Letter to Prospective and Newly Admitted LGBT Harvard Law School Students

Thank you for your interest in Lambda and Harvard Law School!

HLS Lambda is a social and political student organization dedicated to serving the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (“LGBT”) community at Harvard Law School.  Lambda is one of the most active and visible student groups on campus, organizing a variety of academic, political and social events throughout the year.

Social Activities

Harvard’s large and vibrant student body is one of its most important resources.  The critical mass of LGBT students here at Harvard truly constitutes a community rather than just another  group, and there are ample opportunities to find peers and allies with similar political and social interests.  Throughout the year, Lambda hosts dinners, brunches, and parties as a chance to socialize and have fun.  We also organize an annual retreat to Provincetown to help build our community, along with occasional excursions into Boston.  In addition, Lambda assists individual members in planning more informal get-togethers to watch movies, play board games, hold pot lucks, etc.  Further, we organize events specifically for women and Lambda members of color, and coordinate frequently with other identity-oriented student organizations at the law school.  We are always looking for new ideas for social events, so let us know your thoughts!

We also take advantage of the great resources that surround us. This past October, we held our 18th annual OutLaw Dance, which is one of the largest parties in Cambridge, at the nearby Sheraton Commander.  Over 700 students and LGBT community members from the greater Boston area attended last year’s event.  We host a series of mixers with different graduate schools in the area, including the other Harvard grad schools, as well as Tufts, MIT and others.  Additionally, we collaborate with other groups sponsoring LGBT events for the Harvard-wide LGBT community, including one organization that specifically caters to the queer women on campus.

Political Activities

Harvard’s prominence and resources have greatly facilitated our efforts in political programming.  Last fall, with the co-sponsorship of the American Constitution Society, we welcomed David Boies, one of the lead attorneys in the successful federal challenge to California’s Proposition 8, to speak to a packed room of students.  We have organized highly successful panels on Don’t Ask/Don’t Tell and the Solomon Amendment (moderated by Dean Martha Minow), and on diversity in law school admissions and faculty (co-sponsored with the Black Law Students Association).  Our DADT event was so successful, in fact, that Dean Minow has decided to assist us putting together another one this fall, to be co-sponsored by HLS’ Veterans group.  We also organized discussions on marriage equality and religious freedom (co-sponsored by the Federalist Society), a talk by Columbia Professor Joseph Massad (with the Middle East Law Students Association) and a panel on lawyering challenges for marginalized LGBT communities.

Our 5th annual Harvard Lambda Legal Advocacy (HaLLA) Conference, held April 2-3, 2010 and entitled “Diverse Sexualities/Disparate Laws”, focused on the emerging importance of international law and comparative perspectives in advocating for sexual minorities across the globe.  The diverse range of speakers included distinguished human rights theorists, political leaders, constitutional attorneys, indigenous activists, and grassroots organizers.  For more information, feel free to check out the Conference tab above.

Academic Activities

We are fortunate to have a welcoming student body and faculty and a very supportive administration.  Over the past few years, the school has taken great steps forward in expanding academic opportunities regarding the intersection of law and sexuality.  We now have an LGBT legal clinic, which affords students hands-on experience providing critical legal assistance to LGBT clients and persons with AIDS in matters of estate planning and family law.

Last year, HLS offered several classes related to sexuality and the law.  Sexual Orientation and the Law gave students a foundation in general legal issues affecting sexual minorities.  Other recent courses have addressed transgender issues and new influences on family law.  HLS Lambda seeks to ensure that course offerings regularly include LGBT topics.

This past year, for the first time in history, an entire cohort of teachers for a 1L course was openly gay (5 of the 7 Civil Procedure sections).  Early in the fall, Professor Bill Rubenstein, one of these professors, hosted the Lambda community and LGBT faculty members at his lovely home for a lovely evening of socializing and words of advice.

Applying to Harvard Law School

HLS Lambda is only one of over a hundred student organizations on campus.  Given the breadth of activities and opportunities available, we believe that Harvard Law School provides a uniquely rich, rewarding, and satisfying experience for its LGBT students.  While this letter does not ensure your admission, we encourage you to apply if you are excited by the prospect of a rewarding and meaningful legal education and career and are interested in becoming a member of the Harvard Law School community.  The Law School will waive the application fee for students who demonstrate financial need. You may submit the enclosed fee waiver application after applying for admission at http://www.law.harvard.edu/admissions/jd/apply.

We invite you to e-mail us with any questions about the application process, academics and student life at the law school, as well as any other concerns you may have.  You can find more information about Lambda on the rest of our website here.  You may also wish to contact the Admissions Office directly at (617) 495-3179.  If you’re still in the process of applying to Harvard Law School, good luck!  If you’re a recent arrival, welcome, and please don’t hesitate to be in touch!

Craig Convissar ‘11 (cconvissar@jd11.law.harvard.edu) and Diana Tomezsko ‘12(dtomezsko@jd12.law.harvard.edu), Co-Presidents