The Yale Daily News is reporting that Harold Koh, dean of Yale Law, is a top contender to be the principal legal counselor to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Koh, an international law expert who worked at State in the 1990s, declined to say whether he's taking the job, but he also wouldn't say that he's not leaving Yale for a government post. The YDN notes that he has "strong connections to Clinton and her husband."
Koh, who has testified numerous times before Congress and worked in the Department of Justice, has the reputation of an unabashed liberal--a reputation that has garnered him both fans and many critics over the years. For a sense of his politics and candor, see Koh's testimony from September 2008 on restoring the rule of law in the wake of the Bush administration.
Were Koh to take the post at State, he would leave vacant one of the most prestigious and sought-after deanships in academia. For more on Yale Law's legacy, see Noam Scheiber's recent article here.
--Seyward Darby