James Vorenberg

James Vorenberg (October 1, 1928 – April 12, 2000) was the Roscoe Pound Professor of Law and Dean of Harvard Law School, former Watergate Associate Special Prosecutor, and first chair of the Massachusetts State Ethics Commission.

Biography Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Vorenberg attended Harvard College, from which he graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1948, and Harvard Law School, from which he earned a Juris Doctor degree in 1951. In his first year at Harvard Law School, he achieved the highest grades in his class and was awarded the Sears Prize. He served as chairman of the Massachusetts State Ethics Commission from 1978 to 1983. In 1981, he was elected to the Common Cause National Governing Board. He was named associate dean at Harvard Law in 1977 and was named dean and Roscoe Pound Professor of Law in 1981. He retired at the end of June 1989. "I've tried to encourage students to follow diverse, varied patterns out of law school," Vorenberg told The New York Times in 1989.

Vorenberg suffered from Parkinson's disease during his final 14 years. He died of cardiac arrest in Boston on April 12, 2000.