Conrad K. Harper
Encyclopedia
Conrad K. Harper is a New York City
lawyer
, a partner at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett
LLP, and a former president of the New York City Bar Association.
on December 2, 1940. His father was an attorney
and his mother was an English teacher
.
Harper received a Bachelor of Arts
degree cum laude from Howard University
, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He received his Juris Doctor
from Harvard Law School
.
In 1971, he joined the firm Simpson Thacher & Bartlett
. When he became a partner in 1974, he was one of only two African-American partners at a major law firm in New York City. At Simpson Thacher, Harper concentrated on product liability
, securities, environmental law
, and civil rights.
initiative, Volunteers of Legal Service (VOLS). He served as the City Bar’s first African-American president from 1990 to 1992, where he worked to increase ethnic and gender diversity within the Association’s committees and governance. Harper was a member of a number of other bar associations, including the Metropolitan Black Bar Association, American Bar Association
, and the New York State Bar Association
.
From 2000 to 2005, Harper served as the first African-American member of the Harvard Corporation Board of Governors. In 2005, he controversially resigned from the board in protest over the leadership and high salary of Harvard President Lawrence Summers
, releasing a statement saying “I have reached the judgment that I can no longer support the president, and therefore I have resigned from the Corporation.”
Harper has served on the board of trustees of a number of prominent cultural and political organizations, including the New York Public Library
, the Museum of the City of New York
, and the New York Urban League. He has also served as Chancellor of the Episcopal Diocese of New York
and as Legal Advisor to the U.S. Department of State.
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
, a partner at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP is a law firm headquartered in New York City which employs over 800 attorneys in ten offices worldwide. The firm is highly regarded for its litigation and corporate practices, with special attention focused on its mergers and acquisitions specialty...
LLP, and a former president of the New York City Bar Association.
Early life and education
Conrad Harper was born in Detroit, MichiganMichigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
on December 2, 1940. His father was an attorney
Attorney at law
An attorney at law in the United States is a practitioner in a court of law who is legally qualified to prosecute and defend actions in such court on the retainer of clients. Alternative terms include counselor and lawyer...
and his mother was an English teacher
English literature
English literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, J....
.
Harper received a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree cum laude from Howard University
Howard University
Howard University is a federally chartered, non-profit, private, coeducational, nonsectarian, historically black university located in Washington, D.C., United States...
, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He received his Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
from Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
.
Career
Harper began his career in 1965 as an attorney with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. There he worked on a number of civil rights cases, including Keyes v. School District No. 1, Denver, the first case in which the United States Supreme Court ruled on de facto school segregation that had not been ordered by law.In 1971, he joined the firm Simpson Thacher & Bartlett
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP is a law firm headquartered in New York City which employs over 800 attorneys in ten offices worldwide. The firm is highly regarded for its litigation and corporate practices, with special attention focused on its mergers and acquisitions specialty...
. When he became a partner in 1974, he was one of only two African-American partners at a major law firm in New York City. At Simpson Thacher, Harper concentrated on product liability
Product liability
Product liability is the area of law in which manufacturers, distributors, suppliers, retailers, and others who make products available to the public are held responsible for the injuries those products cause...
, securities, environmental law
Environmental law
Environmental law is a complex and interlocking body of treaties, conventions, statutes, regulations, and common law that operates to regulate the interaction of humanity and the natural environment, toward the purpose of reducing the impacts of human activity...
, and civil rights.
Other Public Service
Harper was also active in a number of bar associations. Sponsored for membership in the New York City Bar Association by Francis Rivers, the Association’s first African-American member, Harper served on a number of the organization's committees, including those on Federal Legislation, Civil Rights, Legal Education and Admission to the Bar, and the Executive Committee. He also served as chairman of the board of the Association’s pro bonoPro bono
Pro bono publico is a Latin phrase generally used to describe professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment or at a reduced fee as a public service. It is common in the legal profession and is increasingly seen in marketing, technology, and strategy consulting firms...
initiative, Volunteers of Legal Service (VOLS). He served as the City Bar’s first African-American president from 1990 to 1992, where he worked to increase ethnic and gender diversity within the Association’s committees and governance. Harper was a member of a number of other bar associations, including the Metropolitan Black Bar Association, American Bar Association
American Bar Association
The American Bar Association , founded August 21, 1878, is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. The ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of academic standards for law schools, and the formulation...
, and the New York State Bar Association
New York State Bar Association
The New York State Bar Association , with 77,000 members, is the largest voluntary bar association in the United States.-History:The State Bar was founded with a constitution that dates to 1877...
.
From 2000 to 2005, Harper served as the first African-American member of the Harvard Corporation Board of Governors. In 2005, he controversially resigned from the board in protest over the leadership and high salary of Harvard President Lawrence Summers
Lawrence Summers
Lawrence Henry Summers is an American economist. He served as the 71st United States Secretary of the Treasury from 1999 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. He was Director of the White House United States National Economic Council for President Barack Obama until November 2010.Summers is the...
, releasing a statement saying “I have reached the judgment that I can no longer support the president, and therefore I have resigned from the Corporation.”
Harper has served on the board of trustees of a number of prominent cultural and political organizations, including the New York Public Library
New York Public Library
The New York Public Library is the largest public library in North America and is one of the United States' most significant research libraries...
, the Museum of the City of New York
Museum of the City of New York
The Museum of the City of New York is an art gallery and history museum founded in 1923 to present the history of New York City, USA and its people...
, and the New York Urban League. He has also served as Chancellor of the Episcopal Diocese of New York
Episcopal Diocese of New York
The Episcopal Diocese of New York is a diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, encompassing the boroughs of Manhattan, the Bronx, and Staten Island in New York City, and the New York state counties of Westchester, Rockland, Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Sullivan, and...
and as Legal Advisor to the U.S. Department of State.
Sources
- The Committee to Celebrate Black History Month. “Conrad K. Harper.” Pioneering African-Americans in the Courts and Legal Community Past and Present New York, NY: Privately Published, February 1992. P. 8
- “I Can No Longer Support the President.” Harvard Magazine. September, 2005.
- “A Harvard Governor, Dissatisfied, Resigns.” ‘’The New York Times. July 29, 2005.
- Morris, Jeffrey B. “Making Sure We are True to Our Founders”: The Association of the Bar of the City of New York, 1980-1995. New York, NY: Fordham University Press, 1997. ISBN 0-8232-1738-8