When I sat down  in Torts on my first day of law school, I had no way of knowing that I was sitting next to a future Harvard Law School Professor.  I mean, he looked smart enough, and he definitely took better notes than I did, but I wouldn’t have guessed that he was headed there at that time.  But now, 18 years after we both made it through Torts (and so much more!) I was not all all surprised when Tyler Giannini told me that he had been appointed as a clinical law professor at one of our nation’s most prestigious institutions.

Harvard is lucky to have one of ERI’s founders and former co-directors, who together with Ka Hsaw Wa and myself, was idealistic enough to think that the most marginalized and oppressed people in the world should enjoy basic human rights, and that even the most powerful governments and corporations should be subject to the rule of law.  Tyler gave everything of himself to EarthRights for a decade,  from the courtroom against Unocal to the classrooms of our EarthRights Schools.  The organization wouldn’t be the success it is today without Tyler’s vision and audacity—two of the many qualitites that Tyler will bring to the students and faculty of Harvard Law School.

Tyler joined HLS as a clinical advocacy fellow in 2004, was appointed as a lecturer on law in 2006, and became director of the International Human Rights Clinic in 2007.  Tyler and ERI have continued to collaborate on a variety of projects, including a recent amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court.  We’ve benefited from the excellent law students and graduates that Tyler has continued to send our way; communities around the world have benefited from Tyler’s tireless commitment to their rights.  Needless to say, we at ERI are thrilled for Tyler, and proud that he originally made his name here at EarthRights.   We’re looking forward to continued collaboration with Tyler and HLS, and of course to future progress and victories that we’ll celebrate together.