{"id":9294,"date":"2020-12-31T00:46:21","date_gmt":"2020-12-31T05:46:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/journals.law.harvard.edu\/ilj\/?p=9294"},"modified":"2020-12-31T00:46:21","modified_gmt":"2020-12-31T05:46:21","slug":"alex-cottinghams-tribute-to-professor-william-p-alford","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/journals.law.harvard.edu\/ilj\/2020\/12\/alex-cottinghams-tribute-to-professor-william-p-alford\/","title":{"rendered":"Alex Cottingham’s Tribute to Professor William P. Alford"},"content":{"rendered":"

Alex Cottingham<\/b>
\nJ.D. \u201920, Harvard Law School<\/span><\/p>\n

Professor Alford was one of the first faculty members that I met during my ASW weekend. I remember that I was immediately struck by how friendly and genuinely open that he was. He gave me his card and, a few days after I returned home, I gave him a call to talk to him more about my decision process before the May 1<\/span>st<\/span> deadline of deciding which law school to choose. Professor Alford helped me weigh my options, and he intrigued me with his discussion of the amazing comparative law opportunities at HLS.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In the spring of my 1L year, I took Professor Alford\u2019s China Law class. Taking this class was one of the best experiences I have had in law school. Professor Alford\u2019s approach to comparative law is both refreshing and thoughtful. When Professor Alford led discussion, he makes a genuine effort to not be just an outside observer of a foreign country\u2019s legal system. He takes you into the history and foundation of a culture, history, and legal system. This bottom-up approach, deeply rooted in primary sources and the minds and context that developed the law that we studied, was a sensitive and open approach to learning about a place different from what we were familiar with. Professor Alford resisted the urge I found that many American professors can have to compare everything to the United States when conducting comparative studies.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Professor Alford greatly impacted my three years in law school as a dedicated mentor, intellectual inspiration, and great person dedicated to seeing other succeed.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Alex Cottingham J.D. \u201920, Harvard Law School Professor Alford was one of the first faculty members that I met during 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