School Notes: Yale Law School
November/December 2025

Two receive named professorships

Former dean Heather K. Gerken was appointed Sterling Professor of Law, the premier campus honor for a Yale professor, and will remain part of the faculty as professor emerita. She assumes the presidency of the Ford Foundation after eight years of transformative leadership as dean of the Law School. Amy Kapczynski ’03JD, a scholar whose work examines the intersections of law, inequality, and democratic governance, was appointed the John Thomas Smith Professor of Law. Kapczynski is faculty codirector of the Global Health Justice Partnership and the Law and Political Economy Project.

Professor honored at international conference

Roberta Romano ’80JD, Sterling Professor of Law and codirector of the Center for the Study of Corporate Law at the Law School, was recognized at an academic conference at the Comillas Pontifical University in Madrid. The international conference brought together more than 20 academics to discuss their research in relation to Romano’s work on capital markets, legislative competition in the EU, director liability, corporate restructuring, the impact of sustainability on financial regulation, and litigation finance.

First class of Launchpad Scholars heads to law school

Started in 2022, the Launchpad Scholars Program, one of two pipeline-to-law school programs at the Law School, helps applicants navigate the challenges of applying to law school via in-person and remote learning opportunities, mentorship, LSAT preparation, and individualized application support. The first cohort of scholars entered top law schools this fall, including Yale, Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania, Duke, and UC–Berkeley. “We are beyond thrilled with the success of our first cohort,” said associate dean of admissions Miriam Ingber ’04JD. “We can’t wait to see what they accomplish during law school and in their legal careers.”