Alford Tribute

Ding Xiaoyu (Christine)
LL.M. ’20, Harvard Law School; Research Scholar, Yale Law School 

“Knowledge puffeth up, but love edifieth.” 

He remembers. He cares. He helps. 

There are several encounters with Prof. Alford that I will never forget, among which the most memorable was on the evening of February 27, 2020, on the fourth floor of Langdell.  

I was in the midst of being uncertain and worried about the result of my medical examination, sitting at the computer area of Langdell and trying to understand what the CT scan images meant. Prof. Alford saw me as he was rushing to an event. He stopped and asked about my medical examination and told me that he knew several doctors who might help if needed.  

I was deeply touched at that moment – I didn’t expect that a busy professor like him would ever remember the medical examination a student just briefly mentioned in a casual conversation; I didn’t expect that when rushing to an event, he would stop and take the time to ask; I didn’t expect that to help a student, he would offer his personal connections. He may never know how much courage and comfort he has given and how important it is for a student struggling alone in a foreign country.  

This is only one drop in the ocean, and I believe many others have experienced the same. Prof. Alford indeed has a heart for his students.  He cares about them feeling welcome, endeavors to give them a memorable experience, and makes HLS their home. 

I am lucky enough to be one of those students. Even if one day I forget all the knowledge I have learned here, the caring spirit will never fade away.  
That’s what he teaches us, and that’s what I want to pass on.

Hiroko Yamamoto 
J.D.’18, Harvard Law School

Even before I met Professor Alford, fellow students had told me many wonderful things about him: how he was an incredible teacher who took interest in students’ intellectual curiosity and who worked to harness that curiosity into learning. What Professor Alford’s many impressive accomplishments may not necessarily capture – but something I am certain his former students will resoundingly echo – is what a great educator he is. This holds true in his classes and seminars, which I had the privilege of participating in and thoroughly enjoyed, but also in his advisory role to various International Legal Studies initiatives. 

Through my involvement in the Harvard International Law Journal and Harvard International Law Students Association, I had the privilege of witnessing this first hand. Professor Alford fostered our passion for international law and encouraged our growth by guiding us through both the conceptual and practical aspects of these activities. For example, Professor Alford advised us on significant international legal developments and helped situate the emerging legal issues in the broader historical context. I recall sitting together with him and my fellow students in Austin Hall and discussing various issues in international and comparative law.  We relished the chance to discuss these topics with him. And I remember how we bombarded him with questions, but how he had thought-provoking answers to each one that exposed us to the various nuances and the interesting questions still to be explored. When we had proposals for workshops or symposiums hosting international legal luminaries on campus, he welcomed our proposals and offered institutional support and counsel that was critical to the success of those programs.  

Despite the myriad responsibilities he had, Professor Alford was always willing to sit down with us to share his insights and engage with our questions. Professor Alford’s invaluable teaching, advice, and support were imperative in shaping my international legal studies at HLS and have had a permanent, positive impact in my growth in the field.  Thank you very much, Professor Alford, for all that you have done and all that you do.

Scott G. Nichols
Associate Dean for Development and Alumni Affairs (HLS 1986-2006)

When the modern history of Harvard Law School is written, Bill Alford will be joining the pantheon of greats of HLS. Few have shaped and reshaped the School as Bill has done.

I had the good fortune of arriving at HLS about the same time as Bill. Like so many young professors, he was filling the shoes of a legend, Jerry Cohen. It quickly became apparent Bill would not just replace a giant but would shape the School, International Legal Studies and Asian legal scholarship in new, bold, and dramatic ways. ILS had earlier been a subset of HLS programs. Patiently, methodically, Bill convinced faculty, students and administrators that ILS was a core program that was central to everyone.   

During Bill’s time, the outreach of the Law School exploded. Deans made it a high priority.   International alumni were welcomed into the life of the School. Student interest grew geometrically. Curricular offerings added scores of courses in general international and regional legal studies. Bill was essential to the creation and prospering of the Islamic Legal Studies Center, the International Human Rights Program and the International Financial Studies Center, to name a few.

During those years of growth and expansion, I had the pleasure of traveling the globe with Bill in a world-wide trek to build alumni networks and seek financial support for these endeavors. It was a privilege to see how Bill was cherished and respected by so many around the world. His reputation was sterling and it was impressive to be at his side, whether visiting with the Speaker of the Japanese Diet, a Thai princess, or Korean Supreme Court Justices. I had the rare advantage of benefitting from his teaching for 20 years.   

Yet of all his professional and scholarly accomplishments, Bill is valued mostly by me as simply a magnificent person. His many kindnesses to all, his selfless perspective, his endless courtesy and decency define him as one of the extraordinarily special people on the planet. Not to mention his contributions to the Special Olympics.

Bill is truly someone to celebrate.

Keith Lieberthal
J.D.’99, Harvard Law School

Good professors teach you, great professors change you, and a special few stay with you the rest of your life, continuing to do both. Professor Alford has been one of those special few to so many Harvard students over the course of his career. And it is a privilege to count myself among them. As my Chinese law professor, he taught me to examine the country’s legal system through the lenses of history, culture, and politics, alongside traditional legal analysis. And he did so with an intellectual incisiveness and ethical sensitivity I’ve sought to emulate. In the two decades since I was his student, Professor Alford has been a generous mentor, ready with encouragement and counsel at each crossroads in my career, and many in my life. Thank you, Professor Alford, for being one of the special few.

Jung Il-young
LL.M.’15 and current S.J.D. candidate, Harvard Law School

My first contact with HLS was Professor Alford himself when I was trying to decide among the many options I had when choosing a law school for an LL.M. degree. He was kind enough to meet me in person and discuss whatever questions I had about the HLS and more. Even after entering the program, the thoughtfulness and generosity towards his students never failed to impress me. This does not mean that he was compromising as a scholar and a teacher. He was always pushing his students to achieve higher, to be brave and keep asking questions. I will always fondly remember my meetings with him, when he could be funny, challenging, and kind all at the same time. Thank you, Professor Alford, for everything. 

Ryan Goldstein
J.D. ’98, Harvard Law School

Professor Alford is an inspiration.  Very few people are so accomplished and yet so approachable and friendly.  I think that combination is woefully underappreciated.  As a student, that approachability meant so much to me.  He was always willing to talk about ideas and research or just catch up.  I wanted to work harder and do better just to earn his respect.  His accomplishments speak for themselves.  I felt lucky to have the ability to spend time with a professor who is so highly-respected the world over.  It drove home just how special HLS is.  Every interaction.  The fact that he was so friendly and genuinely excited about what we were doing as students is one of my favorite memories from HLS.  I focused on Japan more, yet he took just as much interest in what I was doing as he did with students working exclusively with him.  That left a deep impression of how treating people nicely and genuinely, every day and every interaction, can really inspire them to more.  When I returned to Harvard to visit, he was the same Professor Alford as ever, and those few hours together are also very important to me.  It is hard to come up with words for someone who so appreciably stands out as an example of what a professor should be.  He probably does not even understand how he has made thousands of us into better academics, lawyers, judges and people (I realize these are not mutually exclusive designations, and some of us can be good people and good lawyers!).