John Palfrey,  Executive Director &Lecturer on Law As

Executive Director of the Berkman Center, John Palfrey is responsible for working with the faculty directors to set and carry out the Center's ambitious, public-spirited agenda and overseeing the work of its crack team of staff, fellows and students.

Teaching: As Lecturer on Law at Harvard Law School, John teaches:
  • "Cyberlaw and the Global Economy" (offered currently in Fall of 2004).
  • "Digital Democracy," led by Prof. Charles Nesson and a group of Berkman Center fellows (offered currently in Fall of 2004).
  • "Internet Law Colloquium," with Profs. Fisher, Nesson, and Zittrain (offered currently in Fall of 2004)
John also teaches "Internet & Society: the Technologies and Politics of Control" at the Harvard Extension School (offered again in the Spring of 2005 with Berkman fellow Urs Gasser). In Spring of 2003, he co-led with Prof. Jonathan Zittrain a Study Group at the Institute of Politics at the Kennedy School of Government. Research: His research interests include the Internet and democracy, intellectual property, and technology law as it relates to commercial transactions. Recent work includes:
  • "The End of the Experiment: How ICANN's Foray into Global Internet Democracy Failed," 17 Harv. J. L. & Tech. 409 (2004).
  • "The Accountable Net," 9 Va. J. L. & Tech. 9 (2004) (with co-authors David R. Johnson and Susan P. Crawford).
  • "Public Participation in ICANN" (with co-authors Noah Eisenkraft, Clifford Chen, and Sam Hwang).
  • The Digital Media Project, which has released a series of publications.
  • The Open Net Initiative, which has released a series of publications.
A long-time affiliate of the Berkman Center, John comes to the Berkman Center from the law firm Ropes & Gray, where he worked on intellectual property, Internet law, and private equity transactions. John is a co-founder and a former officer of a venture-backed technology company. He also served as a Special Assistant at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency during the Clinton administration. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Charles River Watershed Association, which does terrific work to clean up our local river. While attending Harvard Law School, John was a Teaching Fellow in Internet Law and served as an editor of the Harvard Environmental Law Review.

John graduated from Harvard College, the University of Cambridge, and Harvard Law School. His awards include the Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial Scholar to the University of Cambridge and the U.S. EPA Gold Medal (highest national award). John is admitted to the New York and Massachusetts bars.
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