Last Lecture: Robert Sitkoff on resolving disputes through law, not ‘baseball bat’

People are rightfully concerned about what happens in public law — how and when governments exercise power. But lawyers working in private law areas — such as property, contracts, torts, corporations, and family law — also play a critical role in securing rights and the integrity of our legal system, according to Robert H. Sitkoff, the Austin Wakeman Scott Professor of Law and John L. Gray Professor of Law at Harvard Law School. “On a retail level, equally if not more corrosive to a democratic republic’s rule of law is a failure of private law to achieve the private ordering that people are seeking when someone thinks they've got a deal and they don't,” said Sitkoff on March 30, 2026. Sitkoff’s remarks came as part of his Last Lecture to the Class of 2026 — a tradition in which Harvard Law faculty offer parting words of wisdom and advice to graduating students. Central to Sitkoff’s message was that, like their counterparts in public law, private law practitioners bear a responsibility not only to their clients, but also “to the practice of law, and to society as a member of this learned profession.” Read more on Harvard Law Today: https://hls.harvard.edu/today/resolvi... ------ Visit our website: https://hls.harvard.edu/ Subscribe to our newsletter: https://hls.harvard.edu/newsletter Follow us on social media: YouTube:    / @harvardlawschool   Instagram:   / harvardlaw   Facebook:   / harvardlaw   LinkedIn:   / harvard-law-school