study Abroad Committee.

c) A joint J.D./LL.M. program in which students who are not enrolled in another joint

degree program are able to earn both a Harvard J.D. and an LL.M. from the

University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom in three-and-one-half years.

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies 
Page 63 of 122 
d)  For further details and information about eligibility, application deadlines, and 
program requirements about these study abroad programs, contact the Director of 
International Legal Studies. 
e)  Upon completion of the study abroad program, students must provide official final 
transcripts to the Director of International Legal Studies for the purpose of 
translating credits earned during the program accordingly.  NOTE:  Students 
participating in a study abroad program may not be eligible for graduation until the 
official final transcript is received and credits are converted accordingly and 
recorded on the student’s Harvard Law School record. 
2. Berkeley Exchange Program for J.D. Students 
A limited number of J.D. students are permitted to participate in an exchange program at 
University of California, Berkeley School of Law during their third year for credit toward 
the Harvard J.D. degree. Applications are due on the date specified in the Deadlines for 
Applying to Special Programs in Section IX. Interested students should consult the Dean of 
Students. 
3. Visits at Other Law Schools 
In a limited number of cases, J.D. students may be permitted to spend a semester or a year 
at another approved law school with like programs on the basis of significant academic 
need or serious personal hardship. “Serious personal hardship” is generally limited to 
unforeseen emergencies relating to personal or family circumstances. Living apart from a 
spouse or significant other does not, in and of itself, constitute a circumstance of this kind. 
Applications must be submitted by the date specified in the Deadlines for Applying to 
Special Programs in Section IX. Interested students should consult the Dean of Students. 
4. Coordinating Approved Studies at Other Schools 
Students who are approved to visit at other law schools must coordinate with the Office of 
the Registrar to provide proof of acceptance into the host school they will be attending, a 
copy of their proposed course schedule, and, upon completing course registration, a copy of 
their final course schedule.  In addition, students are required to provide a final transcript 
from the host school. For study abroad programs, students should coordinate with the 
Director of International Legal Studies in the International Legal Studies Office. 
IV. Examinations 
 
A. General Examination Policy 
Law School examinations are administered using the School's exam software unless: (1) 
the format of the exam makes it impossible to use the software or (2) an exception for an 
individual student has been approved by the Dean of Students Office as part of a disability-

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies 
Page 64 of 122 
related accommodation. The Law School’s Administrative Board implements the School’s 
rules regarding exams and, from time to time, promulgates standing policies for how it will 
handle exam matters. Students should familiarize themselves with the Standing Policies of 
the Administrative Board Concerning Exam Administration, which are subject to 
change. All students are responsible for reviewing these policies and following the 
examination rules and regulations posted with the examination schedules and for 
reviewing all emails sent by the Registrars’ Office regarding exams and exam instructions. 
For upper-level exams, please note some may be scheduled on back-to-back days. Students 
are expected to reference the exam schedule when selecting classes. For cross-listed 
courses, the exam administration policies of the School administering the exam apply. 
Law School examinations are anonymous, and self-identification of any kind is not 
permitted. Students should not put their name, class year, program, school, or any personal 
comments that might identify them anywhere on their exam materials. Self-identification 
may result in disallowance of the exam, a failing grade for the course, and referral to the 
Administrative Board for possible disciplinary action. To preserve student anonymity, 
individual faculty members do not have the authority to make exceptions to rules related to 
exam arrangements and must not be consulted, through email or otherwise, about needed 
alternative exam arrangements before, during or after an exam, until after grades for the 
course are released. Students who violate this prohibition on faculty contact may be subject 
to disciplinary procedures in accordance with the Standing Policies of the Administrative 
Board Concerning Exam Administration. 
All examinations must be taken and, when completed, submitted on the dates and at the 
times designated on the official exam schedule published by the Office of the Registrar. 
Exceptions to this schedule are made only in extraordinary circumstances as detailed in 
Section IV(B) and only with the prior approval of the Dean of Students or the Registrar as 
appropriate. Students who arrive late to a scheduled in-class exam after the official start 
time of the exam will be considered late and treated as such according to the Standing 
Policies of the Administrative Board Concerning Exam Administration. Sanctions for late 
exams may include notations on the student’s transcript and adjustments to the exam 
grade and/or final course grade in addition to the disciplinary sanctions provided for by 
the procedures of the Administrative Board (see Section XI). Students who fail to appear 
for, or complete, their exams may be placed on involuntary leave in accordance with 
Section X(C). 
Students should not delete any exam files until after final grades are posted. 
B. Deferred Examination Policy 
All students are responsible for familiarizing themselves with the deferred examination 
policy. Below are the guidelines for deferred examinations as established by the 
Administrative Board. 
1.  Deferred examination requests will NOT be granted for the following reasons: 

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 65 of 122

a) Employment reasons

b) Bar review courses

c) Conflicts with a class at another school.

d) Exams that are scheduled within a short time period, except as explained below

in Section IV(B)(2).

e) Medical problems that do not seriously interfere with immediate pre-exam

preparation or the student’s ability to take the exam on the scheduled exam day.

f) Airline flights and travel schedules, vacation, and social plans; students are

expected to plan their travel/vacation/social plans accordingly.

Note: The Administrative Board does not approve deferment for research

opportunities, clinical experiences (other than as described in Section IV(B)(2)(a)(iii)

below, school-sponsored trips or classes.

2. Deferred examination requests may be granted in limited circumstances as

explained below:

a) To request deferment under the following circumstances (Sections

IV(B)(2)(a)(i-v) below), students should submit a letter or email to the Office of

the Registrar at least two weeks prior to the exam, giving the reason, name of

exam, and exam date appearing on the exam schedule. Students should not

communicate with faculty prior to the exam period regarding need for an exam

deferral as this will jeopardize anonymity and is a violation of the School’s exam

policies.

i) Where a student has two Harvard Law School examinations scheduled on

the same day, one exam will be deferred by one business day.

ii) Where a student has three Harvard Law School examinations scheduled

during the exam period on three consecutive days, the exam scheduled on

the third day will be deferred by one business day.

iii) Religious observance conflict. A student who cannot take an exam at the

time scheduled for religious reasons will be allowed to take it at a

different time as arranged by the Office of the Registrar.

iv) Unavoidable conflicts with court hearings or other administrative

proceedings connected to the Clinical Programs. The student must

exhaust all means of avoiding the conflict by attempting to reschedule the

hearing or attempting to arrange coverage of the hearing by another

qualified student or attorney.

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 66 of 122

v) Conflicts with an exam in a cross-registered course (e.g., Harvard

Kennedy School, Harvard Business School); on a showing that the other

school will not move the exam, the Law School exam will be deferred.

b) To request deferment under the following circumstances (Sections

IV(B)(2)(b)(i-vi) below), students should contact the Dean of Students:

i) Illness of Student: Documentation of illness must be provided for review

by the Dean of Students Office or Accessibility Services. Documentation

can be provided by the student’s personal doctor or by visiting Harvard

University Health Services (HUHS). In cases of medical deferment, the

student will be required to take the exam as soon as the student is

medically able to according to the doctor’s assessment, and in accordance

with HLS’s exam administration schedule.

ii) Death or serious illness of a person in the immediate family or other

person with whom the student has a similarly close relationship, which

requires the student’s attention away from the Law School during the

exam period.

iii) Personal emergency that interferes with an exam or immediate pre-exam

preparation.

iv) Delivery of child that interferes with an exam or immediate pre-exam

preparation (applies to either parent).

v) Unavoidable military commitment.

vi) Educational opportunities that are deemed extraordinary by the

Administrative Board, such as participation as a speaker in a conference

or paper presentation outside of the Cambridge area.

3. Procedure for requesting a deferred examination

a) Requests to defer exams under 2(b) as outlined above must be made to the Dean

of Students Office as soon as the student is aware of a potential scheduling

problem, no later than two weeks prior to the first scheduled exam, except in

emergencies that arise closer to the date of the exam.

b) In order to protect the security of the exam, individual exams are never moved

to an earlier date; rescheduling is made to the earliest time possible after the

exam was scheduled to take place. Exams will not be deferred beyond the exam

period except under extraordinary circumstances as deemed appropriate by the

Dean of Students Office.

c) Exams are deferred only as long as necessary to minimize the conflict or

alleviate the reason for deferment. Exams will not be deferred for a longer

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 67 of 122

period, even if this creates an inconvenience for the student based on other

plans. Under no circumstances will exams be deferred for a period longer than

ten business days beyond the close of the exam period for the term or beyond

the grading deadline for graduating students. Certain exams are not published in

the Law School’s exam archive and require high security; these exams will be

given only at Harvard Law School under proctored conditions.

d) Deferments based on medical reasons must always be processed through the

Dean of Students Office, as described above. An exam will be deferred only if

HUHS or a personal doctor certifies it necessary for medical reasons. In cases

where matters may be facilitated by direct discussion between HUHS and the

Dean of Students Office or Accessibility Services the student should sign a

release in the HUHS giving their permission for such discussion to take place,

and the student should be informed in advance of the content of such

communication. A release is required whether for verbal or written

communication in these instances. All exam deferral requests are considered on

a case-by-case basis taking into account a clinician’s recommendation, and HLS

exam policies.

4. Disability or Medically-related Accommodations

Special arrangements to take exams with disability-related accommodations, may be

made in the case of disability or serious medical circumstances, with advance

consultation with Accessibility Services. Information about registering for disability-

related accommodations can be found at the Dean of Students Office Student Support

webpage.

C. Retaking an Examination

See Sections I(V) and II(A)(4)(d)(iii).

V. Academic Honesty

Students are expected to abide by the highest standards of honesty and originality in their

academic work and related communications and representations. See also the Statement of

the Administrative Board Concerning Sanctions for Academic Honesty.

A. Violation of Examination Rules; Dishonesty in

Examinations

No student is permitted to use any books, notes, papers, or electronic devices during an in-

class examination except with the express permission of the instructor. Sharing of study

materials, exchange of information, collaboration or communication of any kind during an

in-class examination is not permitted and unless otherwise stated clearly in the

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 68 of 122

examination instructions, is not permitted during a take-home examination. The Law

School’s Administrative Board implements the School’s rules regarding exams and, from

time to time, it may issue policies about how it will do so (See Section IV(A)). For violation

of the examination rules or dishonesty in an examination, a student is subject to

disciplinary action.

B. Preparation of Papers and Other Work—Plagiarism

and Collaboration

All work submitted by a student for any academic or nonacademic exercise is expected to

be the student’s own work. In the preparation of their work, students should always take

great care to distinguish their own ideas and knowledge from information derived from

sources. The term “sources” includes not only published or computer-accessed primary

and secondary material, but also information and opinions gained directly from other

people.

The responsibility for learning the proper forms of citation lies with the individual student.

Quotations must be properly placed within quotation marks and must be fully cited. In

addition, all paraphrased material must be completely acknowledged. Whenever ideas or

facts are derived from a student’s reading and research, the sources must be indicated. In

order to understand the requirement of and process for acknowledging all sources,

students should familiarize themselves with the information in the Harvard Guide to Using

Sources.

The amount of collaboration with others that is permitted in the completion of work can

vary, depending upon the policy set by the instructor or the supervisor of a particular

exercise. Students should assume that collaboration in the completion of work is

prohibited, unless explicitly permitted, and students should acknowledge any collaboration

and its extent in all submitted work.

The use of artificial intelligence, including ChatGPT and other generative artificial

intelligence tools, in:

 preparing to write, or writing, academic work for courses (including papers and

reaction papers);

 preparing to write, or writing, exams; or

 participating or engaging in other academic activities or assessments, written, or

otherwise,

is prohibited unless expressly identified in writing by the instructor as an appropriate

resource for the academic work or exam in the instructor’s course. If not expressly

identified in writing by the instructor, any use of AI will be considered academic dishonesty

and not the student’s own work and will be subject to disciplinary action.

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 69 of 122

Students who are in any doubt about the preparation of their work should consult the

appropriate instructor, supervisor, or administrator before it is prepared or submitted.

Students who submit work without clear attribution of all sources, even if inadvertently,

will be subject to disciplinary action.

C. Multiple Use of Papers

See Section I(L)(8) and Section II(A)(7)(d).

VI. Registration Schedule and Course

Change Deadlines

A. Registration Overview

Students are responsible for knowing and meeting all Law School check-in, registration,

and course change deadlines as set forth throughout Section VI.

B. Check-in

1. Check-in Process and Administrative Clearance

All students are required to check in online using HELIOS at the start of the academic year

in order to provide updated Emergency, Local and Permanent directory

information. Failure to submit updated information or complete mandatory training such

as Title IX training for entering students by the applicable deadline may result in a web

hold on all registration functions including add/drop and waitlist processing.

Note that in addition to online check-in through HELIOS, all LL.M. and first-year S.J.D.

students are required to complete certain mandatory administrative clearance procedures

in person before they can register as Harvard Law School degree candidates. The Graduate

Program provides further information about this process to LL.M. and first-year S.J.D.

students prior to their arrival. All continuing S.J.D students who have received a financial

aid award package must also obtain financial clearance from the Graduate Program prior to

the start of the academic year.

2. Check-in Dates and Administrative Clearance Dates

a) All J.D. students HELIOS check-in: Begins on August 7, 2023 and must be completed

by August 22, 2023.

b) New LL.M. students HELIOS check-in: Begins on August 7, 2023 and must be

completed by August 22, 2023. Administrative Clearance for LL.M students: Begins

on August 14, 2023 and must be completed by August 22, 2023.

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 70 of 122

c) New S.J.D. students in-person administrative clearance: By appointment only

[email protected]; must be completed by September 5, 2023.

d) Continuing S.J.D. students HELIOS check-in: Begins on August 7, 2023 and must be

completed by September 5, 2023; continuing S.J.D. students are notified by email

regarding the nature and timing of their administrative clearance requirements.

Students will not be allowed to check in late or to conduct Administrative Clearance late

unless they first obtain permission from the Dean of Students, for J.D. students, or the

Graduate Program, for LL.M. and S.J.D. students.

3. Certification

Students will be required to submit certain certifications as part of the online check-in

process.

C. Course and Clinic Registration Periods

1. First-year J.D.: Students are assigned, according to their section, to the required 1L

courses. First-year J.D. students register during the fall term for the required 1L

January Experiential Term and for a spring upper-level elective.

2. Second- and third-year J.D.: Students register for fall term electives, all multi-

section offerings, and all clinics in the prior spring, and usually register for winter

and spring electives during the fall.

3. LL.M.: Students register for all courses during the summer, preceding the start of

the academic year.

4. Any student who does not register during the appointed registration periods must

wait until the beginning of the relevant add/drop period to add, drop, and wait-list

courses and clinics.

Specific course and clinic registration periods are established each year by the

Registrar.

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 71 of 122

D. Course Add/Drop Deadlines

Table 4: Course Add/Drop Deadlines

Term

Add/Drop Deadline

Fall, Fall/Winter and Year-long

September 11, 2023

Winter and Winter/Spring

January 2, 2024

Spring

January 26, 2024

Certain courses have earlier add/drop deadlines than those listed above. Students should

consult the course descriptions in the Harvard Law School course catalog for information

about earlier deadlines.

E. Course Withdrawal Deadlines

1. A student withdrawing from a course, seminar, or reading group after the last day of

the course add/drop period for the term will be considered to have withdrawn after

the deadline, and the course, seminar, or reading group will be listed on their

transcript with a “Withdrew after Deadline” (WD) notation. Withdrawing from a

course or written work will not be permitted if it results in a student dropping

below the semester or year required credit minimums, unless the student can enroll

in other credits to meet those requirements. Students who do not withdraw before

the last day of the relevant course (or before receipt of an exam in a class with a last-

class-take-home) will need to complete the course for a grade.

2. Exceptions to the withdrawal policy are available only for a compelling reason such

as illness or unforeseen circumstances. Students should contact the Office of the

Registrar to request an exception to this policy.

3. See also Section I(N) and Section II(A)(3) regarding class attendance and

involuntary withdrawals.

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 72 of 122

F. Clinic Add/Drop Deadlines

Table 5: Clinic Add/Drop Deadlines

Term

Add/Drop Deadline

Fall, Fall-Winter, Fall-Spring

Clinics

August 18, 2023

Winter, Winter-Spring Clinics

November 17, 2023

Spring Clinics

December 8, 2023

1. Clinic add/drop deadlines are earlier than most course add/drop deadlines. In

addition, some clinics have even earlier add/drop deadlines than those listed above.

Students should consult the clinic descriptions in the Harvard Law School course

catalog for specific add/drop deadlines.

2. The Office of Clinical and Pro Bono Programs (OCP) oversees add/drop deadlines

for clinics. Clinics go to great lengths to prepare projects and coordinate with

potential clients. Clinics depend on enrolled students to take on this work, and

therefore require that students finalize their participation earlier than is required

for non-clinical courses.

3. All clinics must be taken in conjunction with a relevant course. The three ways in

which students enroll in the classroom component of a clinic are:

a) Course and clinic enrollment are bundled together. The class and the clinic

are added and dropped together, and share the same add/drop deadline. E.g.,

Transactional Law Clinics and the Transactional Law Clinical Workshop.

b) Course and clinic enrollment are separate. Students must enroll in the course

on their own through HELIOS; the course is not automatically linked with the

clinical placement. Adding or dropping the clinic does not affect course

enrollment. A student who is unable to enroll in the course by the clinic

add/drop deadline forfeits their clinic enrollment. E.g., either Sports Law:

Advanced Contract Drafting or Sports and the Law: Examining the Legal

History and Evolution of America's Three "Major League" Sports: MLB, NFL

and NBA and the Sports Law Clinic.

c) Course and clinic enrollment are separate, but the course has reserved seats

for clinic students. Students who receive a seat in the course due to their

clinic enrollment and drop the clinic must also drop the course. E.g., Capital

Punishment Clinic and Capital Punishment in America.

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 73 of 122

d) Students must work with OCP to finalize their clinic and/or clinical course

enrollments. Students who are unresponsive to OCP emails or other

communications related to registration and enrollment requirements may,

after written warning, have their clinical enrollment terminated.

G. Clinic Withdrawal Deadlines

1. A student withdrawing from a clinic after the last day of the clinic add/drop period

for the term will be considered to have withdrawn after the deadline, and the clinic

will be listed on their transcript with a “Withdrew after Deadline” (WD) notation.

Drop deadlines for clinics that span multiple semesters or multiple years occur

during the first semester of clinic participation (e.g. a Fall-Winter clinic has a Fall

drop deadline for both the Fall term and Winter term).

2. Exceptions to the withdrawal policy are available only in exceptional circumstances.

Students must contact the Office of Clinical and Pro Bono Programs to request an

exception to this policy.

3. See also Section I(O) and Section II(A)(3) regarding class and clinic attendance

and participation and involuntary withdrawals.

H. Course and Clinic Waitlists

Once the maximum enrollment for a course or clinic has been reached, enrollment is closed

and a waitlist is formed. Admittance into a waitlisted course or clinic during waitlist

processing is strictly in order of the waitlist. Students who are offered a place in a course or

clinic from the waitlist will be notified by email and must formally accept within the

specified time frame to be officially admitted into the course or clinic. Note: clinic waitlist

processing closes earlier than non-clinic waitlist processing.

For more information about enrollment in courses, please contact the Office of the

Registrar. For more information about enrollment in clinics, please contact the Office of

Clinical and Pro Bono Programs.

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 74 of 122

VII. Written Work Registration Deadlines

For additional information about written work, see Section I(L), Section II(A)(6), and

Section III(A).

A. Summary of Written Work Registration Deadlines

Table 6: Written Work Registration Deadlines (see below for important details)

Type of Writing

Registration/Application Deadline

Option 1 of the J.D. Written Work

Requirement

Optional Written Work

Fall term: second Friday in October (2Ls and 3Ls)

Spring term: second Friday in February (all J.D. students)

Option 2 of the J.D. Written Work

Requirement

February 1 of 3L year or the following business day if February 1 falls

on a weekend (all J.D. students)

LL.M. Written Work Requirement

Optional Written Work

Fall term: October 16, 2023 (all 50-page papers and fall-term 25-page

papers)

Spring Term: February 5, 2024 (spring-term 25-page papers)

Winter Term Writing Registration

for J.D. Students and Application

for LL.M. Students

Second Friday in November (2Ls and 3Ls)

November 13, 2023 (LL.M.s)

Additional Credit for Written

Work

Fall term: second Friday in October (2Ls and 3Ls)

Winter and Spring term: second Friday in April (all students)

Written Work for Upper-Level J.D.

and LL.M. Writing Groups

Fall/Winter and Fall/Spring Writing Groups have earlier deadlines for

submitting written work registration forms. Please visit the Upper-

Level J.D. and LL.M. Writing Groups webpage for deadlines for

registering written work for writing groups.

Absent express permission, no academic work, including examinations, papers in lieu of

exams, optional written work, seminar papers, exercises or journals, papers written in

satisfaction of the J.D. Written Work Requirement or the LL.M. Written Work Requirement

or revisions thereto, may be submitted for degree credit after the final deadlines specified

above. Such permission will be granted only with the permission of the instructor and in

consultation with the Registrar and Dean of Students in cases where:

1. The delay in submission of the work was caused by a serious personal or medical

emergency;

2. The delay will not prejudice the evaluation of the work by the instructor; and

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 75 of 122

3. The delay will not prejudice the preparation of the final degree list, including

awards, by the Office of the Registrar.

(See Section XII(O)) regarding graduation and payment of outstanding student account

charges.)

B. Registration for the J.D. Written Work Requirement

1. Option 1

a) The Option 1 Written Work Registration Form with the faculty supervisor’s

signature and attached proposal must be submitted to the Office of the Registrar by

the following dates:

 Fall Term: second Friday in October (upper-level J.D. students)

 Winter Term: second Friday in November (upper-level J.D. students)

 Spring Term: second Friday in February (all J.D. students)

b) Students should present their proposals to the faculty supervisor for approval well

in advance of these deadlines as faculty members may require additional

preliminary work before accepting a proposal.

2. Option 2

a) The Option 2 Written Work Registration Form with the appropriate signatures must

be submitted to the Office of the Registrar by the following dates:

 Third-year students: First Friday in February.

 First- and second-year students: First Friday in February of the 3L year

b) Verification signatures are needed as follows for Option 2 registration:

i) Law school course or seminar papers: No verification signature needed.

ii) Clinical Writing: The following verification signatures are needed for clinical

work:

 In-house clinics: Harvard Law School Clinical Faculty Director

 Externship Placements: Harvard Law School Faculty/Lecturer on Law

Clinic Director and Direct Clinical Supervisor

iii) Moot Court Briefs:

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 76 of 122

 Ames - Board of Student Advisors

 Other - Faculty Supervisor of the Moot Court Competition Team

iv) Law Journal Writing: Journal Editor-in-Chief

v) Non-traditional Legal Writing: Faculty Supervisor

C. Registration for the LL.M. Written Work Requirement

(Note: Students must seek approval well in advance of the dates below, as faculty members

may require additional preliminary work before accepting a proposal.)

1. LL.M. student deadline for submitting faculty-approved registration proposal and

form to the Graduate Program Office for 50-Page Papers and fall term 25-Page

Papers: October 16, 2023.

2. Deadline for submitting faculty-approved registration proposal and form to the

Graduate Program Office for spring term 25-Page Papers: February 5, 2024.

3. Final deadline for all LL.M. written work registration: February 5, 2024. LL.M.

students who fail to register for the LL.M. Written Work Requirement by February 5,

2024 may be removed from the May 2024 degree list.

4. Deadline for changes to Required Written Work registration (per the conditions in

Section II(A)(7)(f)): April 12, 2024.

D. Mandatory Registration for the Written Work

Requirement

J.D. degree candidates who fail to register for the J.D. Written Work Requirement by the

first Friday of February may be removed from the May 2024 degree list. LL.M. degree

candidates who fail to register for the LL.M. Written Work Requirement by February 5,

2024 may be removed from the May 2024 degree list.

E. Registration for Optional Written Work

To register for Optional Written Work, including Research Assistant Work for Credit (see

Section III(A)(1)(c)), students must submit the Written Work Registration Forms, signed

by the Law School faculty supervisor with the proposal attached, by the deadlines listed

below. J.D. students should file the completed form with the Office of the Registrar, and

LL.M. students should file the completed form with the Graduate Program Office. The

deadlines for 2023-24 are:

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 77 of 122

 Fall term: second Friday in October (J.D. students). October 16, 2023 (LL.M.

students).

 Winter term: second Friday in November (J.D. students only).

 Spring Term: second Friday in February (J.D. students). February 5, 2024 (LL.M.

students).

F. Application and Registration for the Winter Term

Writing Program

To register for the Winter Term Writing Program (WWP), J.D. students should indicate on

the registration form that they are registering for WWP and wish to have the credits for the

paper registered into the Winter Term.

1. Registration deadline for J.D. students: second Friday in November.

2. Application deadlines for LL.M. students:

 Applications available from Graduate Program Office: October 13, 2023

 Application deadline: November 13, 2023

 Applicants notified of results: early December 2023

G. Additional Credit for J.D. Written Work

J.D. students who have approval for additional credit for a paper for which they have

already registered should notify the Office of the Registrar by:

 Fall term: second Friday in October (2Ls and 3Ls)

 Winter and Spring term: second Friday in April

H. Registration for Written Work for Upper-Level J.D.

and LL.M. Writing Groups

Fall/Winter and Fall/Spring Writing Groups have earlier deadlines for submitting written

work registration forms. For these offerings, please refer to the Upper-Level J.D. and LL.M.

Writing Groups webpage for written work registration deadlines.

All Written Work Registration Forms are available in hard copy in the Office of the

Registrar.

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 78 of 122

VIII. Deadlines for Submission of Law

School Work

A. Submission Deadlines for Academic Work

Table 7: Summary of Submission Deadlines for Academic Work (see below for

important details)

Type of Work

Submission Deadline

Academic Work in Courses, Seminars and Reading

Groups

Last day of exams in the relevant term or earlier

date as set by instructor

 Option 1 of J.D. Written Work Requirement

 LL.M. Written Work Requirement

 Optional Written Work

 Winter Term Writing

April 19, 2024 (last day of classes)

Option 2 of the J.D. Written Work Requirement

Varies depending on type of writing (no later than

April 19, 2024

Final Deadlines for Degree Candidates

(see Section VIII(B), Section VIII(C), and Section X).

November degrees: October 2, 2023

February degrees: December 15, 2023

March degrees: January 19, 2024

May Degrees: May 10, 2024

Note: These deadlines apply for all students both degree and non-degree unless the faculty

member sets an earlier date.

B. Submission Deadlines for Academic Work in Courses,

Seminars, & Reading Groups

All academic work (other than exams) required by the instructor, including papers for a

course or seminar, papers done in lieu of an exam, and clinical writing must be submitted

by the last day of the examination period of the term in which the relevant offering is given

or by the deadline required by the instructor, whichever comes first. In the rare case of an

extenuating circumstance, as approved by the Dean of Students, an extension of up to ten

business days beyond the regularly scheduled exam period may be granted for the

completion of deferred exams.

Extensions are available for such required non-exam coursework or papers only with the

approval of the faculty member or the Dean of Students in consultation with the faculty

member, and only in accordance with the guidelines set out in the section entitled

“Extensions” in Section I(Q) (for J.D. students) and Section II(A)(4)(e) (for LL.M.

students).

Students who have an approved extension on non-exam related work will receive an EXT

notation on the transcript until the work is completed and graded. EXT notations must be

resolved by no later than the last day of classes of the semester (fall or spring) that follows

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 79 of 122

the originally scheduled completion of the course or written work or earlier deadline as set

by the faculty member. If a student fails to complete the work by that date or to receive a

further extension, the Registrar’s Office generally will withdraw them from the course or

written work and enter a WD on the transcript. However, if failure to complete credits for a

course or written work will result in a student dropping below the semester or year

required credit minimum, the student must complete the work or receive an F grade.

C. Submission Deadlines for Option 1 of the J.D. Written

Work Requirement; LL.M. Written Work Requirement;

Optional Written Work; Winter Term Writing Program

1. Deadline for All Students

Absent earlier deadlines set by the student's faculty supervisor, all submissions for Option

1 of the J.D. Written Work Requirement, the LL.M. Written Work Requirement, Optional

Written Work, and the Winter Term Writing Program are due on April 19, 2024.

2. Extensions for May Degree Candidates (J.D. and LL.M.)

Individual instructors, upon advising the Registrar (for J.D. Students) or the Graduate

Committee (for LL.M. students) in writing that they believe that a satisfactory project can

be completed and that there will be sufficient opportunity to evaluate the paper, may grant

extensions after April 19, 2024 up until the final deadline of May 10, 2024 (see Section

VIII).

3. Extensions for 1Ls and 2Ls

a) Students may request an extension of one term beyond the term in which the non-

exam paper is due. With an extension, the work will be due on the last day of classes

of the following term.

b) Students with an approved extension will receive an EXT on the transcript for the

writing credits and, if applicable, any course or seminar credits in conjunction with

the paper, until the work is completed and graded (see Section I(O)). In the absence

of an EXT notation or a course/paper grade, a WD will be entered on a student’s

transcript. However, if failure to complete credits for a course or written work will

result in a student dropping below the semester or year required credit minimum,

the student must complete the work or receive an F grade.

D. Submission Deadlines for Option 2 of the J.D. Written

Work Requirement

See Sections VIII(B) and VIII(C) for submission deadlines for course or seminar papers,

clinical writing, and optional written work. For all other types of Option 2 writing including

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 80 of 122

moot court briefs and law journal pieces the submission deadlines will vary depending on

the needs of the organization, but must be submitted by the last day of classes of the

relevant academic year.

IX. Deadlines for Applying to Special

Programs

A. Joint and Concurrent Degree and Study Abroad

Deadlines

Students interested in applying for joint or concurrent degrees or semester abroad should

consult the individual program materials for applicable deadlines.

B. Berkeley Exchange Program

Application deadline: the second Friday in February of the student’s 2L year. The

acceptance deadline for HLS students to commit to the Berkeley Exchange Program is June

15.

C. Program for Visits at Other Law Schools

Application deadline: the second Friday in February of the year prior to the proposed visit,

except in extraordinary circumstances. The acceptance deadline for HLS students to

commit to the approved program is June 15.

X. Leaves and Withdrawals

A leave of absence is a period of non-enrollment at Harvard Law School. Students on leave

are not considered to be working toward their Law School degree. Students who do not

return from leave and are not granted an extension of leave will be considered to have

withdrawn from the Law School. See Section X(E).

Students considering a leave should consult the rules regarding admission to the bar for

the jurisdiction in which they plan to practice regarding the affect the leave(s) of absence

will have on their eligibility to take the bar exam.

A. Voluntary Leave of Absence

Students who wish to interrupt their studies at any time before graduation may request a

leave of absence. Requests for a leave of absence may be granted by the Dean of

Students in consultation with other officers of the University, as appropriate. With respect

to a voluntary leave of absence for medical reasons, the Dean of Students ordinarily will

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies 
Page 81 of 122 
consult with Harvard University Health Services (which may consider information from the 
student’s current and/or former health care providers, if made available by the student).    
 
B. Requesting a Leave  
 
1.  To request a voluntary leave of absence, J.D.  and LL.M.  students must complete 
the Leave of Absence Request form which is available online and in hard copy in 
the Dean of Students Office, the Student Financial Services Office, and the Office of 
the Registrar.  
 
2.  To request a voluntary medical leave of absence, J.D. and LL.M. students must 
contact the Dean of Students in order to discuss the requested leave. When 
requesting medical leave, students must provide a letter from a treating licensed 
clinician supporting the request. 
 
3.  To request a leave to attend a non-Harvard school as part of a Law School 
coordinated, joint, or concurrent degree program, students must complete the Leave 
of Absence Request form and should contact the Associate Director of Academic 
Affairs, to discuss their academic plans. 
 
4.  All students requesting a leave of absence should contact Student Financial Services 
to understand the implications of their proposed leave on their Financial Aid.  
 
5.  International students must speak with the Harvard International Office about the 
effect their proposed leave may have on their immigration status, visa status, and 
practical training eligibility before the leave of absence will be approved. 
 
C. Involuntary Leaves of Absence  
 
Under certain circumstances, a student may be placed on an involuntary leave of 
absence.  An involuntary leave of absence is not a disciplinary sanction. However, an 
incident that gives rise to a leave of absence, whether voluntary or involuntary, may also be 
the basis for disciplinary action. A student who prefers to take a voluntary leave of absence 
for medical reasons rather than to be placed on an involuntary leave of absence for medical 
reasons is ordinarily allowed to do so. Transcripts do not distinguish between voluntary 
and involuntary leaves of absence.      
 
An involuntary leave of absence may be required for the following reasons:  
 
1.  Medical circumstances: 
a)  (i) The student’s behavior poses a direct threat to the health or safety of any 
person or has seriously disrupted others in the student’s residential community 
or academic environment; and (ii) either the student’s threatening, self-
destructive, or disruptive behavior is determined to be the result of a medical 
condition or the student has refused to cooperate with efforts by Harvard 

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 82 of 122

University Health Services or other clinicians to determine the cause of the

behavior.

b) The student is not cleared to return to enrollment and/or residence at HLS

following either: (i) a hospitalization or emergency room visit that raises serious

concerns about the student’s health of well-being; or (ii) other circumstances

that raise serious concerns about the student’s health or well-being and

reasonably call into question their ability to function as a student in the HLS

environment. For more about the process of clearance to return to enrollment

and/or residence after a hospitalization or emergency room visit, see Sections

X(F) through X(H).

The decision to place a student on an involuntary leave of absence for health related

reasons is made in consultation with Harvard University Health Services (which

may consider information from the student’s current and/or former health care

providers, if made available by the student), after an individualized assessment of

all of the pertinent factors, such as: the nature of the student’s conduct; the nature,

duration and severity of the risk; the likelihood of potential injury; and whether

reasonable modifications of policies, practices or procedures will mitigate the

risk. However, reasonable modifications do not include changes that would

fundamentally alter the academic program or unduly burden the School’s resources

or staffing capabilities or, with respect to the required level of care or monitoring,

that would exceed the standard of care that a university health service can be

expected to provide.

2. Failure to adhere to the terms of an agreement to engage in treatment: The

student’s continued enrollment and/or residence is conditioned on the student’s

agreement to meet the expectations set forth in an agreement to engage in

treatment, such as following the recommendations of the student’s treatment team,

and the student has failed to adhere to the terms of that agreement.

3. Alleged criminal behavior: The student has been arrested on allegations of serious

criminal behavior or has been charged with such behavior by law enforcement

authorities.

4. Risk to the community: The student has allegedly violated a disciplinary rule of

the School, and their presence on campus poses a significant risk to safety or to the

educational environment of the community.

5. Indebtedness: The student’s term bill is unpaid and the student has not made

arrangements acceptable to the School to address the issue.

6. Immunizations: Failure to provide medical documentation of required

immunizations.

7. Unfulfilled School requirements: The student has not met an academic or other

School requirement, including without limitation, attending class or participating in

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 83 of 122

required activities, and has not taken steps acceptable to the School to meet the

requirement.

8. Failure to register: The student has not registered as required at the beginning of

each term.

The decision to place a student on involuntary leave is made by the Dean for Student

Services in consultation with the chairperson of the Administrative Board and/or such

other person as the Dean designates and/or other officers of the University, as

appropriate. As noted above, in the case of an involuntary leave of absence for medical

reasons, the School also will consult with an appropriate person at Harvard University

Health Services.

Students are notified in writing that they have been placed on involuntary leave. The

student may appeal the involuntary leave decision to the HLS Administrative Board.

D. While on a Leave of Absence

1. Student conduct: Students going on leave are reminded that all degree candidates,

whether currently registered or not, are expected to maintain a satisfactory

standard of conduct.

2. Tuition and Financial Aid: Any student who goes on leave of absence during the

academic year is charged tuition and any applicable fees, including rent, to the end

of the period in which they are on leave. Students who take a medical leave of

absence will be refunded tuition for the semester. Students receiving scholarship or

other financial aid should consult the Student Financial Services concerning the

financial implications of going on leave. International students should consult the

Harvard University International Office concerning their status.

3. Student Health Insurance: The date a student goes on leave will affect the

student's health insurance through Harvard. For details, review the Leave of

Absence policy on the HUHSP website, or contact the Student Health Insurance

Office, Member Services, at 617-495-2008 or [email protected].

4. Attendance at another school: While on leave, students may not receive Law

School credits for classes taken at another school, whether at Harvard or elsewhere.

Some exceptions may be made with the approval of the Dean for Academic and

Faculty Affairs for joint and coordinated degree students.

5. Access to Facilities and Other Resources: Libraries and other facilities and

Harvard services normally may be used only by students who are currently

registered. Students on leave may not participate in extracurricular activities or

other University programs including on-campus employment opportunities for pay

or for credit. Exceptions to this rule must be specifically approved in advance by the

Dean of Students. If so instructed by the Dean of Students, a student on leave must

remain away from the University campus. Unless otherwise specified, while on

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 84 of 122

leave, joint and coordinated degree students, and those concurrent degree students

pursuing their second degree through another Harvard school, will have access to

their Law School email accounts, housing, library services including Westlaw and

Lexis and other University services, and their Harvard IDs will remain active.

Concurrent degree students doing their second degree at a non-Harvard school will

have access to their Law School email accounts and limited library services, but will

not have access to Harvard housing, active Harvard IDs and other University

services.

6. Medical treatment plans: Following an individualized assessment, the School may

require students who are on leave for medical reasons to comply with a treatment

plan during their time away.

E. Extending Voluntary Leaves

If a student does not intend to return from leave, they should notify the Registrar’s Office as

soon as possible.

1. Students requesting to extend a voluntary personal or medical leave must submit

requests to the appropriate body as described in Subsections X(E)2-5 below by

October 15 if seeking an extension starting winter term, by November 15 if seeking

an extension starting spring semester, or by June 15 if seeking an extension starting

fall semester.

2. Any student wishing to extend a voluntary leave from one semester up to one year

must file a request with the Office of the Registrar.

3. Students wishing to extend a voluntary leave beyond one year must file a request

for additional leave with the Dean of Students. Such requests for additional leave

should include a brief summary of the student’s activities during the leave of

absence, why additional leave is required, how completion of the J.D. degree still fits

the student’s academic and professional goals, and the student’s commitment to

return by the applicable semester to complete the J.D. degree without additional

voluntary leave time.

4. Requests for leave beyond two years—either sequential or intermittent—must be

submitted to the Administrative Board and should contain the information required

in Section X(E)(3). Please note that students who do not petition the

Administrative Board for an extension of leave beyond two years will be considered

to have withdrawn from the Law School. Students with withdrawn status for four

years or fewer may petition the Administrative Board for readmission. Students

with withdrawn status for more than four years must reapply for admission to the

Law School as a first-year student through the Admissions Office.

5. If a student needs to extend a medical leave, the student must file a request with

the Dean of Students Office and contact the office to discuss extending the leave.

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 85 of 122

F. Returning to School

The general conditions for return from voluntary leave are good standing, visa clearance

from the Harvard International Office, financial clearance from Student Financial Services,

and receipt by the Registrar’s Office of written confirmation of return.

Students on a voluntary leave are expected to return to full-time registered status on or

about the date indicated on their leave of absence request form. Please contact the Dean of

Students or the Registrar’s Office for information about exceptions to this policy. Before

returning to school, a student must notify or petition the appropriate body as described

below by October 15 for a winter term return, by November 15 for a spring semester

return, or by June 15 for a fall semester return.

A student in good standing on a voluntary leave of absence ordinarily may return

by notifying the Registrar consistent with the schedule described above, although it

remains the student’s responsibility to ensure that they have adequate time to complete

the degree within the time limits established by the School (see Sections I(A)(3),

II(A)(4)(d)(iv), and III(B)).

Students who were not in good standing at the time a voluntary leave of absence was

granted, students who take a voluntary leave of absence in lieu of an involuntary leave, and

students who were placed on an involuntary leave of absence must petition the HLS

Administrative Board for permission to return to the School. Such a petition must

demonstrate that the circumstances that led to their leave have been satisfactorily

addressed and that they are ready to resume their studies. An important indicator of

readiness to return is evidence of stability and engagement in productive activity. A

student on such a leave who is not granted permission to return by the HLS Administrative

Board within two years of the start of their leave, or who has been on such a leave for a

cumulative period of two academic years, will be withdrawn from the Law School and may

not resume their studies other than in a case of extraordinary circumstances as approved

by the HLS Administrative Board. In all other circumstances, the student must reapply for

admission to the Law School as a first-year student through the Admissions Office.

If the leave, whether voluntary or involuntary, was for medical reasons, then the student

must petition the HLS Administrative Board for permission to return to the School and

must demonstrate that the circumstances that led to their leave have been satisfactorily

addressed and that they are ready to resume their studies. In addition, so that the School

may conduct an individualized assessment of their circumstances, students on medical

leave ordinarily will be required to consult with Harvard University Health Services (and to

grant permission to Harvard University Health Services to obtain their treatment records

and communicate with their treatment providers) so that a professional assessment about

the student’s stability and readiness to return can be shared with the School. In addition, if

the School learns of serious concerns about the health or well-being of a student who either

has been hospitalized or visited the emergency room or whose behavior reasonably calls

into question their ability to function as a student in the Harvard Law School environment,

then the School similarly may require the student to consult with Harvard University

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 86 of 122

Health Services (and to grant permission to Harvard University Health Services to obtain

their relevant treatment records and communicate with their treatment providers). (For

more about the process of clearance to return to enrollment and/or residence after a

hospitalization or emergency room visit, see Section X(H).) The purpose of such

consultation is so that a professional assessment can be shared with the School about the

student’s readiness to return and function in the student environment, with or without

reasonable accommodation. Note that while the input of a student’s treatment provider is

an important consideration in the petition process, Harvard University Health Services

clinicians may have special knowledge of the University context to which students will be

returning. In all such cases, the decision whether to allow a student to return is made by

the Administrative Board. Any student whose petition to return from a medical leave of

absence is denied will receive a written explanation of the decision and may submit a

written appeal of the decision to the Administrative Board within five (5) calendar days,

based on the following grounds: (a) new materially relevant information has become

available; and/or (b) there is reasonable evidence of a procedural error in the decision-

making process.

Once the student has completed an HUHS consultation, HUHS will share its assessment

about the student’s stability and readiness to return with the Administrative Board, which

will consider it along with the student’s petition and documentation of productivity, and

make a decision about the student’s readiness to return. Certain conditions as set by

the Dean of Students Office and the Administrative Board may be required for approval to

return. Students will be allowed to participate in course preference selection while waiting

on approval to return. If students are not given permission to return, the courses will be

dropped from their schedules. Once the Administrative Board has approved the petition,

the student may start to make arrangements for their return.

If the School learns of serious concerns about the health or well-being of a student who is

away from School but not on a medical leave of absence, the School similarly may require

the student to consult with Harvard University Health Services (and to grant permission to

Harvard University Health Services to obtain their treatment records and communicate

with their treatment providers) so that a professional assessment about the student’s

stability and readiness to return can be shared with the School. In all such cases, the

decision whether to allow a student to return is made by the HLS Administrative Board, in

consultation with others as appropriate.

Any disciplinary matter must be resolved before a student on leave of absence will be

allowed to return and, if the student has been required to withdraw while on leave of

absence, then any conditions for return after a required withdrawal also must be satisfied.

Students returning from a leave who wish to apply for financial aid must notify Student

Financial Services and file the necessary application forms by mid-April for the following

fall term, and by October 1 for the following spring term. Late applicants cannot be assured

that their aid will be available in time for registration payment deadlines.

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 87 of 122

Students who have been granted a leave and who have borrowed money through Harvard

must submit an annual loan deferment form to the Student Loan Office upon their return to

Harvard. Deferment forms may be obtained through either the Student Loan Office or the

Financial Aid Office and must be completed and certified by the Registrar immediately

following Registration. Failure to file a deferment form upon return will cause payments to

be due on loans and could affect future borrowing eligibility.

A student will not be allowed to register in the Law School or University again until all

previous term-bill charges have been paid and no loan is in default.

G. Agreements to Engage in Treatment

The School may condition a student’s enrollment and/or residence on certain terms or

conditions as set forth in a written agreement between the School and the student, when

the student’s conduct or circumstances have caused heightened concerns about the

student’s safety and/or well-being and: (a) the appropriateness of the student’s continued

enrollment and/or residence; or (b) the student’s readiness to return to the Harvard

community. The agreement to engage in treatment may include, among other things,

compliance with a medical treatment plan, regular consultations with health care

professionals, communication with administrators, and limited disclosure of relevant

medical information, on a need-to-know basis, such as compliance with treatment and

restrictions on certain activities. The decision to require such an agreement is arrived at in

consultation with Harvard University Health Services after an individualized assessment of

the nature of the student’s conduct and circumstances and any other pertinent factors.

H. Clearance for Return Related to Serious Concerns

about the Health or Well-being of a Student

Clearance for Return to Residence and/or Continued Enrollment and Participation in

Harvard-Related Programs or Activities

After a hospitalization or emergency room visit by one of its students that raises serious

concerns about the student’s health or well-being, or in other circumstances that raise

serious questions about the student’s health or well-being and reasonably call into

question their ability to function as a student in the HLS environment, HLS ordinarily will

not permit that student to return to residence and enrollment or participation in any

Harvard-related programs or activities before making its own assessment of the suitability

of the student’s return. (See Procedure for Notice and Consultation). To better inform that

assessment, students are expected to notify both HLS and HUHS of any hospitalization or

emergency department visit. HUHS can be notified by phone 24 hours a day, seven days a

week, at 617-495-5711.

Reason for Policy

An important consideration in the HLS’s decision as to whether a student may continue in

or return to residence and enrollment is the impact of the student’s presence on the

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 88 of 122

community. A student who is injured, ill, or exhibiting disturbing or disruptive behavior

may require ongoing care. Serious alcohol- or drug-related problems, in particular, have

the potential to disrupt residential life and/or life in the academic community significantly

and impair a student’s ability to function academically and socially. Harvard Law School

regards as unreasonable the expectation that roommates, suitemates, friends, or Harvard

Law School staff will take on health care responsibilities for other students.

Any student may, of course, refuse to allow consultation between the student’s clinician(s)

and Harvard Law School, but such a refusal will not prevent Harvard Law School from

making a decision regarding a student’s return to residence or continued enrollment.

Procedure for Notice and Consultation

HLS will consult with clinicians at HUHS and/or, if the student has been treated elsewhere,

clinicians at other facilities or in private practice, ordinarily with the student’s permission.

Depending on all of the relevant circumstances, such consultation may be initiated either

by HLS or by clinicians at HUHS. Notice by that a student has been hospitalized or treated

in an emergency department of an area hospital may prompt HLS to begin a process of

consultation through which it will decide whether and under what circumstances the

student may continue in or return to residence or enrollment.

HLS also may independently decide that, based on its observations or other information it

has about a student, it should initiate the process of consultation with HUHS clinicians,

which may include ascertaining whether that student has been hospitalized or treated by

an emergency department.

Consultation will be focused on the concerns raised by the student’s condition or behavior

and requirements for continued care, in order to facilitate Harvard Law School’s decision

about the student’s capacity to continue in or return to residence and enrollment.

I. Financial Implications of Taking a Leave

1. While on leave, students are not considered to be working toward their degree and

thus are not eligible to receive financial assistance, except as noted in Section

X(I)(3) below.

2. Students who take a leave during the academic year are charged tuition for the

period of enrollment, plus full insurance and health fees for the term in which the

leave occurs.

 For example: a student taking a leave in November will be charged tuition

through the end of November, plus full Harvard University Health Services

and Harvard University Student Health Insurance Plan (if enrolled) fees for

the fall term, and the living expense budget will be adjusted to 3/9ths of the

full budget based on a nine-month academic year beginning in September.

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 89 of 122

Tuition is charged until the Registrar receives the Leave of Absence Request form.

Students who provide written notice of withdrawal by the dates listed below will

be charged as follows:

Table 8: Prorated Tuition Charges Related to Leaves and Withdrawals

Date

Tuition

September 30

1/9 total annual charges

October 31

2/9 total annual charges

November 30

3/9 total annual charges

December 31

4/9 total annual charges

January 31

5/9 total annual charges

February 28

6/9 total annual charges

March 31

7/9 total annual charges

April 30

8/9 total annual charges

after April 30

Full Tuition

3. Once the student’s account has been adjusted, SFS will prorate any aid package

based on enrollment, adjusted tuition, and fee information received from the

Registrar’s Office, in accordance with both federal and institutional regulations.

Students who take a leave during the academic year may be required to repay a

portion of the financial aid award since cash advances/refunds are disbursed at the

beginning of each term in anticipation that students will be enrolled for the entire

term. Students receive written notice of any outstanding balance that results from a

leave of absence and are responsible for payment in full prior to re-enrolling at HLS.

4. Any student who leaves the University with an amount due on their student bill that

is unpaid for 60 days or more may be subject to collection activities. The costs

associated with collecting an unpaid account will be added to the student’s

outstanding debt and must be paid in full.

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 90 of 122

XI. Administrative Board

By vote of the faculty, the Administrative Board has responsibility for matters involving

student discipline and various powers relating to dispensations from and interpretations of

the academic rules and practices of the School. The Board's membership consists of three

members of the faculty, three students, two administrators, and a non-voting Secretary of

the Board. The Dean of Students is an additional ex officio member (non-voting). The

Secretary of the Board acts as the liaison between students and the Board. Students

wishing to petition the Board should consult the Secretary of the Board.

A. Disciplinary Actions

The Administrative Board at Harvard Law School has four categories of discipline that may

be imposed for student infractions of Law School rules: reprimand, suspension, dismission,

or expulsion. These sanctions are imposed only after the Board has voted to institute

formal disciplinary charges against a student. Students have the right to a full disciplinary

hearing conducted by the Administrative Board and a right to be represented by counsel.

Reprimand, suspension, dismission, or expulsion becomes part of the student’s Law School

file and will be placed on the student’s transcript and reported, on appropriate inquiry, to

state Board of Bar Examiners. Suspension may be for a term, a year, or any other length of

time the Board deems appropriate, with conditions on the student’s return as the Board

deems appropriate. Dismission and expulsion are forms of permanent separation from the

Law School and must be approved by the faculty.

In cases in which an infraction by a student is not sufficiently serious to warrant the

imposition of formal discipline, the Administrative Board may issue a warning. Such a

warning is placed in the student’s file but is not reported outside of the Law School as long

as the student engages in no additional violations of University or Law School rules. If a

student who has previously received a warning again violates University or Law School

rules, the Law School may disclose the initial warning outside the Law School and/or may

impose more serious discipline for the subsequent violation than might otherwise have

been imposed.

In past years, there have been occasions when students “sat in” or obstructed access to

administrative offices, faculty offices, and other school facilities as a form of protest. The

Administrative Board imposed the sanction of a “reprimand” for such conduct in the spring

of 2001. Students are on notice that such conduct may result in a significant disciplinary

sanction.

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 91 of 122

B. Procedures for Disciplinary Cases*

*Except for cases covered under the Harvard University Title IX Policies and

Procedures. See Section XII(B).

The Administrative Board is the Law School committee responsible for the administration

of discipline. Cases requiring discipline typically involve cheating, false statements on

financial aid applications, and similar departures from generally accepted standards of

integrity. In such cases the Board may impose sanctions including reprimand and

suspension. In the most severe cases, the Board may recommend to the faculty sanctions of

expulsion or dismission, imposition of which requires the vote of two-thirds of the faculty.

The Board does not consider itself to be an adversarial or prosecutorial body. Its

disposition is to handle matters that come before it as favorably to students as possible

consistent with the maintenance of the high academic and ethical standards of Harvard

Law School. In many instances matters that come to the Board’s attention can be dealt with

informally, without ever initiating disciplinary process. To this end, the Chairperson or

Secretary or such other person as the Chairperson designates may investigate a matter for

purposes of determining whether it should be treated as disciplinary. In those cases in

which disciplinary proceedings are required, the Board will proceed in accordance with the

following rules:

1. The Board shall initiate formal proceedings by a written charge that explains the

nature of the disciplinary infraction. Such charge shall issue only if the Board

believes it is reasonably likely that the charged infraction can be established by clear

and convincing evidence.

2. In any formal disciplinary matter, the student has a right to a hearing before the

Board. Disciplinary hearings will normally be private, but at the student’s option

and subject to the Board’s approval, the hearing shall be public and shall be held in a

room sufficiently large, in the judgment of the Board’s Chairperson, to accommodate

an audience of reasonable size.

3. Disciplinary cases are normally heard by the full Administrative Board. The student

may ask any individual member of the Board to recuse themselves for cause. To the

extent feasible, a faculty or administrative member who recuses or is otherwise

unable to serve shall be replaced by an alternate member.

4. All students against whom formal disciplinary proceedings have been initiated may

appear with legal counsel or lay advisor. The Board will attempt to assist a student

who needs and desires but cannot afford counsel.

5. A record of the hearing shall be kept, either by stenographic transcript or recording,

and shall be made available without charge to the student or their representative on

request.

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 92 of 122

6. At the hearing the evidence against the student will be presented and the student

shall have the right to call their own witnesses and to examine all witnesses.

7. It shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Board to assist the student in preparing

for the hearing by making available to the student any public announcements or

reports of the Board or faculty relating to past disciplinary cases. The Secretary shall

also assist the student in obtaining witnesses. This assistance may include a letter to

the witness requesting their cooperation with the Administrative Board or such

other efforts to secure the participation as may be appropriate to the circumstances.

8. The Administrative Board may consider any evidence that it deems to be relevant

and trustworthy, and may exclude any evidence that it deems to be otherwise.

Formal rules of evidence do not apply.

9. The Board does not recognize a privilege of noncooperation and may, therefore,

draw such reasonable inferences from noncooperation as it deems appropriate.

Statements made to members of the Board and others are admissible at the hearing

regardless of when made.

10. Information obtained in confidence by the Health Service, whether medical or

psychiatric, shall not be sought by the Administrative Board nor disclosed to the

Board without the student’s consent. No weight is to be given to a student’s refusal

to consult the Health Service or to the student’s refusal to authorize disclosure of

information obtained by the Health Service. The absence of such information may,

however, properly preclude the Board from considering a medical excuse,

explanation, or justification in a particular case.

11. Disciplinary sanctions shall not be imposed unless conduct warranting sanction is

established by clear and convincing evidence. Decisions of the Administrative Board

shall be by majority vote of the sitting members. In case of a tie vote of all the

members of the Board present and voting, the vote of the majority of faculty

members and administrative officers shall determine the outcome.

12. All decisions of the Board to impose sanctions shall be supported by specific

findings of fact and conclusions, including, wherever appropriate, a statement or the

reasons for the specific sanction imposed and the principles or policies on which the

Board relies.

13. In all cases in which the sanction voted by the Board is other than dismission or

expulsion, the decision of the Board shall normally be final. If any such matter is

presented to the faculty for consideration, the faculty shall first vote on whether the

Board’s decision raises such important and novel issues of policy or is made under

such other extraordinary circumstances that the faculty must consider the matter.

14. In all cases in which the sanction voted by the Administrative Board is dismission or

expulsion, the student shall be afforded the right to a supplementary hearing on the

facts before a hearing officer appointed from the faculty by the Dean. The student

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 93 of 122

shall submit to the hearing officer in writing a statement indicating which of the

factual findings of the Board the student disputes, and why. At the hearing, the

student may call and examine witnesses and be represented in the same manner as

before the Board. The position of the Administrative Board shall be presented to the

hearing officer by the Chairperson of the Administrative Board or a person chosen

by the Chairperson in consultation with the Dean. The hearing officer shall make a

written statement of findings of fact which shall be returned to the Administrative

Board. The Board may modify its findings of fact in light of the findings of the

hearing officer, and may modify the sanction previously voted.

15. In all cases in which the sanction voted by the Administrative Board is dismission or

expulsion, the faculty shall review the findings and conclusions of the Board. No

student shall be expelled or dismissed except by the vote of at least two-thirds of the

members of the faculty present and voting at the faculty meeting at which the

recommendation of the Administrative Board is considered.

16. Where the faculty reviews action of the Administrative Board it may substitute its

judgment for the Board’s on matters of policy including the severity and nature of

the sanction imposed. The sanction may be increased in severity as well as

decreased. The Board’s findings of fact shall not be modified unless, on the basis of

the whole record, including the findings, if any, of the hearing officer, the Board’s

findings are not supported by substantial evidence.

17. Should situations arise that are not covered by these rules or in which the

application of these rules is in the judgment of the Administrative Board,

inappropriate, the Administrative Board may formulate and follow an appropriate

ad hoc procedure. In any event, departures from the rules of procedure shall not,

ipso facto, constitute a defense to the imposition of a disciplinary sanction.

18. Copies of these procedures shall be published and made generally available. The

procedures shall also be given to any student involved in an Administrative Board

matter as soon as it appears that the matter may be treated as disciplinary.

(The Administrative Board has adopted the following supplementary provisions for

disciplinary proceedings.)

1. The Board ordinarily discloses evidence in its possession that will be presented for

or against a student a reasonable time before the hearing. If the complainant is a

student, the complainant or their counsel is ordinarily expected to disclose evidence

to be presented against the subject of the proceeding a reasonable time before the

hearing. The subject of the proceeding or their counsel ordinarily is expected to

disclose evidence to be presented in his or behalf to the Board and, if the

complainant is a student, to the complainant, a reasonable time before the

proceeding. In exceptional circumstances, the Chairperson of the Board may qualify

the obligation of disclosure, in which case the evidence not disclosed is summarized

or described so far as practicable without compromising the justification for

nondisclosure.

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 94 of 122

2. At the outset of a hearing, the Chairperson states the charge against the student,

who is then given an opportunity personally to make a statement to the Board. After

the student has completed their statement, members of the Board may question the

student. When the Board has no further questions, counsel for the student may ask

questions for the purpose of expanding or clarifying answers previously given, but

not simply to repeat or restate answers previously given. If the complainant is a

student, when counsel for the subject of the proceeding has no further questions,

counsel for the complainant may ask questions for the purpose of qualifying or

clarifying answers previously given, but not simply to repeat questions previously

asked. Members of the Board may interrupt questioning by counsel at any time to

ask additional questions.

3. After the questioning of the student is completed, other witnesses are asked to give

evidence in an order to be determined by the Board.

4. The Board does not ordinarily entertain objections to a question on grounds of

irrelevance or immateriality. The Board may ask a witness or counsel to restrict

testimony to matters that it deems relevant and material. The Board may entertain

objections to a question or line of testimony on the grounds that it is offensive, may

unreasonably invade the privacy of the person questioned, or may unreasonably

embarrass or shame the person questioned or another person.

5. In compelling circumstances, the Board may require the student or, if the

complainant is a student, the complainant to listen to and watch the testimony of

another student by video conference. The person so required will be given an

opportunity to consult with their counsel before counsel questions the witness.

6. After all evidence has been received, the complainant, if s/he is a student, and the

subject of the proceeding may make a closing statement of not more than ten

minutes, the complainant speaking first. After the complainant and the subject of the

proceeding have spoken, counsel for the complainant and the subject of the

proceeding may make closing statements of not more than ten minutes, counsel for

the complainant speaking first.

7. The Board may modify the preceding provisions as circumstances require.

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 95 of 122

XII. Other Rules and Important

Information

A. Notice of Non-Discrimination and Harvard Non-

Discrimination and Anti-Bullying Policies

Harvard University and Harvard Law School do not discriminate against any person on the

basis of age, race, color, national origin, sex (including gender identity and gender

expression, as well as pregnancy), genetic information, ancestry, religion, caste, creed,

veteran status, disability, military service, sexual orientation or political beliefs in

admission to, access to, treatment in, or employment in its programs and activities. All

employers using the facilities and services of the career services offices must comply with

these policies and procedures.

The University has adopted new policies and procedures to address discrimination and

bullying. These policies apply to all students, faculty, staff, researchers and other members

of the Harvard community across all Schools and units, including HLS. The University’s

non-discrimination and anti-bullying policies can be found

here: https://provost.harvard.edu/files/provost/files/non-discrimination_and_anti-

bullying_policies.pdf.

Whenever a formal complaint of discrimination or bullying is investigated in accordance

with the University’s non-discrimination and anti-bullying policies and procedures, and

those procedures result in a finding that a policy violation has occurred, then sanctions or

remedial measures will be determined by HLS’ Appropriate Official or designee(s), as set

forth in those procedures. The HLS Appropriate Official or designee(s) must accept the

finding of a policy violation as final and non-reviewable. The only opportunity to appeal the

determination of a policy violation is provided within the University’s non-discrimination

and anti-bullying policies and procedures. Decisions about sanctions and remedial

measures are final and cannot be appealed.

The following individuals serve as resources for receiving reports and complaints,

directing community members to resources, and providing information on supportive

measures:

 Sasha Tulgan, Director of Equal Opportunity and Title IX Program Officer

 Jessica Soban, Dean for Student Services

 Catherine Claypoole, Dean for Academic and Faculty Affairs

At HLS, the following individuals have been designated as Appropriate Officials, who serve

as the final authority to issue any sanctions under the University’s non-discrimination and

anti-bullying policies:

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 96 of 122

 For situations involving students, the Appropriate Official is the HLS faculty

members serving on the Law School’s Administrative Board or their designee.

 For situations involving faculty, the Appropriate Official is a Law School Deputy

Dean or their designee.

 For situations involving staff members, the Appropriate Official is the Dean for

Administration or their designee.

B. Title IX Policies and Information

The Law School is committed to maintaining a safe and healthy educational and work

environment in which no member of the University community is, on the basis of sex

(including gender identity and gender expression, as well as pregnancy), or sexual

orientation, excluded from participation in, denied the benefits of, or subjected to

discrimination in any University program or activity. Students are expected to review the

Harvard University Interim Policies on Title IX Sexual Harassment and Other Sexual

Misconduct and Procedures and the Law School’s related procedures available on the Title

IX Information page. More information and links to resources and training are available at

the Harvard Office for Gender Equity page. The Law School’s Title IX Program Officer can

answer questions and provide additional information and guidance about options and

resources.

C. Harvard Law School FERPA Policy

1. Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (“FERPA”)

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, as amended (“FERPA”) is a federal

law that gives students certain rights with respect to their education records.

2. Education Records

Harvard Law School (Harvard Law School) routinely maintains records for its students that

describe and document their work and progress. These education records generally

include records such as permanent and local addresses, admissions records, enrollment

status, course grades, reports and evaluations, completion of requirements and progress

toward the degree, records of disciplinary actions, letters of recommendation, and other

correspondence with or concerning the student.

3. Access

To be useful, students’ records must be accurate and complete. The officials who maintain

them are those in charge of the functions reflected in the records and the offices where the

records are kept. These ordinarily include the Registrar of Harvard Law School, as well as

other institutional officials. All students have access to their own education records and

may contribute to them if they feel there is need for clarification.

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 97 of 122

Students wishing access to their education records should contact the Harvard Law School

Registrar’s Office, WCC Suite 4007. Ordinarily, students are asked to submit a written

request that identifies the specific record or records they wish to inspect. Access will be

given within 45 days from the receipt of the request. When a record contains information

about more than one student, the student requesting access may inspect and review only

the portion of the record relating to themselves. Students also are not permitted to view

letters and statements of recommendation to which they waived their right of access, or

that were placed in their file before January 1, 1975.

Students should direct any questions they have about the accuracy of records to the person

in charge of the office where the records are kept. If questions still remain, the matter may

be referred to the Registrar in the Harvard Law School Registrar’s Office. Should it be

necessary, a hearing may be held to resolve challenges concerning the accuracy of records

in those cases where informal discussions have not satisfactorily settled the questions

raised.

4. Directory Information

Harvard Law School regards the following information as “directory information,” that is,

information that, under FERPA, can be made available to the general public: full name,

reported date of birth, dates of attendance, concentration, class year, digitized image

(please note that while Harvard classifies photos and images as directory information,

these are rarely released to parties outside the University without the student’s

permission), local or campus residence address and telephone number, university email

address, prior degree information, home town or city at the time the application for

admission was filed by the student, original class at time of matriculation, degree candidate

status, date of graduation (actual or expected), degree(s) received with field of

concentration and level of honors granted (if any), prizes, fellowships, and similar honors

awarded, and, in certain cases, students’ and parents’ or guardians’ home addresses and

telephone numbers. Please note that Harvard University’s definition of “directory

information,” may include elements in addition to those used by Harvard Law School, and

that requests for directory information received at the University level thus may result in

disclosure of such additional elements.

Students may direct Harvard Law School not to disclose their directory information,

usually known as putting in place a “FERPA Block.” To do so, a student must inform the

Harvard Law School Registrar’s Office in writing, of that decision. Students should be aware

of the possible consequences of putting in place a FERPA Block, such as missed mailings,

messages, and announcements, non-verification of enrollment or degree status, and non-

inclusion in the Harvard Commencement booklet. Students who have previously chosen to

put in place a FERPA Block may decide to reverse this decision, also by informing Harvard

Law School Registrar’s Office in writing.

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 98 of 122

5. Other Disclosures Permitted under FERPA

In addition to permitting the disclosure of directory information, as set forth above, FERPA

permits disclosure of educational records without a student’s knowledge or consent under

certain circumstances. For example, disclosure is permitted to Harvard officials with a

legitimate educational interest in the records, meaning that the person needs the

information in order to fulfill their professional responsibilities, including instructional,

supervisory, advisory, administrative, academic or research, staff support or other duties.

“Harvard officials” include: faculty; administrators; clerical employees; professional

employees; Harvard University Health Services staff members; Harvard University Police

Department officers; agents of the University, such as independent contractors performing

functions on behalf of Harvard Law School or the University; members of Harvard’s

governing boards; and students serving on an official Harvard Law School or University

committee, or assisting another Harvard official in performing their tasks.

A student’s education record also may be shared with parties outside the University under

certain conditions, including, for example, in situations involving a health and safety

emergency. In addition, Harvard Law School will forward a student’s education records to

other agencies or institutions that have requested the records and in which the student

seeks or intends to enroll or is already enrolled so long as the disclosure is for purposes

related to the student's enrollment or transfer.

If the Harvard Law School finds that a student has committed a disciplinary violation

involving a crime of violence or a non-forcible sex offense, then it also may, if legally

permitted and in Harvard Law School’s judgment appropriate, disclose certain information

about the disciplinary case. The disclosure may include the student’s name, the violation

committed, and the sanction imposed.

6. Student Rights under FERPA

As set forth above, under both Harvard policy and FERPA, students and former students

may inspect and review certain of their education records that are maintained by Harvard.

They also have the right to: exercise limited control over other people’s access to their

education records; seek to correct their education records if they believe them to be

inaccurate, misleading or otherwise in violation of their FERPA rights; file a complaint with

the U.S. Department of Education if they believe Harvard has not complied with the

requirements of FERPA; and be fully informed of their rights under FERPA. Complaints

regarding alleged violation of rights of students under FERPA may be submitted in writing

within 180 days to the Family Policy Compliance Office, US Department of Education, 400

Maryland Avenue, S.W., Washington, DC 20202-5920.

D. Protest and Dissent Guidelines

The right to dissent is the complement of the right to speak, but these rights need not

occupy the same forum at the same time. The speaker is entitled to communicate their

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 99 of 122

message to the audience during their allotted time, and the audience is entitled to hear the

message and see the speaker during that time. A dissenter must not substantially interfere

with a speaker’s ability to communicate or an audience’s ability to see and hear the

speaker.

When a meeting is closed, dissent by non-attendees is limited to activity outside the

meeting that does not impede access to the meeting or substantially interfere with the

communication inside.

When a meeting is open, the acceptable form of dissent will depend on whether the

dissenter is inside or outside the meeting and on whether the dissenter is acting before,

after or during the meeting:

1. Picketing and Distributing Literature

Picketing in an orderly way or distributing literature outside the meeting is acceptable

unless it impedes access to the meeting. Distributing literature inside an open meeting is

acceptable before the meeting is called to order and after the meeting is adjourned.

2. Silent or Symbolic Protest

a) Displaying a sign, wearing significant/symbolic clothing, gesturing, standing, or

otherwise protesting noiselessly is acceptable unless the protest interferes with the

audience’s view or prevents the audience from paying attention to the speaker.

b) Any use of signs, prolonged standing or other activity likely to block the view of

anyone in the audience should be confined to the back of the room.

3. Noise

Responding vocally to the speaker, spontaneously and temporarily, is generally acceptable,

especially if reaction against the speaker is similar in kind and degree to reaction in their

favor. Chanting or making other sustained or repeated noise in a manner which

“Closed” meetings include events requiring an invitation or registration, as well as events not advertised on the Law

School’s public calendar. For closed meetings, the sharing, swapping, stealing, or other misuse of registration

information, Zoom details, name tags, and the like is a violation of these guidelines.

Please note, moreover, that the rule against non-attendees protesting inside a closed meeting supplements the general

rule that “[a] dissenter must not substantially interfere with a speaker’s ability to communicate or an audience’s

ability to see and hear the speaker.”

Finally, with respect to classrooms, any form of protest that disrupts the conduct of an HLS class would violate the

University-Wide Statement of Rights and Responsibilities’ prohibition against interference with “the performance of

the [] normal duties and activities” of the University.

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 100 of 122

substantially interferes with the speaker’s communication is not permitted, whether inside

or outside the meeting.

4. Force or Violence

Using or threatening force or violence, such as defacing a sign or assaulting a speaker or a

member of the audience, is never permitted. Any interference with freedom of movement

or with freedom from personal force or violence is a serious violation of personal rights.

5. Audience Responsibility

The audience, like the host and the speaker, must respect the right to dissent. A member of

the audience or the host organization who substantially interferes with acceptable dissent

is violating these guidelines in the same way as a dissenter who violates the rights of the

speaker or audience.

6. Moderator/Facilitator

Senior HLS officials may determine that the protection of free speech at an open meeting

requires the use of a moderator or facilitator. If so, the meeting must be held with a

moderator/facilitator in attendance who will be selected by the sponsoring organization(s)

at the time the event is scheduled, and who is subject to approval by the Office of

Community Engagement, Equity, and Belonging. The person selected must be perceived as

neutral and non-partisan. They will generally be a member of the HLS or University faculty

or administration. At the meeting, the moderator/facilitator must stress that their presence

reflects no position for or against the views of the speaker or sponsoring organization.

Final decisions regarding balancing the rights of the speaker with the rights of those who

disagree will be made by the moderator/facilitator. This person will have final authority

over all decisions, including, but not limited to:

a) whether to eject a disrupter from the room;

b) whether to move an event because of disruption or for security reasons;

c) whether to declare an event closed; and

d) whether to cancel an event because of security concerns.

E. Student Complaints Implicating Compliance with ABA

Standards for Legal Education

Harvard Law School invites students to share concerns about the Law School's program of

legal education, particularly any issues that directly implicate the School's compliance with

the ABA's Standards for Legal Education. Students having such a concern should submit

the concern, in writing, to the Dean of Students, who shall work with the appropriate

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 101 of 122

administrators to address the issue. The Dean of Students shall keep a record of all

submissions and their resolutions.

F. Class Recordings

Harvard Law School records classes upon request for various reasons. Classes may be

recorded with or without further notice. Students may not record, stream, reproduce,

publish, or further distribute outside the course any course content, including assessments,

problems, answers, video clips, screenshots, and slides presented during class. Please

consult the separate Class Recording Information page, for timing and process for requests.

Students interested in applying for class recordings as an accommodation should contact

Harvard Law School’s Accessibility Services team.

1. Reasons for Student Class Recording Requests

Students may request recordings of class lectures for the following reasons

a) Religious Holidays: Classes taking place on religious holidays are not automatically

recorded. Faculty and/or students may request that a class be audio-recorded on a

religious holiday. The Law School will not record for travel days surrounding

religious holidays. If the religion’s holiday begins at sundown, HLS will record

classes upon request starting at 1pm on the day the holiday begins and ending at

noon the day after the holiday ends.

b) Make-up classes: The Law School’s make-up class period is 3:45-5:45 p.m. on Friday

afternoons, which students are expected to keep available. All faculty members are

encouraged to use this period for make-up classes. Make-up classes scheduled

during this time will only be recorded if a student has a scheduling conflict with

another make-up class. Make-up classes at times outside this class period may be

recorded at the instructor’s or a student’s request.

c) Birth of a child (for both parents); death of an immediate family member or other

person with whom the student has a similarly close relationship; or significant

personal or medical emergency: Students may request that a class be audio-recorded

due to the foregoing reasons for a period of two weeks or fewer in duration.

Recording for these reasons will be considered only in cases in which classes will be

missed for a period of two weeks or fewer. In most cases, a student’s absence from

their classes for more than two weeks will be cause for a leave of absence (see

Section I(O) and Section II(A)(3)).

d) Military service: Students may request that a class be audio-recorded to fulfill an

unavoidable military service or training obligation lasting for a period of two weeks

or fewer in duration.

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 102 of 122

Recording for these reasons will be considered only in cases in which classes will be

missed for a period of two weeks or fewer. In most cases, a student’s absence from

their classes for more than two weeks will be cause for a leave of absence (see

Section I(O) and Section II(A)(3)).

e) Professional Examinations: Students may request that a class be audio-recorded due

to an unavoidable conflict with a Professional Examination (such as the Bar Exam,

or the Multi-State Professional Responsibility Exam – MPRE) for a period of four

days or fewer in duration.

f) Extraordinary Educational Opportunities: Students may request that a class be

audio-recorded due to the foregoing reason, such as participating in an international

moot course competition, for a period of four days or fewer in duration.

g) Clinical Hearings: Students may request that a class be audio-recorded for the

following reasons: unavoidable conflicts with court hearings, administrative

proceedings, or other court-ordered appearances connected to the Clinical

Programs, where the student is a primary actor in the proceeding. The student must

exhaust all means of avoiding the conflict by attempting to reschedule the

appearance or attempting to arrange coverage of the hearing by another qualified

student or attorney. Additionally, a student may request a recording where a make-

up class is scheduled during ordinarily scheduled clinical hours required for

academic credit. These scheduled hours with the clinical placement must be

confirmed by a clinic director or from filings with the Office of Clinical and Pro Bono

offices for externship placements.

Recording for the above reasons will be considered only in cases in which classes

will be missed for a period of two weeks or fewer. In most cases, a student’s absence

from their classes for more than two weeks will be cause for a leave of absence.

h) Elections: The Registrar’s Office may initiate audio-recording of all classes due to the

foregoing reason only when it is a state or federal general election day in the

Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

2. Automated Recordings

Start and stop times for HLS class recordings are automated according to the class meeting

times and, due to system constraints, cannot be altered. Therefore, if a class extends

beyond the scheduled start and end times, the resulting recording will not include any

instruction or discussion that took place prior to the scheduled start time or in the time

following the scheduled end time. In addition, Information Technology Services does not

edit the start and end of class recordings so conversation occurring before and/or after the

formal instructional time will be viewable.

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 103 of 122

3. Publication of Recordings

a) Class recordings may in some cases be made available to the entire class via the

Canvas course site. Please note that faculty members and administrators of the sites

reserve the right to remove any links from course websites at any time.

b) No person is permitted to post, distribute, or otherwise make available any class- or

clinic-related recordings produced by the Harvard Law School without written

permission of the Dean for Academic and Faculty Affairs.

c) All postings will be removed from streaming access (Harvard Law School server)

after three academic years from the academic year of creation. The Information

Technology Services Department must be notified at the time a request is submitted

if there is any reason that digital audio and video streaming media will require

linking for longer than three years. Instances requiring media storage longer than

the default lifespan will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis and may incur

additional hosting costs to the requesting department or organization.

d) The Information Technology Services Department is not responsible for hardship

encountered with expired audio and video links if lifespan beyond the ordinary

three years was not requested at the time of the recording request.

e) Although Harvard Law School makes every effort to ensure the security of

recordings, any recording made by Information Technology Services could

potentially be downloaded, copied, manipulated and/or redistributed.

G. Student International Travel

1. Any student traveling internationally under Harvard auspices must prior to departure:

a) Register the trip in the University’s International SOS MyTrips platform. Registering

is required for all students traveling under Harvard auspices (that is, trips funded or

arranged by the Law School or other parts of the University or resulting in academic

credit) and strongly recommended for everyone. Registering enables the University

to locate people quickly and provide assistance in the event of an emergency.

Students must create a profile in MyTrips initially using their Harvard email

address; students can then add an additional preferred email address to their

profile. After creating their MyTrips profile, students can enter their trip details

manually or forward their confirmed bookings to

[email protected]. Entries should include the complete

period of time abroad, including travel before, during, and after the primary

program / project under Harvard auspices, and students should make sure the

information stays up-to-date throughout travel.

b) Review, sign and return the appropriate Assumption of Risk form to the sponsoring

program at the Law School.

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies 
Page 104 of 122 
c)  Examine Harvard’s Global Support Services’ travel risk ratings and seek necessary 
reviews as specified below. Students who are considering travel to an area that is 
categorized as high-risk, and that would occur during the period of the program / 
project under Harvard auspices, must both: 
i)  Complete and submit the Questionnaire for Graduate Student Travel at 
least 30 days in advance of the expected travel date. (Access to the 
document requires a HarvardKey log-in.) In the event that circumstances 
beyond a student’s control do not allow for at least 30 days’ advance notice, 
the students should contact International Legal Studies and provide a 
detailed explanation.  If circumstances warrant, ILS will request an 
expedited review. 
ii)  Consult with a member of the Global Support Services safety and security 
team if requested to do so by GSS or Harvard Law School’s International 
Legal Studies. 
This is necessary in order to obtain clearance for travel in conjunction with courses 
or clinics as well as independent travel and applies for the duration of the placement 
or project abroad. Please be aware that HLS may advise against — and may even 
withhold support for — travel that is deemed to pose excessive risk. 
HLS students should also review Harvard’s Graduate and Professional Student 
International Travel Policy. 
2.  Students traveling over the winter term or summer, for HLS academic credit and/or 
with Harvard funding must attend an international travel information session and 
complete the Global Support Services online orientation as specified on the HLS 
international travel procedures webpage. 
Students must complete all of these requirements, and any others stipulated on the 
School’s international travel procedures webpage or by the student’s HLS sponsoring 
program, in advance of travel abroad in order to maintain eligibility for HLS funding and 
academic credit.  The international travel webpage will contain the most current 
information and it is critical that students review it carefully. 
HLS students traveling abroad for academic or professional reasons are covered by 
Harvard University’s International SOS membership. International SOS provides 24-hour 
worldwide emergency medical and security assistance and evacuation services. Please note 
that this program is a supplement to, not a substitute for, health insurance. 
Students should be sure to review the Health and Safety and Planning and 
Precautions pages for the information they will need before and during travels. The 
Passports and Visas page also contains helpful information. Students with questions about 
international travel should contact the Director of International Legal Studies. 

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 105 of 122

H. Student Employment

The faculty recommends that first-year students not commit themselves to employment

during the academic year until they know what demands Law School will make on their

time and energy. Students are advised to work no more than 10 to 15 hours per week

during the school year; pursuant to Harvard Law School Policy, no student may be

employed for more than 20 hours of work per week during the academic year while classes

are in session (see Section I(A)(4)).

I. Use of University Libraries

The University’s libraries are for the use of students, faculty, staff, and other authorized

members of the University and scholarly community. Except when specifically authorized

to a designated commercial user, the systematic exploitation of library resources, including

its databases, for profit is prohibited. It is inappropriate for students and others to sell data,

or to act as agents for those who do, or otherwise to use their library privileges other than

for personal academic use. This includes use of many library resources during the course of

some internships and some types of employment. Use of some library resources are subject

to individual user agreements from the database provider. Violations of those individual

user agreements may result in suspension of access to those resources. Students with

questions about the use of specific digital resources should contact the library.

J. Information Technology Services

1. Harvard Law School Computer and Network Resources Usage Agreement

In support of Harvard Law School’s learning, teaching, and research goals, Information

Technology Services (ITS) provides current members of the Law School community with

access to the school’s computer and network resources. To ensure that these resources

remain available to all members of the community and to protect the substantial

investment Harvard Law School has made in its computer and network systems, student

access is conditioned upon agreement to and compliance with the terms of this Harvard

Law School Computer and Network Resources Usage Agreement. Harvard Law School

Computer and Network Resources include but are not limited to: Harvard Law School

campus and office space; wired, wireless, and VPN network equipment; back-office systems

(e.g. email, Student Information System); printers, desktop and laptop equipment provided

to students, faculty, or staff and any other computing equipment owned and/or operated

by the Law School’s ITS department.

2. Use of Computer and Network Resources

No one may use a computer and/or the network in a way that would damage or

inappropriately degrade these resources, or disrupt the work of others. Students are

prohibited from attempting to:

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 106 of 122

a) Interfere with the work of others

b) Gain unauthorized access to computer or network resources

c) Circumvent or violate local network, electronic accounts, or Web security systems

d) Use other people’s Harvard Law School electronic accounts

e) Damage or inappropriately degrade performance of computer and network

resources

f) Willfully misrepresent the identifying attributes of any electronic communications

(e.g., date and time of creation or transmission, message identification number, IP

address, etc.)

g) Unlawfully use, duplicate, or distribute software and files

h) Use computer or network resources for commercial purposes without authorization

i) Use computer or network resources in violation of any applicable law or Harvard

Law School policy

In addition to possible disciplinary action and/or termination of network privileges, the

violation of any of these restrictions may result in legal penalties.

Students are responsible for the use of their electronic accounts (e.g., email, network,

course websites, and printing) and are not permitted to grant others access to these

accounts. Nor should a student disclose their password to anyone, including friends or

family. ITS staff will not ask students for their passwords when ITS assistance is requested.

3. Compliance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998

The University prohibits the use of the Harvard network for illegal activities. Federal law

prohibits the reproduction, distribution, public display or public performance of

copyrighted materials over the Internet without permission of the copyright holder, except

in accordance with fair use or other specifically applicable statutory exceptions. Harvard

may terminate the network access of users who are found to have repeatedly infringed the

copyrights of others. In addition, unauthorized distribution of copyrighted material,

including unauthorized peer-to-peer file sharing, may subject a student to civil and

criminal liabilities. Harvard complies fully with the federal Digital Millennium Copyright

Act of 1998 ("DMCA") and has in place the mandated process for receiving and tracking

alleged incidents of copyright infringement.

Harvard network users should be aware of recent changes in the pre-subpoena notification

approach employed by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). These

changes include notices requesting the preservation of records in advance of a subpoena,

and notices providing an option for users to settle in advance of potential lawsuits.

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 107 of 122

University policy remains unchanged. We will continue to comply with the Digital

Millennium Copyright Act and federal law pertaining to DMCA subpoenas, and will

continue to update the community of significant changes to process or law.

The University is committed to maintaining the integrity and availability of the Harvard

network for vital educational and research purposes for which it was designed. We

recommend that all students become familiar with the laws pertaining to the use of digital

material and to comply with federal law and University policy regarding use of copyrighted

materials. More information may be found at https://dmca.harvard.edu/copyright-policy

and http://dmca.harvard.edu/faq.

BitTorrent, Torrent, Ares, and other file-sharing programs can transmit files on a student's

computer to others in violation of copyright laws, with or without the student's knowledge.

If these programs are on a student's computer, the student will be held responsible for any

4. Policy on Access to Electronic Information

Harvard University’s Policy on Access to Electronic Information sets out guidelines and

processes for University access to user electronic information stored in or transmitted

through any University system.

5. Security and Privacy

Electronic communications, communicative attributes of electronic communications (e.g.,

date and time of transmission, subject, identification number, parties with whom a student

communicates, how often, etc.), and files stored on Harvard Law School servers will be kept

confidential in accordance with privacy policies set by Harvard Law School, Harvard

University, and by law.

Students should understand that no network is perfectly secure, and that there are

substantial risks that communications can be intercepted, or that any message intended for

one person can be easily forwarded to another by the recipient. Students should take care

that particularly sensitive documents not remain on computer or network systems that are

publicly accessible or that others may easily access. Likewise, students are responsible

prior to forwarding a message to ensure that doing so is consistent with the originator’s

reasonable expectations.

Network-based system activity, such as network connection and email message

transmission, is automatically logged on a continuous basis. These logs include a record of

user processes, message subjects, and other user-related data that may be examined by ITS

system administrators to maintain system performance and/or prevent damage or

degradation, or to ensure compliance with Harvard Law School guidelines. ITS also

maintains regular backups of network servers, including email messages and files. The

purpose of these backups is to restore the system in case of data loss due to a system crash.

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 108 of 122

These backups are subject to the same privacy protections as any network data, but also,

obviously, present additional risk.

System administrators, following University guidelines, will produce any available log

records, messages, and files at the request of the Dean for Administration, Dean of

Students, or the Administrative Board.

When a student requests assistance from ITS, the student implicitly gives the staff

permission to view the data in the student’s account or on the student’s computer to the

extent necessary to investigate, diagnose, or correct the problem the student is having, and

ITS staff will make reasonable efforts to alert the student to the anticipated and actual

scope of any such viewing.

6. Anonymous and Pseudonymous Communications

Three general rules govern all electronic communications:

1) Electronic communication systems, whether email or discussion groups, produce

records that facilitate the ability to trace such communications. These records may

not in all cases reveal the identity of the sender, but they do facilitate the

identification of a particular communication’s origin. A student is prohibited from

modifying this data in a manner that will interfere with the ability to trace a

communication.

2) Members of the Harvard Law School community are given accounts based on their

legal name; a student may not take steps to hide their identity in electronic

communication when using Harvard Law School accounts, computers, networks, or

servers.

3) In no context may a student fraudulently misrepresent their identity.

Whether electronic communications may be anonymous or pseudonymous is determined

by the particular context within which the communication occurs, and inappropriate use of

electronic communications may result in disciplinary action.

7. Misuse of Resources

In accordance with the “University-wide Statement on Rights and Responsibilities” (see

Preface C) Harvard Law School neither endorses nor censors any opinion expressed on, or

originating on, its computer systems or network. However, because the electronic

communications originating from Harvard Law School community automatically carry the

Harvard Law School domain name (“law.harvard.edu” and “hls.harvard.edu”), a student

should be particularly careful not to inaccurately identify themselves as representing or

speaking for the institution. More generally, in the use of email or other electronic

communication, the same standards of conduct governing the use of telephones and oral

and written communication apply. A student may not use email to broadcast messages or

“spam” the Harvard Law School community.

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 109 of 122

As with any Harvard Law School resource, “misuse” includes the theft or deliberate damage

of any Harvard Law School equipment or resource. With regard to Harvard Law School

computer and network resources, it also includes other activities that interfere with the

efficient and reliable provisioning of computer and network services. Such other activities

include, but are not limited to, the following specific prohibitions:

1) A student may not relocate or disassemble any Harvard Law School network,

computer, or peripheral equipment.

2) A student may not attempt to intercept, analyze, record, or tamper with network

data packets.

3) A student may not connect non-ITS network equipment to the Harvard Law School

network. This includes, but is not limited to routers and wireless access points.

8. Emergency Situations and Compliance with Account Quotas

In any situation that threatens system security, stability, integrity, or performance, ITS

system administrators will take necessary action to defend computer and network

resources. These defense measures may include terminating or suspending processes or

user accounts without prior notice. ITS will notify the affected user(s) as soon as feasible.

Emergency situations may or may not involve deliberate misconduct.

All users are expected to adhere to the specific usage quotas that govern Harvard Law

School accounts. Repeated failure to act upon ITS requests regarding such quotas may

result in files or messages being deleted from over-quota accounts.

9. Copyright and Software Licenses

All Harvard users must respect the copyrights in works that are accessible through

computers connected to the Harvard network. Federal copyright law prohibits the

reproduction, distribution, public display, or public performance of copyrighted materials

without permission of the copyright owner, unless fair use or another exemption under

access of users who are found to have repeatedly and knowingly infringed the copyrights of

others, and may also take disciplinary action.

Users may not install software on Harvard-owned computers without express approval of

Harvard Law School Information Technology Services, as well as evidence of a valid

software license or other right or privilege to install such software.

10. Cases of Misconduct

Whenever a case of misconduct is suspected by or reported to ITS, ITS will immediately

notify the person or persons accused of such misconduct and the appropriate supervisory

authority, such as the Dean of Students or the Dean for Administration. As the situation

warrants, the supervisory authority will determine the course of any investigation or

disciplinary action. After such notification and while any inquiry is pending, ITS has the

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 110 of 122

right to deny access to Harvard Law School equipment and network services to any person

or persons believed to be violating the guidelines set forth here.

In addition to possible disciplinary action on the part of the Harvard Law School and/or

termination of network privileges, misuse of electronic communications, use of computers

for unlawful purposes, and violations of copyright laws carry civil and criminal penalties

under Massachusetts and federal law. All users are expected to learn and abide by these

laws. Harvard’s policy is to cooperate with law enforcement officials in the detection,

investigation, and prosecution of unlawful activity. Unless lawfully prohibited by the

authorities, a student will be notified if information specific to their account or

communications is turned over to non-Harvard authorities.

11. Leaving Harvard Law School

Before a student leaves Harvard Law School, they should review the information regarding

access to HLS student service technology applications after graduation and be aware of

timelines for access.

K. Multimedia Studio

The Multimedia Studio at Harvard Law School (opened in the basement of WCC in fall

2021) is run by the Office of Learning Experience and Innovation (LXI), in close

collaboration with ITS and Communications, and is available for use by members of the

HLS community according to the guidelines and schedule set forth on the Office of Learning

Experience and Innovation (LXI) website.

L. Video Security Policies

The Law School has installed a video management infrastructure to enhance the safety and

security of the community, reduce institutional risk, and aid in the prevention and

investigation of crime at the School or against members of the HLS community. The privacy

of the community members is a fundamental principle in the design and implementation of

the video management system across campus. Students are invited to review the Law

School’s Video Security Policies.

M. Harvard University I.D. Cards

Harvard University I.D. (HUID) cards are the property of Harvard University and are

intended for University purposes only. HUID cards are required for admission to most

Harvard activities and facilities including libraries, museums, dining halls, athletic

buildings, and student residences.

Every student is responsible for their HUID card and the consequences of its misuse. HUID

cards are not transferable; a student may not allow any other person to use their HUID card

for any purpose.

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 111 of 122

A student who alters or falsifies their HUID card or produces or distributes false

identification cards of any kind is subject to disciplinary action. Lost cards should be

reported immediately to Harvard University Identification and Data Services. Students

must hand over their HUID card or otherwise identify themselves upon request to any

properly identified officer of the University. Surrendered HUID cards will be transmitted

immediately to I.D. Card Services. More information about HUID cards for new Law School

students is available from the Office of the Registrar and at the Campus Service Center.

N. Payment of Bills

Each student is personally responsible for payment of their student account. All students at

Harvard University are required to sign a Financial Responsibility Agreement (FRA). The

FRA provides important information about the financial policies associated with your

enrollment at Harvard. More information can be found

here: https://sfs.harvard.edu/financial-responsibility-agreement-fra.

For J.D. students, a monthly payment plan is available as an alternative to full payment on a

specified date, the terms of which are available by calling the Student Accounts Office at

617-495-2739 or at the Student Accounts website. The monthly payment plan is not

available to LL.M. or S.J.D. students.

Students who are not current in their student account payments will not be allowed to

year and may be placed on involuntary leave (see Section X(C)(4)). All services of the

Registrar will be withheld for students who have outstanding financial obligations to the

University.

Students who become delinquent in their student account payments after registration are

assessed a $250 late fee and will be reported to the Law School’s Administrative Board.

Absent a finding of extraordinary circumstances, such as a serious medical or personal

emergency or other special circumstances supported by appropriate administrative

officials, the Administrative Board, as a general matter, will cancel the registration of

delinquent students. A student whose registration has been canceled is not eligible to take

exams and will not earn credits for the term.

University policy dictates that degree candidates who have failed to pay all student account

charges by the date specially established for graduating students will not be voted a degree

by the governing boards of the University.

Students who leave the University for any reason must pay all charges immediately upon

notice from the University Student Accounts Office. A student who leaves the University

without paying outstanding charges is not eligible to be considered for readmission until all

financial obligations to the University have been fully satisfied. Any student who leaves the

University with an amount due on their student account that is unpaid for sixty days or

more may be subject to collection activities. The costs associated with collecting an unpaid

account will be added to the student’s outstanding account balance and must be paid in full.

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 112 of 122

Questions regarding payment of student account notices should be directed to Student

Financial Services in WCC 5027 for J.D. candidates and to the Graduate Program Financial

Aid Office in WCC 5005 for those in the LL.M. and S.J.D. programs.

O. Harvard Law School Drug and Alcohol Policy

1. Policy

Harvard Law School's policy on drugs and alcohol-adapted from and in accordance with,

other similar policies at Harvard University-reflects our concern for the health and well-

being of our students, faculty, and staff. Harvard Law School promotes the health and well-

being of its students and employees through its Health Services and other agencies. The

unlawful possession, use, or distribution of illicit drugs and alcohol by students or

employees on Harvard property or as a part of any Harvard activities is a violation of

Harvard Law School rules, as well as the law. Possession, use, or distribution of certain

nonprescription drugs, including marijuana, amphetamines, heroin, cocaine, and

nonprescription synthetics; procurement or distribution of alcohol if one is under 21 years

of age; and provision of alcohol to anyone under 21 years of age are violations of law and of

Harvard Law School Policy. Although Massachusetts law now permits adults aged 21 or

older to possess and consume marijuana under certain circumstances, federal law

prohibits the possession, use, or distribution of marijuana, including for medical purposes,

on Harvard property or as part of a Harvard activity. Thus, even if possession or use of

marijuana would be permitted under Massachusetts law, it remains prohibited on campus.

The use of illicit drugs and the misuse of alcohol are potentially harmful to health. In

particular, synthetically produced drugs, which are readily available in the Boston

metropolitan area, often have unpredictable emotional and physical side effects, which

constitute an extreme health hazard. In addition, students are encouraged to weigh the

seriousness of potential loss of function that may come from ingesting illicit drugs or too

much alcohol. Because of the considerable health hazards involved in drug and alcohol use,

administrative, medical, and psychiatric help for students having drug problems or

difficulties controlling their use of alcohol are available on a confidential basis from the

Harvard Law School Health Services and at the University Health Services at the Smith

Campus Center, and any member of the University may make use of the Health Services on

an emergency basis, day or night.

Attention is directed to the fact that Harvard Law School is not, and cannot be considered

as, a protector or sanctuary from the existing laws of the city, state, or federal government.

Students are reminded that there are heavy penalties, including imprisonment, for

possession or distribution of illicit drugs and for selling or delivering alcohol to, or

procuring alcohol for, someone under the age of 21. There are also serious penalties for

anyone under the age of 21 who purchases, attempts to purchase, or arranges to procure

alcoholic beverages or to misrepresent their age or falsify their identification with the

intent of purchasing alcohol; anyone, regardless of age, caught falsifying a driver’s license,

or selling or distributing false I.D.s; and anyone, regardless of age, who operates a motor

vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or with an open container of alcohol. In

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 113 of 122

addition, the city of Cambridge prohibits consumption of alcohol on public property or on

property open to the public. All students should become familiar with the pamphlet on

drug and alcohol law prepared by the General Counsel to the University, distributed at

registration each year, and available in the Dean of Students Office.

The Law School will take appropriate action when cases of this type come to its attention.

Incidents to which Harvard Law School may respond include:

 The use of illicit drugs;

 Underage possession or consumption of alcohol;

 Serving alcohol to underage individuals;

 Possession in quantity or the sale or distribution of drugs; or

 Drug or alcohol use which risks danger to the Harvard community.

Sanctions may include a warning by administrative officers and referral to health or

counseling services or action by the Administrative Board, including warning, reprimand,

suspension, or expulsion (the last three sanctions are reported to bar authorities), and

referral for prosecution.

2. Provisions Regarding Alcohol Service and Use at Harvard Law School

The only alcoholic beverages that may be served to or consumed by HLS students or their

guests at Law School events and in the HLS Pub are beer and wine, whether the events are

University/HLS sponsored or private. All alcohol for Law School events must be purchased

through Harvard University Dining Services (HUDS). Personally purchased alcohol may be

consumed only in private living spaces. It may not be brought into, served, or consumed in

any public areas on campus, including residence hall common rooms, main lounges, and

other shared spaces. Harvard University Dining Services also purchases, serves, and sells

beer and wine for the HLS Pub, under a separate liquor license obtained by HUDS.

3. Drinking Age

The minimum drinking age in Massachusetts is 21. To be served or provided an alcoholic

beverage, an individual must show proof of minimum drinking age by presenting a

government-issued, photo identification.

4. Bartenders

Harvard University Dining Services (HUDS) holds and manages the main liquor license for

the Harvard Law School campus. Under the terms of this license, all alcoholic beverages for

all on-campus events must be provided by HUDS, and HUDS bartenders must be present to

serve the alcohol.

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies 
Page 114 of 122 
5. Police Presence 
A Harvard University Police (HUPD) detail (officer) must be present for student-sponsored 
events whenever alcohol is served and the number in attendance exceeds 100, or for any 
event where HUPD presence is determined to be necessary by the Office of Community 
Engagement, Equity, and Belonging. A police detail can be arranged by visiting the HUPD 
website. The appropriate number of police officers will be determined by the HUPD and the 
Office of Community Engagement, Equity, and Belonging. 
6. Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages 
A proportional amount of food and nonalcoholic beverages must be available at any event 
where alcohol is served. Please contact Harvard University Dining Services (HUDS) or the 
Office of Community Engagement, Equity, and Belonging to determine the appropriate 
amount. 
7. Off-campus Events – Private Residence 
Harvard Law School funds cannot be used to purchase or serve alcohol at a private 
residence. 
8. Off-campus Events – Bars, Restaurants, and Off-Site Function Facilities 
If a bar, restaurant, or function facility serves alcohol under its own license, the on-campus 
guidelines relating to alcohol service and use do not apply (since liability is covered by the 
establishment; nevertheless, the Harvard Law School Drug and Alcohol Policy applies to all 
members of the Harvard Law School community). Students may receive a maximum of two 
drink tickets each for such events, which can be used to purchase only beer, wine, or 
nonalcoholic beverages. The Office of Community Engagement, Equity, and Belonging will 
arrange payment for such drink tickets in advance of the event. A student point of contact 
must be identified and must meet with the Office of Community Engagement, Equity, and 
Belonging prior to such events; and that student must coordinate the distribution of the 
appropriate amount of drink tickets with the manager on duty at the establishment. 
9. Liquor Licenses 
A special one-day liquor license must be obtained from the Cambridge License Commission 
(at Cambridge City Hall) for all events where alcohol is sold, except as noted below only. 
Procedures for obtaining the license are available from the Event Scheduling & Support 
Office, Holmes Hall 1. A special one-day liquor license is not necessary in some instances, 
because the HUDS liquor license covers the sale of beer and wine. Student organizations 
must check with the Office of Community Engagement, Equity, and Belonging before selling 
any alcoholic beverages. Violations of the Harvard Law School Drug and Alcohol Policy 
will be referred to the Administrative Board for possible disciplinary action. Please 
contact the Dean of Students Office with questions regarding Alcohol Service and Use at 
Harvard Law School, 617-495-1880 or [email protected]. 

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 115 of 122

P. Cambridge No Smoking Ordinance and Harvard No

Smoking Policy

1. City of Cambridge No Smoking Ordinance

Effective June 9, 2003, Cambridge Municipal Code Section 9.28.060 provides that, “smoking

is prohibited in all workplaces.” Also effective June 9, 2003, Section 9.28.090 of the Code

provides that, with some exceptions, “No person shall smoke nor shall any person be

permitted to smoke in any public place or municipal facility.” All members of the Law

School community are urged to exercise courtesy and thoughtfulness in implementing this

policy.

2. Harvard No Smoking Policy

On March 1, 2015, Harvard’s North Yard, which includes the Law School, became

completely tobacco free. This initiative stems from decades of research on the negative

impacts of smoking, second-hand smoke, and tobacco use, and is part of an ongoing effort

to enhance the health and wellness of all members of the Harvard community.

All forms of tobacco use including cigarettes, cigars, e-cigarettes, and smokeless tobacco

are prohibited inside all Harvard buildings, offices, in Harvard Yard, and outside all HLS

buildings.

Q. Harvard Law School Missing Persons Policy

As required under federal law, Harvard Law School will immediately refer to the Harvard

University Police Department (HUPD) any missing persons report involving a student who

lives in on-campus housing. If any member of the Harvard community has reason to

believe that a student who resides in on-campus housing is missing, they should

immediately notify HUPD at 617-495-1212.

If HUPD determines that the student has been missing for more than 24 hours, then, within

the 24 hours following this determination, the School or HUPD will:

1) notify an appropriate external law enforcement agency, unless the local law

enforcement agency was the entity that made the determination that the student is

missing;

2) contact anyone the student has identified as a missing person contact under the

procedures described below; and

3) notify others at the University, as appropriate, about the student’s disappearance.

In addition to identifying a general emergency contact person, students residing in on-

campus housing have the option to identify confidentially a separate person to be

contacted by Harvard in the event that the student is determined to be missing for more

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 116 of 122

than 24 hours. Students are not required to designate a separate individual for this

purpose and if they choose not to do so then Harvard will assume that they have chosen to

treat their general emergency contact as their missing person contact. Students who wish

to identify a confidential missing person contact should notify the Registrar. A student’s

confidential missing person contact information will be accessible only by authorized

campus officials and by law enforcement in the course of an investigation. In addition, if it

has been determined that a student who is under 18 years of age and not emancipated has

been missing for more than 24 hours, then the Harvard Law School or HUPD will contact

that student’s custodial parent or guardian. Students are reminded that they must provide

the Registrar with emergency contact information and/or confidential missing person

contact information if they have not already done so.

R. Nonresident Student Driver Statements and Decals

State law requires Harvard to post the following notice to all students who are not

Massachusetts residents:

IT IS UNLAWFUL FOR A NONRESIDENT STUDENT TO FAIL TO FILE A

NONRESIDENT DRIVER STATEMENT WITH THE POLICE DEPARTMENT

LOCATED IN THE SAME CITY OR TOWN AS THE SCHOOL OR COLLEGE

ATTENDED, IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 3 OF CHAPTER 90 OF THE

MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL LAWS. FAILURE TO FILE SUCH STATEMENT IS

PUNISHABLE BY A FINE NOT TO EXCEED $200.

Under Massachusetts law, if out-of-state students bring cars to campus but elect not to

nonresident driver statement with the local police department, whether or not they apply

for on-campus parking. Shortly after filing the nonresident driver statement with the

Cambridge Police Department, students will receive a nonresident student driver decal

from the University Parking Office. This decal must be prominently displayed in the

“uppermost center position” of the vehicle’s windshield.

S. Voter Registration

Effective January 1, 1995, Massachusetts Law as set forth in Chapter 151C, Section 2B

(Section 17 of Chapter 471 of the Acts of 1993), requires educational institutions to make

available affidavits of voter registration forms at registration. Students will be able to

Student’s Office throughout the year.

For students from other states who desire to vote in a state other than Massachusetts, the

federal mail-in affidavit of voter registration or a mail-in form supplied by that state may be

used. The student must contact the appropriate state election official to receive the state

form or call or write the Massachusetts Elections Division, Room 1705, McCormack

Building, One Ashburton Place, Boston, MA 02108, for a Federal form.

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 117 of 122

T. Massachusetts Anti-Hazing Statute

269:17. Hazing; organizing or participating; hazing defined

[Text as amended by 1987, 665 effective April 4, 1988. For text effective until April 4,

1988, see 1986 Edition.]

Whoever is a principal organizer or participant in the crime of hazing, as defined herein,

shall be punished by a fine of not more than three thousand dollars or by imprisonment in

a house of correction for not more than one year, or both such fine and imprisonment.

The term “hazing” as used in this section and in sections eighteen and nineteen, shall mean

any conduct or method of initiation into any student organization, whether on public or

private property, which willfully or recklessly endangers the physical or mental health of

any student or other person. Such conduct shall include whipping, beating, branding, forced

calisthenics, exposure to the weather, forced consumption of any food, liquor, beverage,

drug, or other substance, or any other brutal treatment or forced physical activity which is

likely to adversely affect the physical health or safety of any such student or other person,

or which subjects such student or other person to extreme mental stress, including

extended deprivation of sleep or rest or extended isolation.

Notwithstanding any other provisions of this section to the contrary, consent shall not be

available as a defense to any prosecution under this action.

269:18. Failure to report hazing

[Text as amended by 1987, 665 effective April 4, 1988. For text effective until April 4,

1988, see 1986 Edition.]

Whoever knows that another person is the victim of hazing as defined in Section 17 and is

at the scene of such crime shall, to the extent that such person can do so without danger or

peril to himself or others, report such crime to an appropriate law enforcement official as

soon as reasonably practicable. Whoever fails to report such crime shall be punished by a

fine of not more than one thousand dollars.

269:19. Copy of secs. 17–19; issuance to students and student groups,

teams and organizations; report

[Text as amended by 1987, 665 effective April 4, 1988. For text effective until April 4,

1988, see 1986 Edition.]

Each institution of secondary education and each public and private institution of post-

secondary education shall issue to every student group, student team, or student

organization which is part of such institution, or is recognized by the institution, or

permitted by the institution to use its name or facilities, or is known by the institution to

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 118 of 122

exist as an unaffiliated student group, student team or student organization, a copy of this

section and sections seventeen and eighteen; provided, however, that an institution’s

compliance with this section’s requirements that an institution issue copies of this section

and sections seventeen and eighteen to unaffiliated student groups, teams, or organizations

shall not constitute evidence of the institution’s recognition or endorsement of said

unaffiliated student groups, teams, or organizations.

Each such group, team, or organization shall distribute a copy of this section and sections

seventeen and eighteen to each of its members, plebes, pledges, or applicants for

membership. It shall be the duty of each such group, team, or organization, acting through

its designated officer, to deliver annually, to the institution an attested acknowledgement

stating that such group, team, or organization has received a copy of this section and said

sections seventeen and eighteen, that each of its members, plebes, pledges, or applicants

has received a copy of sections seventeen and eighteen, and that such group, team or

organization understands and agrees to comply with the provisions of this section and

sections seventeen and eighteen.

Each institution of secondary education and each public or private institution of post-

secondary education shall, at least annually, before or at the start of enrollment, deliver to

each person who enrolls as a full-time student in such institution a copy of this section and

sections seventeen and eighteen.

Each institution of secondary education and each public or private institution of post-

secondary education shall file, at least annually, a report with the board of higher education

and, in the case of secondary institutions, the board of education, certifying that such

institution has complied with its responsibility to inform student groups, teams, or

organizations and to notify each full-time student enrolled by it of the provisions of this

section and sections seventeen and eighteen and also certifying that said institution has

adopted a disciplinary policy with regard to the organizers and participants of hazing, and

that such policy has been set forth with appropriate emphasis in the student handbook or

similar means of communicating the institution’s policies to its students. The board of

higher education and, in the case of secondary institutions, the board of education shall

promulgate regulations governing the content and frequency of such reports, and shall

forthwith report to the attorney general any such institution which fails to make such

report.

610 CMR 5.00: Hazing Reporting

5.01: Scope and Purpose

610 CMR 5.00 governs the content and frequency of reports that Massachusetts public and

private institutions of post-secondary education must file with the Board of Higher

Education regarding the distribution and acknowledgment of receipt of copies of the hazing

laws and the adoption by public and private institutions of post-secondary education of a

disciplinary policy with regard to the organizers and participants in hazing activities.

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 119 of 122

5.02: Definitions

As used in 610 CMR 5.00:

College or University

A public or private institution of higher education chartered, located, offering courses, or

otherwise doing business in the Commonwealth, leading to the award of a degree, or any

educational institution chartered, incorporated, or organized in another state conducting

courses within the Commonwealth available to residents of the Commonwealth leading to

the award of a degree.

Board

Board of Higher Education, a state agency established pursuant to applicable provisions of

M.G.L. c. 15A.

Hazing

As defined in M.G.L. c. 269, s 17.

Public or Private Institutions of Post-Secondary Education or Institution

An institution located within Massachusetts which provides formal instructional programs

with a curriculum designed primarily for students who have completed the requirements

of a high school diploma or equivalent. This includes programs of an academic, vocational

or continuing professional education, degree-granting colleges and universities, and non-

degree-granting institutions.

Unaffiliated Student Group, Team or Organization

Any group, team or organization that operates on or in conjunction with the campus of a

college or university, but is not under the authority of the college or university.

5.03: Reporting Requirements

Content of Report

Reports required by M.G.L. c. 269, s 19 shall include the following certifications:

That the institution has complied with the responsibility to inform student groups, teams,

or organizations of the provisions of M.G.L. c. 269, ss 17 and 18;

That the institution has notified each full-time student enrolled by the post-secondary

educational institution of the provisions of M.G.L. c. 269, ss 17 and 18;

That the institution has adopted a disciplinary policy with regard to the organizers and

participants of hazing;

That the institution’s disciplinary policy with regard to the organizers and participants of

hazing has been set forth with appropriate emphasis in the student handbook or that a

similar means of communicating the institution’s policies to its students has taken place.

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 120 of 122

Said report shall be signed by the president or chief executive officer of the public or

private institution of post-secondary education or his or her designee.

The Board may, upon request, furnish a reporting form to the public or private institution

of post-secondary education, or authorize alternative reporting formats, including facsimile

transfer, electronic mail or other formats capable of transmitting the report to the Board’s

designated recipient.

Frequency of Reports

Each public or private institution of post-secondary education shall annually file its

compliance report with the Chancellor of the Board of Higher Education or his designee on

or before July 31 of each year. Said report shall cover the period July through June 30

inclusive. Any public or private institution of post secondary education that requires an

extension of the July 31 reporting deadline shall forward a written request for an extension

to the Chancellor or his designee at least 30 days before July 31 which shall include

justification for the extension and specify the date by which the public or private institution

of post secondary education’s report will be filed. No extension shall be granted beyond

September 1 of the year which the report is due.

Notification to the Attorney General

The Board shall report to the Attorney General any public or private institution of post-

secondary education that fails to submit report by July 31 of each year or by any date of

extension granted by the Board.

Regulatory Authority

610 CMR 5.00: M.G.L. c. 269, s. 19.

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies

Page 121 of 122

Appendix A: Harvard Law School: The

Well, Harvard University Health Services,

Counseling and Mental Health Services,

and Center for Wellness and Health

Promotion

Harvard Law School: The Well

For more information, please visit: https://hls.harvard.edu/student-life/the-well-health-

and-wellness-at-hls/

Harvard University Health Services (HUHS)

For more information, please visit: https://huhs.harvard.edu/

Counseling and Mental Health Services (CAMHS)

For more information, please visit: https://camhs.huhs.harvard.edu/

Center for Wellness and Health Promotion

For more information, please visit: https://wellness.huhs.harvard.edu/

2023-2024 Handbook of Academic Policies 
Page 122 of 122 
Appendix B: Emergency and Safety 
Information 
 
Emergency Information 
See Emergency Information. 
Building emergencies should be reported to the Facilities Management Office at 5-5521 
during weekday work hours or to 5-5560 during evenings, weekends, and holidays. 
Harvard University MessageME 
MessageMe is Harvard University’s emergency messaging system. For more information, 
please visit: https://messageme.harvard.edu/. 
In the event of an emergency or significant disruption in operations, the University will use 
MessageMe to quickly distribute critical information to all active Harvard faculty, staff, 
students, and other community members who are likely to be on campus. 
Harvard University Campus Escort Program (HUCEP) 
For more information, please visit: https://www.hupd.harvard.edu/campus-escort-
program. 
Evening Van Service (617-495-0400) (fully accessible) 
For more information, please visit: https://www.transportation.harvard.edu/shuttle-van-
services/demand-van-service. 
 
 