Poisoned Ivy: How Egos, Ideology, and Power Politics Almost Ruined Harvard Law School
by By Kerlow, Eleanor
Category: Law , General

Harvard Law School - the very name echoes with power, influence, and prestige. The oldest law school in the United States, Harvard has long been considered the paragon of American legal education.But even an institution as steeped in tradition as Harvard Law was not immune to the changing academic and social climate of the 1970s and 1980s, when multiculturalism, political correctness, and gender politics became issues of increasing significance.Change came with the arrival of three liberal professors and an attack-from-within was launched against Harvard's conservatism. Their efforts were seen by some colleagues as an attempt to subvert the "mission" of the school - its very essence.When Harvard Law Review editors published a vulgar parody of an article by a sensationally murdered feminist legal scholar, the turmoil at Harvard Law made national headlines. Constitutional law expert Laurence Tribe railed against the Law Review while civil libertarian Alan Dershowitz aggressively defended it. This was one of the many scandals to rock the ivy-covered walls of Harvard Law.