Breyer named professor at Harvard Law

Former Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer has been appointed to be a professor at Harvard Law School, the school announced in a release on Friday. 

Breyer graduated from Harvard Law School in 1964 and taught there for more than a decade, from 1967 to 1980. His professorship was previously held by former Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter before he was appointed to the court. 

Breyer said in the release that he is pleased to return to Harvard to teach, write and encourage future generations who are interested in law. 

“Among other things, I will likely try to explain why I believe it important that the next generations of those associated with the law engage in work, and take approaches to law, that help the great American constitutional experiment work effectively for the American people,” he said. 

Breyer, who is 83 years old, served on the Supreme Court for almost 30 years after being appointed by President Bill Clinton. He retired from the court last month and was succeeded by Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman to serve on the court. 

Harvard Law School Dean John Manning said in the release that Breyer is a “historic jurist and world-class legal scholar” with a history serving as a faculty member. 

“His brilliance, experience, collegiality, openness, and intellectual inquisitiveness will deeply enrich our community and advance our mission of teaching, scholarship, and service,” he said. 

Breyer has written extensively on many subjects including administrative and regulatory policy, comparative constitutional law and constitutional interpretation, the school noted. He has also written more than half a dozen books and dozens of law review publications.