Yale Law School Reflects on Its Bicentennial Year

As part of bicentennial celebrations, alumni events were held throughout the year. Dean Heather K. Gerken traveled to 12 cities across the world where she met with more than 2,000 alums. From London to Los Angeles, Miami to Chicago, D.C. to San Francisco, these regional gatherings offered alumni the chance to reflect on the history of the School and commemorate the milestone with fellow graduates.

The largest regional event took place in New York City in early April with more than 800 alumni in attendance. The evening included a “blue” carpet entrance, dinner under a stunning projection of the Sterling Law Building, and a conversation between Gerken and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ronan Farrow ’09. 

In addition to convening around the country, the Law School hosted several happenings on campus throughout the year to bring the Yale Law School community together. In February, students had the opportunity to brush up on their Law School facts with a Student Happy Hour and Trivia Night, and April and September saw community gatherings where students, faculty, and staff connected and celebrated over food in the Sol Goldman Courtyard. 

The Lillian Goldman Law Library also recognized the bicentennial with two rare book exhibits: “At Gotham: Yale Law School at 200” from Jan. 22, 2024, through July 14, 2024, and “‘One Sound, Tested Method’: Yale Law School at 200” from Aug. 15, 2024, through Jan. 13, 2025. Both exhibits drew on the library’s rich archives and collections to bring the School’s history to life, showcasing items such as an ink drawing with Batman’s law degree from “Yale University at Gotham, New Haven” in the background, the only extant copy of the earliest version of “The Bluebook,” and early drawings of Sterling Law Building’s stained glass windows. 

The celebratory year culminated in a spectacular Alumni Weekend that welcomed more than 1,300 alumni back to New Haven for a reunion with former classmates, thought-provoking panel discussions, and the chance to commemorate the bicentennial with the broader Yale Law School community.

Highlights from the weekend included a “Women on the Bench: A Judicial Legacy” panel featuring Justice Sonia Sotomayor ’79, California Supreme Court Justice Leondra Kruger ’01, Judge Pamela Harris ’90, and Judge Dabney Friedrich ’92; a conversation between former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton ’73 and Gerken; and a “Conversation on Textualist Approaches of Constitutional Interpretation” with Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science Akhil Reed Amar ’84 and former Acting Solicitor General of the United States Neal Katyal ’95 moderated by comedian John Mulaney, whose parents, Charles Mulaney ’74 and Ellen Mulaney ’74, were celebrating their 50th Reunion.

The year’s festivities are chronicled and archived on the Law School website, which hosts a treasure trove of bicentennial-themed content, including a historical timeline, fun facts, and more. Feature stories delve into the School’s past and consider its future, spotlight the work being done through clinics and centers, and outline the pedagogical approach to legal education that is distinctive to Yale.

The website also features profile videos of several alumni who have gone on to use their law degrees in varied and unique ways, reflecting the interdisciplinary approach to law that has become a hallmark of Yale Law School. Subjects include Justice Kruger of the California Supreme Court; My Khanh Ngo ’17, a staff attorney for the ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project; Sen. Cory Booker ’97; Frank Jimenez ’91, vice president and general counsel of GE HealthCare; entrepreneur Nabiha Syed ’10, the executive director of the Mozilla Foundation; and beloved former Dean and Sterling Professor Emeritus of Law Guido Calabresi ’58. 

Episodes of the “Inside Yale Law School” podcast in 2024 featured in-depth, comprehensive interviews with former deans Guido Calabresi ’58, Robert Post ’77, and Harold Hongju Koh. In January, Gerken appeared on the “Yale Talk” podcast with former University President Peter Salovey, where she discussed how the School continues to shape legal education. 

As 2024 drew to a close, Gerken affirmed the Law School’s commitment to carry its mission into the new century, drawing on Gilmore’s sentiment of holding space for the past and the future.

“Throughout our storied history, we have always led the charge in legal education,” said Gerken in a message to the community. “We continue to show the way forward by opening the doors to legal education, bridging the gap between practice and theory, and fostering new ideas with the power to change the world.”

In the closing toasts she gave at events throughout the bicentennial year, Gerken recalled Gilmore’s sentiments directly: “As we enter our third century, let’s raise a glass to the Law School, a place that is always trying, always striving, never quite there except in memory and hope. May the future be as glorious as our past.”