List of Harvard Law School alumni

This is a list of notable alumni of Harvard Law School. For a list of notable Harvard University graduates, see Harvard University people.

Law and politics

United States government

Executive branch

U.S. Presidents

Barack Obama

• Rutherford B. Hayes, 19th President of the United States
• Barack Obama, 44th President of the United States

U.S. Attorneys General

• Francis Biddle
• Charles Joseph Bonaparte, also United States Secretary of the Navy and founder of the precursor to the FBI
• William M. Evarts, also Secretary of State and a Senator from New York
• Alberto Gonzales
• Ebenezer R. Hoar
• Loretta Lynch
• Richard Kleindienst
• Richard Olney, later also Secretary of State
• Janet Reno
• Elliot Richardson
• William French Smith

Presidential cabinet advisors

• Spencer Abraham, Secretary of Energy, Senator from Michigan
• Elliott Abrams, Deputy National Security Advisor
• Dean Acheson, Secretary of State; instrumental in the creation of Lend-Lease, the Marshall Plan, NATO, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, together with the precursors of the European Union and the World Trade Organization, and influential in the decision to enter the Korean War
• Brockman Adams, Secretary of Transportation, Senator and Representative from Washington
• Charles Francis Adams III, Secretary of the Navy
• Bruce Babbitt, Secretary of the Interior, Governor of Arizona
• William Bennett, Secretary of Education, "Drug Czar," and conservative political pundit
• Sandy Berger, National Security Advisor
• Charles Joseph Bonaparte, Secretary of the Navy, United States Attorney General, founded the precursor to the Federal Bureau of Investigation
• Joseph Califano, Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare
• John Chafee, Secretary of the Navy, Governor of Rhode Island, Senator from Rhode Island
• Michael Chertoff, Secretary of Homeland Security
• William Thaddeus Coleman, Jr., Secretary of Transportation
• Elizabeth Dole, Secretary of Labor, Secretary of Transportation, Senator from North Carolina
• Robert Todd Lincoln, Secretary of War, Ambassador to the United Kingdom
• Ray Mabus, Secretary of the Navy
• Ogden Mills, United States Secretary of the Treasury, Ambassador to the United Kingdom
• William Ruckelshaus, Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (1970–73; 1983–85)
• Henry L. Stimson, Secretary of State, Secretary of War, Governor General of the Philippines
• Caspar Weinberger, Secretary of Defense (1981–1987)
• Willard Wirtz, Secretary of Labor (1962–1969)
• Robert Zoellick, Deputy Secretary of State, United States Trade Representative, President of the World Bank

Legislative branch (U.S. Congress)

Senators

• Spencer Abraham, Senator from Michigan, United States Secretary of Energy
• Brockman Adams, Senator and Representative from Washington, United States Secretary of Transportation
• Ralph Owen Brewster, Senator from Maine, Governor of Maine
• John Chafee, Senator from Rhode Island, Governor of Rhode Island, Secretary of the Navy
• Mike Crapo, Senator (1999–present) and Representative (1993–1999) from Idaho
• Ted Cruz, Senator (2013–present) from Texas
• Elizabeth Dole, Senator from North Carolina (2003–2009), Secretary of Labor, Secretary of Transportation
• Thomas Eagleton, Senator from Missouri (1968–1987), Democratic Vice-Presidential nominee (1972)
• Sam Ervin, Senator from North Carolina (1954–74)
• Russ Feingold, Senator from Wisconsin (1993–2011)
• George G. Fogg, Senator from New Hampshire (1866–67)
• Hiram Leong Fong, Senator from Hawaii (1959–1977)
• David H. Gambrell, Senator from Georgia (1971–72)
• Frederick H. Gillett, U.S. Senator (1925–1931) and U.S. Representative (1893–1925) from Massachusetts, Speaker of the House (1919–1925)
• Bob Graham, Senator from Florida, Governor of Florida
• George Frisbie Hoar, Senator from Massachusetts
• Jim Jeffords, Senator from Vermont
• Tim Kaine, incumbent Democratic senator from Virginia
• Kenneth Keating, Senator and Representative from New York
• Carl Levin, Senator from Michigan
• Henry Cabot Lodge, Senator and Representative from Massachusetts
• Spark Matsunaga, Senator and Representative from Hawaii
• Barack Obama, Senator from Illinois, 44th President of the United States
• Claude Pepper, Senator and Representative from Florida
• Larry Pressler, Senator from South Dakota
• Jack Reed, Senator from Rhode Island
• William V. Roth, Jr., Senator and Representative from Delaware
• Leverett Saltonstall, Senator from Massachusetts, Governor of Massachusetts
• Paul Sarbanes, Senator and Representative from Maryland
• Charles Schumer, Senator and Representative from New York
• Ted Stevens, Senator from Alaska
• Adlai Stevenson III, Senator from Illinois
• Charles Sumner, Senator from Massachusetts
• Robert A. Taft, Senator from Ohio
• Robert Taft Jr., Senator and Representative from Ohio
• Mark Warner, incumbent U.S. Senator from Virginia, and former VA governor

Representatives

• Richard S. Aldrich, Rhode Island
• Tom Allen, Maine
• John Anderson, Illinois and independent candidate in the 1980 Presidential election
• John Barrow, Georgia (2005–present)
• Anson Burlingame, Massachusetts (1855–1861)
• Tom Campbell, California (1989–93, 1995–2001) and dean of the Haas School of Business
• Joaquin Castro, Texas (2013-present)
• Patrick A. Collins, Massachusetts (1883–1889), Mayor of Boston, Massachusetts (1902–1905)
• Jim Cooper, Tennessee (2003–present)
• Tom Cotton, Arkansas (2013-present)
• Christopher Cox, California (1989–2005), Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (2005–2009)
• William C. Cramer, Florida (1955–1971)
• Artur Davis, Alabama
• Ron DeSantis, Florida (2013-present)
• William Thomas Ellis, Kentucky (1889–1895)
• George Eustis, Louisiana (1855–1859)
• Daniel J. Flood, Pennsylvania (1945-1947, 1949-1953, 1955-1980)
• Barney Frank, Massachusetts (1981–2012)
• Alan Grayson, Florida (2013-present)
• Jane Harman, California
• Bill Jefferson, Louisiana
• Joseph P. Kennedy III, Massachusetts (2013-present)
• Sander Levin, Michigan
• Walter I. McCoy, New Jersey (1911–1914)
• Tom Petri, Wisconsin
• John Sarbanes, Maryland
• Adam Schiff, California
• Pat Schroeder, Colorado (first woman elected to position)
• Terri Sewell, Georgia (2011-present)
• Brad Sherman, California
• William H. Sowden, Pennsylvania
• Juan Vargas, California (2013-present)
• Laurence Hawley Watres, Pennsylvania

Judicial branch

Supreme Court justices

Louis Brandeis

• Harry Blackmun
• Louis Brandeis
• William Brennan
• Stephen Breyer (sitting)
• Harold Hitz Burton
• Benjamin Curtis
• Felix Frankfurter
• Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
• Elena Kagan (sitting)
• Anthony Kennedy (sitting)
• Lewis Powell
• John G. Roberts (Chief Justice, sitting)
• Edward T. Sanford
• Antonin Scalia
• David Souter

Federal Court judges

Learned Hand

• R. Lanier Anderson III, judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
• Christine Arguello, judge on the United States District Court for the District of Colorado
• Morris S. Arnold, senior-status judge on the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals based in Little Rock
• Richard S. Arnold, late judge on the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, federal courthouse in Little Rock bears his name
• Deborah Batts, judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
• Cathy Bissoon, (J.D. 1993) judge on the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania
• Michael Boudin, (LL.B. 1964) Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
• Ed Carnes (J.D. 1975) Circuit judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
• Susan L. Carney, (J.D. 1977), judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
• Henry Friendly, (LL.B. 1927), judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, 1959–1974; senior circuit judge, 1974–1976
• John P. Fullam, (LL.B. 1948), judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
• Marvin J. Garbis (J.D. 1961), judge on the United States District Court for the District of Maryland
• Merrick Garland, (J.D. 1977) judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
• Myron L. Gordon, United States Federal District Court judge
• Neil Gorsuch, (J.D. 1991) judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
• Joseph A. Greenaway, (J.D. 1981), United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
• Learned Hand, (LL.B. 1896) judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and the most famed American jurist never to make it to the Supreme Court bench.
• Harris Hartz, (J.D. 1972), United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
• Matthew F. Kennelly, (J.D. 1981) judge on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
• Whitman Knapp, investigated corruption in the NYPD
• Pierre Leval (J.D. 1963) senior circuit judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
• John T. Noonan, Jr. (LL.B. 1954), senior judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
• Diarmuid O'Scannlain (J.D. 1963), circuit judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
• Richard A. Posner (LL.B. 1962), circuit judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
• Jed S. Rakoff (J.D. 1969), judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
• Bruce Marshall Selya (LL.B. 1958), senior judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
• Laurence H. Silberman (J.D. 1961), senior judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
• James R. Spencer (J.D 1974), Chief Judge of the Eastern District of Virginia
• A. Wallace Tashima (LL.B. 1961), third Asian American to be appointed to the United States Court of Appeals
• Mark L. Wolf (J.D. 1971), chief judge on the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts
• Kimba Wood (J.D. 1969), chief judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York

State government

Governors

• Bruce Babbitt, Governor of Arizona, United States Secretary of the Interior
• Percival Proctor Baxter (1901), Governor of Maine (1921–25)
• Owen Brewster, Governor of Maine, Senator from Maine
• John Chafee, Governor of Rhode Island, Senator from Rhode Island, Secretary of the Navy
• Jim Doyle, Governor of Wisconsin
• Michael Dukakis, Governor of Massachusetts; Democratic presidential nominee (1988)
• Pierre S. du Pont, IV, Governor of Delaware; US Representative from Delaware
• Joseph B. Ely, Governor of Massachusetts (1931–1935)
• Bob Graham, Governor of Florida, Senator from Florida
• Jennifer Granholm, Governor of Michigan
• Tim Kaine, Governor of Virginia
• Deval Patrick, Governor of Massachusetts
• Sylvester Pennoyer, Governor of Oregon
• Robert E. Quinn, Governor of Rhode Island and Judge for the Rhode Island Superior Court
• Mitt Romney, Governor of Massachusetts, Republican presidential nominee (2012)
• Leverett Saltonstall, Governor of Massachusetts, Senator from Massachusetts
• Eliot Spitzer, Governor of New York
• Bruce Sundlun, Governor of Rhode Island
• Aníbal Acevedo Vilá, Governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
• Mark R. Warner, Governor of Virginia; United States Senator from Virginia
• William Weld, Governor of Massachusetts

State politicians

• John O. Bailey, state Senator and Representative in Oregon, Chief Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court
• Brent Barton, State Representative of Oregon
• Daniel Bigelow, served in first legislature of Washington Territory, 1854
• Joaquín Castro, State Representative of Texas
• Wendy Davis, Texas State Senator and 2014 Democratic Gubernatorial nominee
• Raj Goyle, State Representative of Kansas
• Harold Groves, State Senator and Assemblyman of Wisconsin
• Brad Hoylman, State Senator of New York
• Sheila Kuehl, first openly gay member of the California legislature; child actress
• Patrick D. McGee (1916–70), California State Assembly and Los Angeles City Council member in the mid–20th Century
• Jonathan Miller, State Treasurer of Kentucky, democratic candidate for Governor of Kentucky, 2007
• Steve Pajcic, State Representative of Florida, democratic candidate for Governor of Florida, 1986
• Alvin C. Reis, State Senator and Assemblyman of Wisconsin

State judges

• John O. Bailey, Chief Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court, state Senator and Representative in Oregon
• James T. Brand, Chief Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court
• Bruce Bromley, Associate Judge of the New York Court of Appeals, partner at Cravath, Swaine & Moore
• Raoul G. Cantero III, Associate Justice of the Florida Supreme Court
• Federico Hernández Denton, Chief Justice of the Puerto Rico Supreme Court
• Jennifer Elrod (J.D. 1992), Texas state district judge
• Paul C. Gartzke, Presiding Judge of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals
• W. Michael Gillette, Oregon Supreme Court justice
• Michael Linfield (J.D. 1989), Los Angeles Superior Court judge
• Mary Mullarkey, Chief Justice of the Colorado Supreme Court
• Stuart Rabner, Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court
• Gerald Schroeder, Chief Justice of the Idaho Supreme Court
• Nathaniel Tompkins, Associate Justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court

City government

• David Chiu (J.D.), president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors
• Robert A. Dressler (J.D. 1973), Mayor of Fort Lauderdale, Florida (1982–1986)
• Karen Freeman-Wilson, Mayor of Gary, Indiana (2012-present)
• Sam Liccardo (J.D. 1996), Mayor of the City of San Jose, California (2015 - present)
• James Marshall Head, Mayor of Nashville, Tennessee (1900–1904)
• Randal William McGavock, Mayor of Nashville, Tennessee (1858–1859) and Confederate Lt. Col.
• Neville Miller (LL.B. 1920), Mayor of Louisville, Kentucky (1933–1937)
• Joel Wachs, Los Angeles City Council member (1970–2001), president of the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts
• Anthony A. Williams (J.D.), Mayor of Washington, D.C. (1999-2007)

U.S. diplomatic figures

• Norman Armour, career diplomat, chief of mission in eight countries, Assistant Secretary of State
• Richard L. Baltimore, United States Ambassador to Oman (2002–2006)
• Joseph Hodges Choate, United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom (1848–1852)
• Norman L. Eisen (J.D. 1991), United States Ambassador to the Czech Republic
• Nicholas Fish II, held various diplomatic posts across Europe
• Charles W. Freeman, Jr., United States Ambassador to Saudi Arabia (1989–1992)
• Evan G. Galbraith, United States Ambassador to France (1981–1985)
• Rita Hauser, United States Ambassador to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights (1969–1972)
• Philip Lader, United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom, White House Deputy Chief of Staff, Administrator of the Small Business Administration
• Robert Todd Lincoln, United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom, United States Secretary of War
• Jamie Metzl (J.D.), holder of various diplomatic and human rights positions
• Ogden Mills, United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom, United States Secretary of the Treasury
• William Phillips, twice an Undersecretary in the State Department
• Samantha Power, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations
• Todd Stern, Special Envoy for Climate Change
• Sheldon Vance, United States Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Chad
• Robert Zoellick, Deputy Secretary of State, US Trade Representative, President of the World Bank

Other U.S. political figures

• John B. Bellinger III, Legal Adviser of the Department of State
• Richard C. Breeden, Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission
• Charles Burson, chief of staff to Vice President Al Gore and Tennessee Attorney General
• Pedro Albizu Campos, leader of the Puerto Rico independence movement and the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party
• Lawrence Clayton (LL.B. 1916), United States Federal Reserve Board Governor (1934–1949)
• Paul Clement, Solicitor General of the United States
• Archibald Cox, Solicitor General of the United States and special prosecutor during the Watergate scandal
• Raj Date, Special Advisor for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (2011–2012)
• Viet D. Dinh, Assistant Attorney General of the United States
• Glenn A. Fine (J.D. 1985), Inspector General of the Justice Department (2000–present)
• Patrick Fitzgerald, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, prosecutor of many notable corruption trials
• David Frum, author and speechwriter for President George W. Bush
• Ray Garrett, Jr., Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission
• Julius Genachowski, Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission
• David Gergen, political consultant and presidential advisor
• David Ginsburg, presidential adviser and executive director of the Kerner Commission
• Josh Gottheimer, speechwriter for Bill Clinton, strategist, candidate for the United States House of Representatives
• Erwin Griswold, Solicitor General of the United States and Dean of Harvard Law School
• Conrad K. Harper, Legal Adviser of the Department of State and president of the New York City Bar Association
• Denison Kitchel (LL.B. 1933), national campaign manager for Barry M. Goldwater in 1964
• Jerome Kurtz (1955), Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service (1977–1980)
• Michael Leiter, Director of the National Counterterrorism Center
• David Lilienthal, head of the Tennessee Valley Authority
• Karen L. Loeffler, United States Attorney for the District of Alaska
• Loretta E. Lynch, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York
• Ronald Machen, United States Attorney for the District of Columbia
• Kent Markus, advisor to Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland and former nominee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
• Kevin J. Martin, Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission
• Fernando Martín García, Puerto Rican politician and former member of the Senate of Puerto Rico
• Timothy Massad, Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission
• John J. McCloy, assistant Secretary of War, administered US occupation of Germany, president of the World Bank
• Wade H. McCree, Solicitor General of the United States
• Ken Mehlman, chairman of the Republican National Committee; campaign manager for George W. Bush's second presidential run
• Ralph Nader, Green Party presidential candidate (1996, 2000, 2004); consumer advocate
• Michelle Obama, First Lady of the United States
• Matthew G. Olsen, Director of the National Counterterrorism Center
• Loulan Pitre, Jr., New Orleans lawyer and former member of the Louisiana House of Representatives for Lafourche Parish, Louisiana
• Franklin Raines, Director of the United States Office of Management and Budget
• Edith Ramirez, Chairwoman of the Federal Trade Commission
• Joseph Sandler, longest serving General Counsel of the Democratic National Committee (1993–2009)
• Bob Shrum, political consultant
• William Howard Taft IV, Legal Adviser of the Department of State
• Elisse B. Walter, Chairperson of the Securities and Exchange Commission
• Harold M. Williams, Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission and first president of the J. Paul Getty Trust
• Lee S. Wolosky, former White House counterterrorism official
• Juan Zarate, Deputy National Security Advisor

Non-United States Government

Non-United States political figures

Canada

• Loring Christie, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the United States (1939–1941)
• Francis Fox, Canadian cabinet minister and Principal Secretary
• Joseph Ghiz, Premier of Prince Edward Island, Canada
• Robert Stanfield, Premier of Nova Scotia, Canada
• Nigel S. Wright, Chief of Staff of the Office of the Prime Minister

India

• Shankar Dayal Sharma, former President of India
• Kapil Sibal (LLM), Union Minister of Human Resource Development

Taiwan (Republic of China)

• Lai In-jaw (S.J.D.), former President of the Judicial Yuan (Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court) of the Republic of China
• Annette Lu (LL.M.), former Vice President of the Republic of China
• Ma Ying-jeou (S.J.D.), President of the Republic of China, Chairman of the Kuomintang, former Mayor of Taipei

United Kingdom

• Greville Janner, Baron Janner of Braunstone, British Labour Party politician
• David Lammy (LLM), UK Minister of State for Higher Education, former Minister of Culture, MP for Tottenham
• Anthony Lester, Baron Lester of Herne Hill, Liberal Democrat member of the British House of Lords

Other countries

• Ben Bot, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands
• Juan Ponce Enrile, Senator at the Senate of the Philippines
• Daniel Friedmann, Israeli Minister of Justice
• José García-Margallo, former Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Spain
• Lindsay Grant, former Leader of the People's Action Movement of Saint Kitts and Nevis
• Ho Peng Kee, Member of Parliament in Singapore and president of the Football Association of Singapore
• Daniel Lipšic, Interior Minister of Slovakia, former Minister of Justice
• Fientje Moerman, Belgian, and later Flemish, Minister of Economy, Enterprises, Innovation, Science and Foreign Trade
• Kiraitu Murungi, Kenyan Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs and Energy
• Mary Robinson, former President of the Republic of Ireland and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
• Nawaf Salam, Lebanon's Permanent Representative to the United Nations
• Jovito Salonga, Philippine senator
• Lobsang Sangay, Sikyong Tibetan Government in Exile
• Surakiart Sathirathai, Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand
• Gilbert Teodoro, Secretary of the Department of National Defense of the Philippines and former Congressman
• Ahmed Zaki Yamani, Saudi Arabian Oil Minister and OPEC official

Non-United States judicial figures

International court judges

• Kenneth Keith, New Zealand judge appointed to the International Court of Justice
• Koen Lenaerts (LL.M. 78), Belgian judge at the European Court of Justice
• Miriam Defensor Santiago, judge-elect of the International Criminal Court and a current Senator of the Philippines.

Hong Kong

• Andrew Cheung Kui-nung (LLM 1985), Chief Judge of the High Court of Hong Kong

India

• Rohinton Fali Nariman (LLM), Judge, Supreme Court of India; former Solicitor General of India; youngest Senior Advocate designated by the Supreme Court of India in the history of Republic of India

Other Countries

• Albert Francis Judd (LL.B. 1864, LL.D. 1894), Chief Justice, Kingdom of Hawaii Supreme Court
• Bora Laskin (LL.M. 1939) Puisne Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada (1970–1973), Chief Justice of Canada (1973–1984)
• Gertrude Lübbe-Wolff (LL.M.), Second Senate, Federal Constitutional Court of Germany
• Sandile Ngcobo (LL.M.), Chief Justice of South Africa
• Prof. Joel Ngugi (LL.M. 1998, S.J.D. 2003), Judge of the High Court of Kenya
• Masaharu Ōhashi (LL.M. 1976), Justice of the Supreme Court of Japan
• Ivan Rand (LL.B. 1912) Puisne Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada (1943–1959)
• Bernard Rix (LL.M. 1969), Lord Justice, English Court of Appeals
• Vicente Abad Santos, associate justice on the Supreme Court of the Philippines
• Freda Steel (1978), Manitoba Court of Appeal judge
• Ricardo Villas Bôas Cueva (LL.M. 1990), Justice of the Superior Court of Justice in Brazil

International organization figures

• Radhika Coomaraswamy, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations, Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict
• Gerald L. Neuman, United Nations Human Rights Committee
• Navanethem Pillay (LLM 1982, SJD 1988), UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
• Mary Robinson, former UN High Commissioner on Human Rights
• Robert Zoellick, President of the World Bank Group

Attorneys

• Morgan Chu (J.D. 1976), intellectual property lawyer and co-managing partner at Irell & Manella
• H. Rodgin Cohen, corporate lawyer noted for representation of large financial institutions during 2008 financial crisis
• Bert Fields (LL.B. 1952), entertainment lawyer, represented celebrities including The Beatles, James Cameron, Tom Cruise, and Michael Jackson
• Joseph H. Flom, name partner at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
• John B. Quinn, founder and name partner of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan

Academia

University presidents

• Jonathan R. Alger, James Madison University
• Lawrence S. Bacow, Tufts University
• Derek Bok, twice Harvard University
• Kingman Brewster, Jr., Yale University and United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom
• Thomas V. Chema, Hiram College
• Colin Diver, Reed College
• Thomas Ehrlich, Indiana University
• David Leebron, Rice University
• William C. Powers, the University of Texas
• Jennifer Raab, Hunter College, City University of New York
• Joel Seligman, the University of Rochester
• John Sexton, New York University
• Adel Tamano, University of the City of Manila of the Philippines and dean of Law of Liceo de Cagayan University
• Michael K. Young, University of Washington

Legal academia

Law school deans

Harold Hongju Koh

• Andres D. Bautista (LL.M. 1993), law faculty dean at Far Eastern University in the Philippines
• Tom Campbell (J.D. 1976), dean of the Chapman University School of Law
• Erwin Chemerinsky (J.D. 1978), founding dean of University of California, Irvine School of Law; former constitutional law scholar at Duke Law School
• Jim Chen, dean of University of Louisville School of Law
• Robert C. Clark (J.D. 1972), dean (1989–2003) and professor at Harvard Law
• Clarence Clyde Ferguson Jr. (LL.B. 1951), dean and professor at Harvard Law, diplomat and U.S. Ambassador to Uganda
• Charles Hamilton Houston, dean of Howard University School of Law and NAACP litigation director
• Bruce Jacob (S.J.D.), alumnus, professor, and dean of Stetson University College of Law, dean of Mercer University Law School
• Kevin Johnson, dean of the UC Davis School of Law (King Hall)
• Elena Kagan (J.D. 1986), dean of Harvard Law (2003–2009)
• Prof. Sylvia Kang'ara (LL.m. 1998, SJD 2003), dean of the Riara University School of Law, Kenya
• Joseph D. Kearney (J.D. 1989), dean of the Marquette University Law School
• W. Page Keeton, dean of the University of Texas School of Law
• Harold Hongju Koh (J.D. 1980), dean of Yale Law School and Assistant Secretary of State
• Charles T. McCormick, dean of the University of Texas Law School and the University of North Carolina School of Law
• Makau W. Mutua (LL.M. 1985, S.J.D. 1987), dean of the University at Buffalo Law School, The State University of New York
• William L. Prosser, dean of the Boalt Hall School of Law at UC Berkeley
• Symeon C. Symeonides (LL.M. 1974, S.J.D. 1980), dean of the Willamette University College of Law
• Cesar L. Villanueva (LL.M. 1989), dean of the Ateneo de Manila Law School in the Philippines
• Robert K. Vischer (J.D. 1996), dean of the University of St. Thomas School of Law

Constitutional law

• Jack Balkin, studies constitutional law and the impact of technology on law
• Robert Delahunty (J.D. 1983), professor of constitutional law at the University of St. Thomas School of Law
• Michael C. Dorf, professor of constitutional law at Columbia Law School
• John Ordronaux, Civil War army surgeon, professor of medical jurisprudence at Columbia Law School, pioneering mental health commissioner
• Richard Pildes, professor of constitutional law and public law at NYU School of Law
• Nadine Strossen, professor of constitutional law and scholar of civil liberties at New York Law School, former president of the ACLU
• Kathleen Sullivan, constitutional law scholar at Stanford Law School
• Laurence Tribe (J.D. 1966), professor of constitutional law at Harvard Law School

Criminal law

• Robert Blecker, criminal law professor at New York Law School and national expert on and advocate for the death penalty
• Bernard Harcourt (J.D. 1989), criminological critical theorist

Legal history

• Richard B. Bernstein (J.D. 1980), constitutional historian at New York Law School
• Richard H. Helmholz (LL.B. 1965), property, natural resource, and legal history scholar at the University of Chicago Law School
• Morton Horwitz (LL.B. 1967), torts and legal history scholar
• John H. Langbein (LL.B. 1968), Sterling Professor of Law and Legal History at Yale Law School
• Daniel H. Lowenstein (LLB 1967), election law at UCLA Law School
• Charles Warren, Pulitzer Prize–winning legal historian and Assistant Attorney General

International law

• Bernard Audit (LL.M. 1969), international law professor at Panthéon-Assas University
• Francis Boyle, international law professor at the University of Illinois
• Amy Chua (J.D. 1987), international law and economics scholar at Yale Law School
• Louis Henkin (LL.B 1940), international law and human rights authority
• Klemen Jaklic (S.J.D. 2011), lecturer in international law at Harvard Law School
• David Kennedy, critical theorist of international law
• Joe Oloka-Onyango (LL.M., S.J.D.), Ugandan legal academic at Makerere University
• Eric Posner, international law scholar at the University of Chicago Law School
• Brad R. Roth, professor of international law and political science at Wayne State University

Law and literature

• Jane Ginsburg, art and literary law property professor at Columbia Law
• Dan Fenno Henderson (1949), founder of the University of Washington Asian law program; author of several works related to Japanese law
• James Boyd White (1964), founder of the Law and Literature movement

Legal philosophy

• Randy Barnett, libertarian legal theorist
• Ronald Dworkin, legal and political philosopher
• Richard Posner (LL.B. 1962), professor at the University of Chicago Law School, started the law and economics movement, judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
• Peter Tillers, professor at Cardozo Law School and theorist of the law of evidence

Law and technology

• Jack Balkin, studies constitutional law and the impact of technology on law
• William W. Fisher, intellectual property law professor at Harvard Law School and director of the Berkman Center for Internet and Society
• Peter Junger (LL.B. 1958), Internet law activist and professor at Case Western Reserve University
• Charles Nesson, professor at Harvard Law School and founder of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society
• Michael Rustad, intellectual property scholar, author, and professor at Suffolk University Law School
• Tim Wu (J.D. 1998), professor of law and technology at Columbia; coined the term "net neutrality"; writer for Slate
• Jonathan Zittrain (J.D. 1995), professor of Internet Law at Harvard Law School and Harvard Kennedy School

Other legal academia

• Alberto Alemanno, legal scholar at New York University
• Stephen Barnett (1935–2009), legal scholar at Berkeley Law who opposed the Newspaper Preservation Act of 1970
• George Bisharat, expert on Middle East legal and political affairs
• Susan Estrich, feminist and legal commentator for Fox News
• Owen M. Fiss, Sterling Professor at Yale Law School
• Robert P. George, professor of jurisprudence at Princeton University
• Martin D. Ginsburg, taxation law expert, professor of law at Georgetown University Law Center
• Annette Gordon-Reed (J.D. 1984), professor at Harvard Law School and Pulitzer Prize for History winner
• John Chipman Gray (LL.B. 1861), property law professor and founder of the law firm Ropes & Gray
• Livingston Hall, Roscoe Pound, Professor of Law at Harvard Law School until his 1971 retirement
• Christine M. Jolls, professor of law and economics at Yale Law School
• Lance Liebman, professor at Columbia Law School and director of the American Law Institute
• John F. Manning, Bruce Bromley Professor at Harvard Law School
• Mari Matsuda, professor at Georgetown University Law Center, a leading voice in critical race theory, and first tenured female Asian American law professor in the U.S.
• Arthur R. Miller, professor at NYU School of Law, former professor at Harvard Law School
• Paul Steven Miller, disability rights expert, EEOC Commissioner, professor at the University of Washington School of Law, Special Assistant to the President
• John V. Orth (J.D. 1974), professor of law at UNC-Chapel Hill
• John Palfrey, Executive Director of the Berkman Center for Internet and Society and Harvard clinical professor of law
• Cass Sunstein (J.D. 1978), professor at Harvard Law School
• Patricia J. Williams (J.D. 1975), proponent of critical race theory in law

Other academia

• Edward N. Beiser (1977), political scientist
• Wallace Clift (J.D. 1952), psychology and religion, author of books including Jung and Christianity: The Challenge of Reconciliationde
• Fr. John J. Coughlin (1987), Franciscan priest, attorney, and author
• Herbert J. Davenport, economist
• John Fiske, philosopher and historian
• Harvey J. Levin (Fellow in Law and Economics, 1963–64), communications economist
• John Matteson, English professor and Pulitzer Prize–winning literary biographer
• Cheryl Mendelson, ethics philosopher and novelist
• Samuel Moyn (J.D. 2001), intellectual historian
• Eli Noam (J.D. 1975), professor of finance and economics at Columbia Business School
• David Riesman, sociologist; author of The Lonely Crowd
• Anne-Marie Slaughter, dean of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University
• Robert Somol, director of the University of Illinois at Chicago architecture school

Activism

• George Thorndike Angell, anti-animal cruelty activist
• Richard Barnet (J.D. 1954), disarmament activist and co-founder of the leftist think tank Institute for Policy Studies
• Larissa Behrendt (LL.M. 1994), Australian aboriginal rights activist, novelist
• Luke Cole, environmental lawyer and co-founder of the Center on Race, Poverty & the Environment
• John P. Davis (LL.B. 1933), African American activist
• Alfred-Maurice de Zayas, human rights advocate and historian
• Charles E. Dunbar (LL.B. 1914), civil service reformer
• George Esser, civil rights advocate
• Sandra Froman, president of the National Rifle Association
• Jennifer Gordon, immigrant labor organizer
• Jodi Grant, executive director of the Afterschool Alliance
• Mark J. Green, public interest author, candidate for Senator from New York (1986), Mayor of New York City (2001) and New York State Attorney General (2006)
• Archibald Grimké, co-founder of the NAACP
• Marjorie Heins, free speech and civil liberties advocate
• Mary Howell (J.D. 1991), fought to open medical schools to women
• Irene Khan, Secretary General of Amnesty International
• Brink Lindsey, Cato Institute libertarian activist
• Hans F. Loeser (J.D. 1950), anti-Vietnam War activist
• David A. Morse, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for leadership of the International Labour Organization
• Ethan Nadelmann, anti-War on Drugs activist
• Ralph Nader, consumer advocate and frequent Green Party presidential candidate
• Basil O'Connor, polio research advocate and president of the American Red Cross
• Rebecca Onie, CEO of Health Leads and MacArthur Fellowship recipient
• Wendell Phillips (1934), abolitionist and Native American rights advocate
• Louis L. Redding (LL.B. 1928), NAACP lawyer and civil rights advocate; first African American admitted to the Delaware bar
• Randall Robinson, anti-apartheid and pro-Haitian immigrant activist; founded the TransAfrica Forum
• Harvey A. Silverglate, founder of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education
• Silda Wall Spitzer, founder of Children for Children, former First Lady of New York State
• Moorfield Storey, president of the NAACP and the Anti-Imperialist League
• Nadine Strossen, president of the American Civil Liberties Union
• William English Walling, co-founder of the NAACP and founder of the Women's Trade Union League
• Evan Wolfson, civil rights attorney, founder and president of Freedom to Marry

Arts

Acting

• Justin Deabler, starred in The Real World: Hawaii (1992)
• Jared Delgin, child actor
• David Dorfman, film and television actor, child prodigy
• Hill Harper, film, television, and stage actor
• Samuel S. Hinds, starred in It's a Wonderful Life and Abbott & Costello films
• Sheila Kuehl, child actress, first openly gay member of the California legislature

Architecture

• Paul Byard, architect and director of the Columbia architecture school historic preservation program

Comedy

• Richard Appel, comic writer, The Simpsons and The Cleveland Show
• John Cochran (Survivor contestant), comedy writer and television personality
• Fred de Cordova, producer of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
• Greg Giraldo, stand-up comedian and television personality

Film

• Gaspar Bergman, director
• Sidney Salkow, director

Literature

• Benjamin Vaughan Abbott (LL.B. 1851), novelist and author of the New York State penal code
• Seth Abramson (J.D. 2001), poet
• Jacob M. Appel, short story writer, playwright (Arborophilia, The Mistress of Wholesome, Creve Coeur)
• Louis Begley (LL.B. 1959), PEN/Hemingway Award-winning novelist; author of About Schmidt
• Alexander Boldizar (J.D. 1999), writer and critic
• Susan Cain (J.D. 1993), attorney, New York Times bestselling writer (Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking)
• Viola Canales (J.D. 1989), novelist and short story writer
• John Casey, novelist
• Max Ehrmann, poet
• Amy Gutman (J.D. 1993), novelist
• Mohsin Hamid (J.D. 1997), novelist; author of the PEN/Hemingway Award finalist Moth Smoke and the Booker Prize-nominated The Reluctant Fundamentalist
• Philip Jeyaretnam, Singaporean novelist and lawyer
• Murad Kalam (J.D. 2002), novelist and short story writer
• Brad Leithauser, poet, novelist, essay
• James Russell Lowell, romantic poet, satirist, literary critic, United States Ambassador to Spain, and United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom
• Archibald MacLeish (LL.B. 1919), Pulitzer Prize–winning modernist poet, playwright and Librarian of Congress
• John Matteson (J.D. 1986), Pulitzer Prize–winning biographer
• James Alan McPherson, Pulitzer Prize–winning short story writer and essayist
• Cheryl Mendelson, novelist and philosopher of medical ethics
• John Jay Osborn, Jr., author of The Paper Chase
• Wena Poon (J.D. 1998), Singaporean author
• Susan Power, PEN/Hemingway Award-winning novelist
• William Henry Rhodes (LL.B. 1846), poet, essayist, short story writer
• Akhil Sharma, PEN/Hemingway Award-winning short story writer, novelist
• Pamela Thomas-Graham, author of the Ivy League Mysteries series
• Arthur Train (LL.B. 1899), author of legal thrillers
• Scott Turow (J.D. 1978), author of legal thrillers
• Walter Wager, mystery and spy fiction novelist
• Ayelet Waldman (J.D. 1991), novelist; wrote Mommy-Track Mysteries, Love and Other Impossible Pursuits; former columnist for Slate
• Sabin Willett (J.D. 1983), novelist and defense lawyer for Guantanamo Bay detainment camp inmates
• Lauren Willig, historical romance novelist
• William Winter (LL.B. 1857), author and literary critic
• Owen Wister (LL.B. 1888), writer of westerns, including The Virginian
• Austin Tappan Wright (L.L.B. 1908), writer and legal scholar, wrote Islandia

Music

• Samim Bilgen (1962), Turkish composer
• Ruben Blades, salsa singer-songwriter and Panamanian Minister of Tourism
• Jackie Fuchs (J.D., 1991), bassist for the music group The Runaways under her former stage name of Jackie Fox
• Colin Meeder (J.D., 1997), Bassist for the music group The Hated
• James Cutler Dunn Parker, composer
• Zeeshan Zaidi (J.D., 2000), lead singer and guitarist for The Commuters

Visual arts

• George Hitchcock, painter
• William Wetmore Story, sculptor

Business

• John Jacob Astor III, financier and member of the Astor family
• Lloyd Blankfein, chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs
• David Bonderman, co-founder of private equity firm TPG Capital
• Doug Carlston, founder of computer game company Brøderbund Software
• Finn M. W. Caspersen (J.D. 1966), financier, philanthropist, CEO of Beneficial Corporation and Knickerbocker Management
• Kenneth Chenault, chairman and CEO of American Express
• Domenico De Sole, chairman of Tom Ford International and Sotheby's
• Russ DeLeon, founder of online gambling site PartyGaming
• Marc Dreier, sole equity partner in Dreier LLP convicted of securities fraud for selling $700 million in fictitious promissory notes
• Jonathan Greenleaf Eveleth, founder of first U.S. oil company
• Roger W. Ferguson, Jr. (J.D. 1979), CEO of TIAA-CREF
• Kenneth Frazier (J.D. 1978), President and CEO of Merck & Co.
• Tully Friedman, founder of Friedman Fleischer & Lowe and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the American Enterprise Institute
• Gerald Grinstein, CEO of Delta Air Lines
• Douglas Hagerman, General Counsel, Secretary, and Senior Vice President of Rockwell Automation
• Charles E. Haldeman, CEO of Freddie Mac
• Glenn Hutchins, co-founder of private equity firm Silver Lake Partners
• Mitchell R. Julis, co-founder of hedge fund Canyon Capital Advisors
• Radcliffe Killam, oilman, businessman, rancher, large landowner, and philanthropist from Laredo, Texas
• Jeff Kindler, CEO of Pfizer
• Reginald Lewis, financier
• Kenneth Lipper, investment banker, novelist, film producer
• Alfred Lee Loomis
• Charlie Munger, Vice-Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway
• L. L. Nunn, entrepreneur and educator
• Adebayo Ogunlesi, Chairman of private equity firm Global Infrastructure Partners
• Ellen Pao, interim CEO of Reddit
• Abram Nicholas Pritzker, founder of the Hyatt hotel chain
• Keith Rabois, technology entrepreneur, executive and investor
• Sumner Redstone, Chairman of National Amusements
• Leonid Rozhetskin, financier
• Anthony Scaramucci, founder and co-managing partner of SkyBridge Capital
• Paul Singer, founder and CEO of Elliott Management Corporation and founder of the Paul E. Singer Family Foundation
• Jeff Smisek, Chairman, President, and CEO of United Airlines
• Gerald L. Storch, Chairman and CEO of Toys "R" Us
• Pamela Thomas-Graham, CEO of CNBC
• Charlemagne Tower, railroad executive
• Bruce Wasserstein, CEO of Lazard
• William Woodward, Sr., banker and thoroughbred horse racer
• Mortimer Zuckerman, editor-in-chief of U.S. News & World Report, owner of the New York Daily News

Entertainment industry

• Paul Attanasio, TV/film screenwriter and producer; worked on House and Homicide: Life on the Street
• Ron Bass, Academy Award-winning screenwriter and film producer; wrote Rain Man
• Peter Blake, consulting producer for House
• Geoff Calkins, lead sports columnist for the Memphis Commercial Appeal and ESPN radio show host
• Debra Martin Chase, Hollywood producer
• Clive Davis, Grammy Award-winning music producer
• Frederick de Cordova (1933), film and television director and producer
• Bill Jemas, comic book writer and producer
• Christopher Keyser, TV screenwriter for Party of Five
• Jeff Kwatinetz, music manager and television producer
• Ken Ludwig, playwright and theater director
• Jeffrey Orridge, television executive
• David Otunga, husband of Jennifer Hudson; WWE wrestler; former reality tv contestant, I Love New York 2
• Cary Sherman, Chairman and CEO of the Recording Industry Association of America
• David Sonenberg, music manager and film producer
• Jon F. Vein, founder and CEO of MarketShare (subsidiary of Neustar); Emmy Award-winning animation producer.
• David Zippel, Tony Award-winning musical theater lyricist

Media and journalism

Commentators

• Keith Boykin, author, commentator; hosts My Two Cents on BET
• Jim Cramer, host of CNBC's Mad Money and co-founder of TheStreet.com
• Debra Dickerson, essayist on race
• Rebecca Eisenberg (J.D. 1993), early blogger and writer on technology
• Susan Estrich, feminist and legal commentator for Fox News
• David Frum, author and speechwriter for President George W. Bush
• Thomas Geoghegan, legal commentator
• Lawrence Otis Graham, writer on contemporary race and class issues
• Norman Hapgood, editor and critic
• George Stillman Hillard, biographer, journalist, and Maine state politician
• John H. Hinderaker, conservative blogger
• Mickey Kaus, journalist and blogger for Slate
• Carol Platt Liebau (1992), political analyst and commentator
• Eric Liu, writer on race and mentorship; columnist for Slate
• Ruth Marcus (J.D. 1984), columnist for the Washington Post
• Kevin Philips, political commentator, Richard Nixon campaign strategist
• Samantha Power, Pulitzer Prize–winning writer on genocide, human rights, and foreign policy
• Laurie Puhn, commentator, self-help author, and television hostess
• Dong Puno, Philippine columnist, television host and producer
• Ben Shapiro, conservative commentator
• Jeffrey Steingarten, columnist for Vogue and Slate magazines; food critic
• James B. Stewart, Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist
• Jeffrey Toobin, legal analyst for CNN and staff writer for The New Yorker
• Nicholas Vardy, Editor, The Global Guru, CIO, Global Guru Capital
• Lis Wiehl (1987), legal analyst for Fox News and NPR
• Tim Wu, writer for Slate; coined the term "net neutrality"; professor of law and technology at Columbia

Journalists

• Benjamin C. Bradlee, former Editor at Large of the Washington Post
• Adam Cohen, editorial page editor for the New York Times
• Lisa Daniels (1997), anchorwoman for NBC's Weekend Today
• William L. Laurence, Pulitzer Prize–winning science journalist who covered the testing and dropping of the atomic bomb
• Meka Nichols, anchor/journalist for Channel One News
• Rob Simmelkjaer, anchor/correspondent for ABC News Now
• Gregory White Smith, 1991 Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Jackson Pollock: An American Saga
• James B. Stewart, 1988 Pulitzer Prize winner for explanatory journalism

Publishers

• Robert C. Bassett, publisher of the Milwaukee Sentinel
• Phil Graham, publisher of the Washington Post
• Tim Hays, publisher of the Riverside Press-Enterprise
• Boisfeuillet Jones, Jr., publisher and CEO of the Washington Post
• Cliff Sloan, publisher of Slate magazine

Military

• Charles J. Biddle, flying ace during the First World War, attorney and author
• Raynal Bolling, first high ranking American officer killed in the First World War
• David M. Brahms, brigadier general in the United States Marine Corps
• Benjamin B. Ferencz, chief prosecutor for the U.S. Army at the Einsatzgruppen trial
• Manning Force (1848), Union leader in the American Civil War
• George Henry Gordon, Union general during the American Civil War; military historian
• Albert G. Jenkins (1850), Confederate brigadier general during the American Civil War and Congressman from Virginia (1857–61)
• Mark S. Martins (1990), Brigadier General (United States Army) and Chief Prosecutor of Military Commissions
• Samuel Underhill, naval aviator
• Ken Watkin, Brigadier General and Judge Advocate General of the Canadian Forces
• Charles White Whittlesey, led the Lost Battalion in the Argonne Forest during the First World War

Spies

• Helge Boes, CIA agent
• John T. Downey, CIA agent captured in China
• Alger Hiss, alleged spy of the Soviet Union

Sports

• Sandy Alderson (J.D., 1976), general manager of the New York Mets
• Bob Arum, boxing promoter
• Mike Brown, owner of the Cincinnati Bengals
• Brian Burke, president of hockey operations for the Calgary Flames
• Dick Button, figure skater and figure skating commentator
• Hayes Jenkins, figure skater
• Steve Clark, freestyle swimmer, multiple Olympic gold medallist and former world record holder
• Don Cohan, Olympic bronze medalist in sailing
• Lou DiBella, boxing promoter
• Len Elmore, professional basketball player, sportscaster
• Lawrence Fleisher, sports agent; helped found the NBA Players Association
• Russ Granik, deputy commissioner of the NBA
• Eddie Grant, Major League Baseball player (1905–1915), nicknamed "Harvard Eddie"
• Ho Peng Kee, president of the Football Association of Singapore and Member of Parliament in Singapore
• Rick Horrow, sports business expert
• Ralph Horween, Harvard Crimson and NFL football player
• Rob Manfred, commissioner of Major League Baseball
• Jeffrey Orridge, commissioner of the Canadian Football League
• David Otunga, professional wrestler with the WWE and former reality television star
• Tony Petitti, president and CEO of the MLB Network
• Michael Weiner (J.D. 1986), executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association

Other

• Myron Avery, Appalachian Trail hiker and travel guide author
• Andy Bloch, champion poker player
• Ruben Bolling, cartoonist, author of Tom the Dancing Bug
• Richard Henry Dana, Jr. (1837), writer on sea life and expert on maritime law
• William Austin Dickinson, older brother of poet Emily Dickinson
• Amanda Goad, winner of the Scripps National Spelling Bee and Jeopardy! Teen Tournament
• Charles Goldfarb, computer language inventor
• Erika Harold, winner of the Miss America contest
• Gardiner Greene Hubbard, founder and first president of the National Geographic Society
• Arnold W. G. Kean, developed civil aviation law
• Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., older brother of President John F. Kennedy
• Joel I. Klein, New York City School Chancellor
• Richard Lederer, author of books on language and wordplay
• Robert Malley, analyst of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
• Scotty McLennan, author and Dean of Religious Life at Stanford University
• George S. Morison (1866), bridge designer
• Michelle Obama, First Lady of the United States
• George Padmore, Pan-Africanist figure
• Francis Parkman, freelance historian and horticulturalist
• Joan Whitney Payson, philanthropist and patron of the arts
• Walter H. Seward (LL.B. 1924), third oldest living American and seventh-oldest living human
• David Spindler, independent scholar of the Great Wall of China
• William Stringfellow, lay theologian
• Sonam Dechen Wangchuck (LL.M. 2007), Princess of Bhutan

Non-graduates

These students attended Harvard Law but, for various reasons, did not graduate.

• Brooks Adams, historian
• Larz Anderson, diplomat and businessman, United States Ambassador to Japan (1912–13)
• William Christian Bullitt, Jr. (dropped out 1914), United States Ambassador to the Soviet Union (1933–1996)
• William Bundy, CIA figure who had a role in planning the Vietnam War
• Allan B. Calhamer, developed the board game Diplomacy
• Daniel Henry Chamberlain (dropped out 1863), Governor of South Carolina
• Frank Church (transferred), US Senator from Idaho (1957–81)
• John Sherman Cooper (dropped out), US Senator from Kentucky (1946–1949, 1952–1955, 1956–1973)
• Danny Fields (dropped out 1959), figure in the underground New York punk rock scene
• Melville Fuller (dropped out 1855), Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court
• Ruth Bader Ginsburg (transferred), US Supreme Court Justice (1993–present)
• Arthur A. Hartman (dropped out 1948), United States Ambassador to France (1977–1981), United States Ambassador to the Soviet Union (1981–1987)
• Henry James, novelist; author of The Bostonians and Washington Square
• Jodi Kantor (dropped out), reporter and editor on culture and politics for the New York Times
• Philip Kaufman, film screenwriter and director
• Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., left before his last year to serve in WWII, where he was killed
• Michael Kinsley (transferred), journalist, editor, and host of Crossfire
• Nicholas Longworth (transferred), Speaker of the House (1925–31)
• Greg Mankiw (dropped out 1984), economist
• Pat McCormick, comic actor and writer
• Gordon McLendon, created Top 40 radio format
• Louis Menand (dropped out 1974), American cultural and intellectual historian
• William Henry Moody (dropped out), US Supreme Court Justice (1906–1910), United States Attorney General (1904–1906), United States Secretary of the Navy (1902–1904), congressman from Massachusetts (1895–1902)
• George Murdock, anthropologist
• John Negroponte (dropped out 1960), US Deputy Secretary of State, Director of National Intelligence
• Cole Porter, composer and songwriter
• Roscoe Pound (dropped out 1890), dean of Harvard Law School
• Donald Regan, United States Secretary of the Treasury (1981–1985), White House Chief of Staff (1985–1987)
• Angelo Rizzuto, photographer
• Robert Rubin (dropped out), Secretary of the Treasury
• William James Sidis (dropped out 1919), famous child prodigy
• Alfred D. Sieminski (dropped out 1936), congressman from New Jersey (1951–1959)
• Adlai Stevenson II (dropped out), Governor of Illinois (1949–1953) and Democratic presidential candidate (1952, 1956)
• Joe Vila (dropped out), sports writer
• Robert W. Welch Jr. (dropped out), founder of the anticommunist John Birch Society

Fictitious alumni

• Phillip Banks, character on the TV series Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
• Oliver Barrett, main character in the film Love Story and its sequel Oliver's Story
• Cable, superhero from the X-Force and X-Men comic books, as disclosed in X-Force Vol. 1 No. 40
• Lindsay Dole, character on the TV series The Practice
• Jerry Espenson, character on the TV series Boston Legal
• Ainsley Hayes, character on the TV Series The West Wing
• Miranda Hobbes, character on the TV series Sex and the City
• Thurston Howell, III, character on the TV series Gilligan's Island
• Artemus Gordon, character in the film Wild Wild West
• Louis Litt, character on the TV series Suits
• Ally McBeal, main character in the eponymous TV series
• Mitch McDeere, main character in the TV series The Firm and the John Grisham novel which it was adapted from
• Harvey Specter, character on the TV series Suits
• Elle Woods, main character in the Legally Blonde films and musical