\u2018HLS Beyond\u2019 was developed by the Harvard Law School Library and is an innovative program that seeks to equip HLS students with ideas and skills that expand their humanity as citizens and future leaders in the legal field and beyond. Through smaller-scale, interactive sessions led by faculty, alumni, staff, and students themselves, the HLS student body, and other members of the Harvard community, are invited to tackle concepts and practical skills at the forefront of law, technology, politics, and even the arts. Through trainings, workshops, modules, and discussions, HLS Beyond brings students together and expands the horizon of what they should be thinking about as they prepare for a legal\u202fcareer.<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n \n <\/div> The 2024-2025 season of HLS Beyond programming featured a variety of subject matter and skills-based learning opportunities, as well as new collaborations with the HLS Dean of Students (DOS), Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society (BKC), Harvard Kennedy School (HKS); and other student and alumni-initiated programming.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n Unfortunately for HLS Beyond, our dynamic jazz band leader Cosimo Fabrizio (J.D. \u201925), who spear-headed the \u2018Jazz Night in Langdell\u2019 <\/strong>series with HLS Beyond, graduated in May. HLS Beyond Program Manager Emily Neill is now in talks with other student musicians to continue a program of music exposure\/education for HLS students. \u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n In collaboration with BKC and Professor Alan Raul<\/a>, HLS Beyond held a reading group\u202fon TechReg<\/a>, which tracked and discussed emerging tech policy from the new federal administration, during six meetings over the spring semester. Prof. Raul proved a well-connected affiliate who brought many guests to the conversations.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n BKC co-founder Charles Nesson<\/a> ran a workshop for students on the future of classroom speech featuring his constructive discourse app Nymspace<\/a>; and Nieman-Berkman Klein Fellow Ben Reininga<\/a> engaged students in workshopping his research on what makes users trust news videos given the current climate of distrust for\u202flegacy media outlets and the rise of social media.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n In perhaps the most attention-grabbing session of the season, Lawrence Lessig<\/a> and Larry Schwartztol<\/a> engaged in a session, just before the November election, entitled \u201cHow to Protect a Presidential Election\u201d based on Lessig\u2019s new book, How to Steal a Presidential Election<\/em><\/a>. <\/em>Students were riveted and had many questions for the two discussants as they explored possible cracks in the US voting system and opportunities for legal redress post-election.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n DOS co-sponsored a workshop on the ever-popular topic of personal finance featuring Dr. Darla Bishop<\/a>; and Student Financial Services (SFS) co-sponsored a session on real estate ownership and investment with AccessLex Institute\u2019s Director of Financial Education Derek Brainard<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Master of Laws (LL.M.) students Florence Seghers<\/a>\u202f(LL.M. \u201925) and Stefan Heiss<\/a>\u202f(LL.M. \u201925) put together a panel discussion on comparative AI regulations in the EU and US; and alumnus Lowry Yankwich (J.D. \u201922) ran a two-part workshop on how to create and produce a podcast, which featured both interview and storytelling techniques as well as hands-on software and hardware instruction.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n Visiting HKS Professor John Tien<\/a>, who has worked in the Department of Homeland Security and the multiple agencies it oversees across four administrations, led an interactive session with students on security in the 21st<\/sup> century.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Visiting Professor of Law Michael Stein<\/a> led a session on Disability Issues in the Practice and Teaching of Law. Cyberlaw Clinic\u2019s\u202fAlejandra Caraballo<\/a>\u202fand the HLS LGBTQ+ Advocacy Clinic\u2019s\u202fDeborah Lolai<\/a>\u202fled a conversation and discussion about current legal challenges and civic engagement strategies regarding transgender rights. And HLS Library\u2019s Debbie Ginsberg ran sessions in the fall and spring terms covering How to Use Word Like a Lawyer, <\/em>and how to use (current) AI to do legal research (the pros and cons).\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Lecturer on Law Arevik Avedia<\/a>n presented a program with HLS student Felicia Caten-Reines (J.D. \u201925) on policy implications of good empirical analysis\u2014including data quality check and cleaning, best practices of creating and sharing replication data and code, and data analysis and visualization. They produced this work as part of an impactful report co-authored with researchers from HLS, Harvard Medical School, and Physicians for Human Rights entitled\u202f\u201c\u2019Endless Nightmare\u2019: Torture and Inhuman Treatment in Solitary Confinement in U.S. Immigration Detention<\/em><\/a>.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The last program of the year was the always-popular faculty panel Why I Changed My Mind,<\/em> which this year featured Professors Noah Feldman<\/a> and Lucie White<\/a>, and visiting professor and former solicitor general of the United States Elizabeth Prelogar<\/a>, who discussed, among other things, the legal and practical problems that can arise from the universal remedy of the nationwide injunction, a judicial practice recently curtailed by the US Supreme Court.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The following programs are being planned for the 2025-2026 academic year:\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"John](\"https:\/\/hls.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/blog_hlsb_tien-scaled.jpeg\")
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