JOHN PALFREY - Attorney and Internet Privacy Specialist
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As Executive Director of the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard Law School, John Palfrey is responsible for working with faculty directors to set and carry out the Center's ambitious, public-spirited agenda overseeing the work of its crack team of staff, fellows and students.

As Lecturer on Law at Harvard Law, John taught "Cyberlaw and the Global Economy" in the Fall of 2003. He also co-taught "Digital Democracy" at HLS this term, which was led by Professor Charles Nesson and Berkman Senior Fellow Andrew McLaughlin. John teaches "Internet & Society: the Technologies and Politics of Control" at the Harvard Extension School, which is being offered in the Spring of 2004. 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.

His research interests include the Internet and democracy, intellectual property and technology law as it relates to commercial transactions. Recent work includes "Public Participation in ICANN" (along with co-authors Noah Eisenkraft, Clifford Chen and Sam Hwang) and a working paper entitled "The End of the Experiment: How ICANN's Foray into Global Internet Democracy Failed". He is a member of the research team of the "Digital Medial Project".

A long-time affiliate of the Berkman Center, John comes to the 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.