Kagan: Harvard Law's $476 Million Dean

Fundraising campaign set record for highest amount raised by a law school

WASHINGTON — One talent Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan displayed in her career climb could create unique ethics questions for her as a justice: the ability to persuade Harvard Law School alumni and other wealthy donors to give hundreds of millions of dollars, more than meeting a daunting fundraising goal that came with her job as dean.

The $476 million total Kagan reached for the "Setting the Standard" campaign was a record not just for her university but for all law schools. Harvard Law sought $400 million to add professors, buildings, programs and financial aid, and Kagan was in charge of pulling it off. She raised about $303 million from 2003-08, after her predecessor had pulled in $170 million toward the goal.

Kagan's prolific fundraising sets her apart from the current Supreme Court justices. To raise that kind of money, Kagan drew on interpersonal skills honed working in the highly competitive environments of the Clinton White House and law school faculties.

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