Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan To Speak At Northwestern Law School

CHICAGO — A Supreme Court justice is scheduled is coming to Northwestern University this week to take part a moderated discussion with the dean of its law school and a dedication in honor of a late colleague.

Associate Elena Kagan is due to visit the law school Wednesday afternoon for the dedication of Chicago Avenue and law school's courtyard in honor of the lake Justice John Paul Stevens, a Hyde Park native who went to college at the University of Chicago and obtained a law degree from Northwestern.

Prior to the ceremony — where Chicago Avenue outside the law school will be designated as Justice John Paul Stevens Way and the law school's courtyard will become the Justice John Paul Stevens Courtyard — Kagan is set to take part in a moderated discussion with Dean Hari Osofsky.

Kagan herself spent six years as the dean of Harvard Law School, her alma mater, before President Obama nominated her as solicitor general and as his first pick for Supreme Court justice.

Early in her career, Kagan clerked for Judge Abner Mikva, of Chicago, on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and for Justice Thurgood Marshall on the U.S. Supreme Court. She also taught at the University of Chicago in the early 1990s before taking a job in President Bill Clinton's administration.

Kagan's visit to Northwestern is part of the Howard J. Trienens Visiting Judicial Scholar Program, which was established at the law school in 1989 in honor of a longtime Northwestern University trustee and a partner at a large local law firm.