Yale Law School

J.D. Vance Meets Peter Thiel at Yale Law School, Beginning Political Pipeline

| Importance: 7/10

At a pivotal 2011 Yale Law School talk, Peter Thiel meets J.D. Vance, initiating a mentorship that would transform Vance’s career trajectory from law student to venture capitalist to U.S. Senator. Thiel challenged traditional elite career paths, identifying Vance as a potential protégé in his …

J.D. Vance Peter Thiel Yale Law School J.D. Vance Peter Thiel Yale Law School political-pipeline tech-politics +2 more
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Olin Foundation Law and Economics Programs Expand to Elite Law Schools

| Importance: 8/10

In 1987, the John M. Olin Foundation expanded its systematic funding of Law and Economics programs at elite law schools, with Stanford Law School initiating its John M. Olin Program in Law and Economics through a generous foundation gift. This represented the maturation of a decades-long effort to …

John M. Olin Foundation William E. Simon Stanford Law School Harvard Law School Yale Law School +1 more law-and-economics judicial-capture legal-education conservative-funding intellectual-infrastructure
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Federalist Society Founded to Capture Conservative Legal Pipeline

| Importance: 9/10

Yale Law School students Steven Calabresi, David McIntosh, Lee Liberman Otis, Spencer Abraham, and Peter Keisler founded the Federalist Society in 1982 to challenge liberal ideology in elite law schools. With initial funding of $24,000 from the John M. Olin Foundation, the organization created a …

Steven Calabresi David McIntosh Lee Liberman Otis Spencer Abraham Peter Keisler +1 more federalist-society conservative-legal-movement judicial-pipeline originalism legal-education +1 more
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