James Vorenberg

Who is James Vorenberg?

James Vorenberg, born in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1927, was the Roscoe Pound Professor of Law and Dean of Harvard Law School, former Watergate Associate Special Prosecutor, and first chair of the Massachusetts State Ethics Commission. Vorenberg attended Harvard College, from which he graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1948, and Harvard Law School, which bestowed on him the Juris Doctor degree in 1951. In his first year at Harvard Law, he achieved the highest grades in his class and was awarded the Sears Prize. He served as the president of the Harvard Law Review while attending the school.

Vorenberg became a professor at Harvard Law School in 1962. From 1973 to 1975, he served as principal assistant to Archibald Cox in the Watergate Special Prosecutor's Office. He served as chairman of the Massachusetts State Ethics Commission from 1978 to 1983. He was named associate dean at Harvard Law in 1977, and was named dean and Roscoe Pound Professor of Law in 1981. He retired at the end of June 1989. "I've tried to encourage students to follow diverse, varied patterns out of law school," Vorenberg told The New York Times in 1989.