On Nov. 17 the Faculty of Harvard Law School voted to appoint John Palfrey as a Clinical Professor of Law. This appointment recognizes the enormous contributions John has made since becoming the Berkman Center’s Executive Director in 2002. Everyone at Berkman - its faculty, fellows, staff, and friends - are extremely proud of John’s extraordinary achievements and wish their intrepid leader, known for his equal measures of brilliance, commitment, kindness, and modesty, the best in this exciting new phase of his career.
John has been instrumental in every element of Berkman’s success. Under his visionary and steadfast leadership, Berkman has become a globally respected and influential hub of Internet activity, connecting academics, policy wonks, businesspeople, artists, politicians, journalists, and students. John has attracted world-class fellows and collaborators; secured unprecedented levels of funding; and catalyzed the center’s intellectual pursuits and internal operations. As Jonathan Zittrain says, "John is simply extraordinary." And, as Berkman Founder Charlie Nesson observed, "Palfrey is the best I've seen since Zittrain."
John’s appointment to the newly-created position of Clinical Professor at Harvard Law School is particularly fitting given his role in leading the dramatic expansion in the scale and sophistication of the Berkman Center’s Clinical Program in Cyberlaw. Phil Malone, one of the co-directors of the Clinical Program, notes that, “John developed an ambitious vision for the program and then proceeded to make it happen. He has an astute understanding of the pedagogical value of clinical education and the unique ways in which it can help students synthesize the doctrinal and substantive aspects of a project with practical, client-centered experience they gain.” As a Clinical Professor, John will oversee the refinement of the Clinical Program as a whole, helping to design clinical courses and working closely with clinical instructors.
John’s dedication to integrating the scholarly work of Berkman’s faculty and fellows into the overall mission of the university is unquestioned, but perhaps most readily apparent in the Center’s accessibility and commitment to students, and in the quality and breadth of his own teaching. John is currently offering “The Law of the Internet,” a Freshman Seminar, and next semester will teach the Harvard Law School seminar, “Internet Law and Politics.” Since 2001, John has taught classes like “The Law of the Internet” and “Digital Democracy” at iLaw, the Extension School, Harvard Law School, and the Kennedy school.
Derek Slater, a Harvard undergraduate who has worked intensely with the Berkman Center for the last three years, observes: “John's support and guidance have been the most valuable part of my Harvard experience. Knowing little about me three years ago, he was immediately willing to find a way for me to contribute to the Center's work. Ever since, he has always attended to my interests, helping me figure out and fulfill my research goals in whatever ways he could."
John’s scholarly work spans and often connects academic, business, policy, and public arenas, and focuses on the potential of new technologies to strengthen democracies locally and around the world. John is a principal investigator of the OpenNet Initiative, a member of the Digital Media Project, an advisor to the Open ePolicy group, one of the co-authors of Supreme Court brief MGM v. Grokster, and a frequent contributor to public discussions on spam, Internet legislation, and Internet & Politics.
What makes all this possible? Berkman faculty, fellows, and staff have always marveled at John's ability to manage a heavy load of the most diverse of pursuits and projects while remaining engaged and supportive of the Center's staff and fellows.
Terry Fisher, the Center’s faculty director, sums up as follows his contributions: “It’s hard to imagine a better executive director. Energy, vision, academic depth, pedagogic skill, kindness, and diplomacy – John has them all. The success of the center during the past few years is due in no small part to his leadership. We are all enormously proud of his new appointment.”