The Berkman Center for Internet & Society and Harvard Law School are pleased to announce the promotion of Christopher T. Bavitz to the role
of Managing Director of the Cyberlaw Clinic, effective July 1, 2013. Berkman
Director Susan Crawford, who will be a Visiting Professor at Harvard Law School during calendar year 2014, will serve as a senior advisor to the Clinic during that time. Clinical Professor Phil Malone, who ran the
Clinic from 2004 until June of this year, will be joining the faculty of Stanford Law School.
Chris Bavitz came to the Clinic in 2008 as a Clinical Fellow and has
served as Assistant Director for the past four years. Prior to joining
the Clinic, Chris spent ten years in private practice in New York at law firms and in-house at a major record company. He has particular
expertise in the areas of music and entertainment law and handles many
of the Clinic’s projects relating to copyright, First Amendment, and the advising of startup companies. Chris will oversee the Clinic’s
operations and will continue to work with students representing clients
on matters relating to intellectual property, licensing, privacy,
speech, and related issues. He will also serve as Harvard Law School’s
liaison to the Harvard Innovation Lab and its diverse community of
innovators and entrepreneurs.
Susan Crawford is a world-renowned expert on technology and
telecommunications policy. During 2009, she served as Special Assistant
for Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy for President Obama and
co-led the FCC transition team between the Bush and Obama
administrations. She is currently a Professor of Law at Benjamin N.
Cardozo School of Law. The New York Times called her latest book, Captive Audience: The Telecom Industry and Monopoly Power in the New Gilded Age, a “calm but chilling state-of-play on the information age in the United States.” Susan will work directly with students on projects in her
areas of expertise, with a particular focus on telecommunications law.
The Cyberlaw Clinic has grown tremendously since it began as a Berkman
Center research program in 1999. In its first year, it enrolled four
students; in the 2012-2013 academic year, it enrolled more than fifty.
The breadth of the Clinic’s practice has increased as well, now covering such fields as consumer protection; cybercrime and youth online safety; intellectual property (including copyright, trademark, and patent law); online speech, media law and the First Amendment; and privacy. Clinic
students routinely write amicus briefs, litigate cases, advise clients,
negotiate and draft agreements, and engage in policy advocacy. “The
Clinic’s trajectory, particularly in recent years, has been one of
growth and expansion in every respect,” said Terry Fisher, Faculty
Director of the Berkman Center. “We thank Phil for his extraordinary
leadership and wish him well in his new venture. We are more excited
than ever about the future of the Berkman Clinical Program he helped
build.”
Chris and Susan are joined by Clinical Instructor Dalia Topelson,
who came to the Clinic in 2012 and has been appointed Lecturer on Law at Harvard Law School; she will co-teach the Practical Lawyering in
Cyberspace seminar with Chris in Fall 2013. Kit Walsh will continue as
Clinical Instructional Fellow, where he will manage the
Clinic’s patent practice and serve as the Clinic’s primary connection to the Berkman Center’s diverse community of fellows. “We are thrilled to
have such a phenomenal team in place to meet the needs of students and
clients in the coming year,” said Martha Minow, Dean of Harvard Law
School.
Harvard Law School’s Cyberlaw Clinic, based at Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet & Society, provides high-quality, pro-bono legal services to appropriate clients on issues relating to the
Internet, new technology, and intellectual property. Students enhance
their preparation for high-tech practice and earn course credit by
working on real-world litigation, client counseling, advocacy, and
transactional/licensing projects and cases. The Clinic strives to help
clients achieve success in their activities online, mindful of (and in
response to) existing law. The Clinic also works with clients to shape
the law’s development through policy and advocacy efforts. The Cyberlaw
Clinic was the first of its kind and it continues its tradition of
innovation in its areas of practice.
For more information about the Clinic, visit
http://cyberlawclinic.berkman.harvard.edu.
For information about the
Berkman Center, visit http://cyber.harvard.edu.