Tribe Joins Private Firm as Consultant

Laurence H. Tribe ’62, the prominent legal expert and Harvard Law School (HLS) professor who represented Al Gore in the 2000 post-election saga, will serve as a consultant on constitutional and Supreme Court matters for the law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, the firm announced yesterday.

Tribe will be working with colleague Thomas C. Goldstein, an HLS lecturer and a partner at Akin Gump, one of the world’s largest legal firms.

“Representing private clients in important disputes of the day allows me to put into practice the principles that are the focus of my teaching and writing,” Tribe said, according to the firm’s press release.

“I am very pleased to form this relationship with Akin Gump, which is one of the world’s great law firms,” he said in the statement.

Tribe, an expert in constitutional law and Loeb University professor, has argued more than 35 cases before the Supreme Court, according to Akin Gump’s press release.

Goldstein was also a part of Gore’s legal counsel in the Bush v. Gore Supreme Court case.

“I have worked with Larry for a long time. This is really an extension of a collaboration we have had since 1998,” Goldstein said.

HLS professors are not allowed to join private law firms, but many litigate for private clients in addition to their academic careers, Goldstein explained.

“Tribe has been a private lawyer for clients for decades and he will continue to do that. He will just now do that frequently in collaboration with Akin,” Goldstein said.

Tribe could not be reached for comment yesterday.