‘Another Damn Learning Opportunity’: Sheila Heen on Learning and Feedback
The ceremony honored Sheila Heen’s new role as the Thaddeus R. Beal Professor of Practice at Harvard Law School, highlighting her three‑decade legacy in negotiation research, executive education, and bestselling books on difficult conversations and feedback. Heen used the platform to unpack why learning feels hard, framing feedback as an engine for growth. She broke it into three distinct categories—Appreciation, which validates effort and sustains motivation; Coaching, which offers concrete ways to improve; and Evaluation, which diagnoses performance gaps but can trigger defensiveness. This taxonomy clarifies how to harness feedback without succumbing to its emotional sting. Personal anecdotes punctuated her talk: memories of her parents’ legal careers, the bittersweet task of closing her father’s 60‑year practice, and the serendipitous meeting of her husband and co‑author Doug Stone in a 1991 negotiation workshop. These stories illustrate how mentorship, resilience, and community shape professional development. For law students and business leaders, Heen’s framework offers a practical roadmap to turn everyday comments—formal reviews, informal cues, even silence—into actionable learning. Embracing the three feedback types can improve negotiation outcomes, team dynamics, and personal mastery in high‑stakes environments.
Public Service Venture Fund | Lena Silver ’13
The video spotlights Lena Silver, a 2013 Harvard Law graduate, who attributes her decade‑long public‑interest career to the Public Service Venture Fund (PSVF) fellowship and Harvard’s robust support system. As Director of Policy and Administrative Advocacy at Neighborhood Legal Services...
Leveling ‘Lopsided Law’: Dov Fox on Conscience in Health Care and Medical Practice
The event featured Professor Dov Fox discussing the stark legal asymmetry surrounding clinician conscience. He highlighted that current conscience clauses shield doctors who refuse to perform certain procedures—such as abortions or gender‑affirming care—while offering no comparable protection for clinicians who...
A Conversation with Canyon Partners' Josh Friedman ’82
The event was a fireside chat at Harvard with Josh Friedman, co‑founder and co‑CEO of Canyon Partners, a $28 billion multi‑strategy alternative‑asset manager. Friedman’s academic pedigree—Harvard College, Oxford, Harvard Business School and Harvard Law School—set the stage for a discussion of...
Will a Lawsuit Against Live Nation and Ticketmaster Lower Concert Prices?
The Department of Justice has filed a 2024 antitrust suit against Live Nation and its Ticketmaster subsidiary, accusing the combined entity of monopolizing the U.S. live‑concert ecosystem. The complaint focuses on two practices: Live Nation’s ownership of roughly 80% of major...
Virginia Labor Secretary Jessica Looman Offers Strategies for Protecting Workers' Rights
The Harvard Trade Union program hosted Virginia Labor Secretary Jessica Looman to discuss how state and local governments can be leveraged to protect workers’ rights. Looman, a former head of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division and...
Antitrust and The Rule of Law: A Conversation with Former FTC Chair Lina Khan
The Harvard Law School conversation revisited former FTC Chair Lina Khan’s tenure, focusing on how she reshaped antitrust doctrine to address labor market concentration and broader societal harms. Khan explained that the agency began treating worker impacts as a core...
A Conversation with Jack Smith ’94
Harvard Law School hosted a candid conversation with former special counsel Jack Smith, who reflected on his three‑decade career as a career prosecutor and voiced deep concerns about the current state of the U.S. Department of Justice. Smith emphasized that...
Harvard Law School Rappaport Forum: The Supreme Court's Emergency Orders
The Harvard Law School Rappaport Forum examined the Supreme Court’s growing reliance on emergency, or “shadow docket,” orders—a procedural track that bypasses full briefing and oral argument. Panelists highlighted how, since the second Trump term, the Court has issued a...
Reclassifying Cannabis? Implications for Recreational/Medical Marijuana Use, Research, Drug Policy
The Harvard‑hosted webinar examined the federal effort to move cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act. Panelists traced the historical attempts—legislative bills, lawsuits, and recent executive actions—highlighting President Trump’s 2025 executive order and Attorney General Merrick...
A Democracy Needs Empowered Workers to Thrive: Spain's Labor Minister Yolanda Díaz Pérez
The Harvard Law School’s John Dunlop Memorial Forum featured Spain’s Vice‑Prime Minister and Labor Minister Yolanda Díaz Pérez, who outlined her government’s agenda to strengthen workers’ rights and embed democratic participation within firms. Díaz highlighted the “lay‑rider” legislation that reclassifies gig‑platform workers...