New College to pay Alan Dershowitz $25k for graduation, speaker series
Besides commencement, Dershowitz will also participate in a Socratic Stage event with Steven Donziger titled: ‘Justice or Politics? The Weaponization of Law in Modern America.’
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- Alan Dershowitz will be paid $25,000 by New College of Florida for two speaking engagements in May.
- The engagements include the college’s commencement ceremony and a Socratic Stage event with Steven Donziger.
- Dershowitz, a retired Harvard Law professor, has represented high-profile clients and been involved in controversial cases.
New College of Florida will pay Alan Dershowitz – a longtime and often polarizing celebrity lawyer and legal scholar – $25,000 for two speaking engagements in May, including commencement.
Dershowitz, a retired Harvard Law professor, signed a contract to speak for the college’s Socratic Stage Dialogue Series and graduation ceremony on May 22 and May 23, respectively.
According to a contract obtained by the USA TODAY Network-Florida, Dershowitz was paid $12,500 on May 9 and will be paid the a second installment of $12,500 by May 30.
“New College is a place for bold ideas and fearless debate,” said New College President Richard Corcoran in a press release from February, when the commencement speaker was announced.
Questions to the college about the funding source for Dershowitz’s speaking engagements and the rider for his contract are pending. (A contract rider is an additional provision or amendment attached to a main contract that specifies special conditions or requirements.)
Though a self-described liberal, Dershowitz has become a conservative lightning rod due to his fierce public defenses of President Donald Trump, financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and others, drawing fire from critics across the political spectrum.
Dershowitz has published over 40 books on law, free speech and constitutional rights, has a long list of famous clients, including Epstein, Mike Tyson, Patty Hearst, Julian Assange and O.J. Simpson.
He also was hired as a consultant for film producer Harvey Weinstein, who was found guilty of rape in 2020, and was part of Trump’s defense team when he was impeached in 2020.
He also has written over 1,000 articles in The New York Times Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, The Harvard Law Review and the Yale Law Journal, among others, according to his bio on the Harvard Law School website.
“Dershowitz’s speech marks a defining moment in a year dedicated to exploring free speech and the future of American democracy. As a nationally recognized advocate for civil liberties and legal scholarship, his address will challenge graduates to engage with complex ideas and participate in shaping the nation’s future,” the college’s press release says.
Dershowitz pick pushes some students, alumni to create ‘alternative’ graduation
Dershowitz’s pick as commencement speaker has pushed some students and alumni to create another alternative graduation, said Carolyn Barker, vice chair of the college’s alumni association.
“Controversial political figures were invited to speak at both the 2023 and 2024 formal graduation ceremonies at New College. This year, the college’s administration may be pushing the boundaries of controversy even further by inviting Alan Dershowitz to speak,” said the Novo Collegian Alliance, a nonprofit group that has set up alternative graduations for the past three years.
“Dershowitz draws in most controversy not solely for his scholarship, but largely due to his roles as a high-profile defense attorney for notorious figures such as Jeffrey Epstein, Harvey Weinstein and Donald Trump.”
Viet Thanh Nguyen, a Pulitzer Prize winner and professor of English and American studies and ethnicity at the University of Southern California, will speak at the alternative commencement ceremony. Students chose Nguyen both for his novels and because his writing explores themes of identity, uncertainty, and navigating political power and propaganda, “all of which are familiar themes for this group of graduates,” the website for alternative graduation says.
“As a New College alum, I am no longer donating to the school due to decisions like Alan Dershowitz and Russel Brand’s invitations to speak, and I have donated to the Alternative Graduation instead,” Barker said.
Dershowitz will also participate in the Socratic State Dialogue Series, which at one point also featured Brand as a speaker and led to backlash from the New College community.
In 2023, several women accused Brand of sexual misconduct, and in April, Brand was formally charged with rape by U.K. police, according to multiple national news reports — just one week before he was scheduled to appear at New College. Brand denied the allegations.
Brand’s event, “Thinking Without Permission: Russell Brand on Free Speech, Censorship, and Cultural Power” was then postponed after the college citied both logistical challenges and the current media climate.
“While the conversation remains important, and possibly never more relevant, it is clear the current media climate is a distraction from the deeper purpose of the event to explore free speech and civil discourse through open dialogue,” according to an email sent to students from the New College of Florida communications department.
Dershowitz will appear with Steven Donziger at a Socratic Stage event titled: “Justice or Politics? The Weaponization of Law in Modern America.”
Donziger, an American attorney who is known for representing communities along the Amazon River against oil giants Chevron and Texaco and winning them $9.5 billion in damages, was later targeted, put on house arrest and then jailed. He was released in December 2024.
“Both have seen the government and private industries manipulate the legal system as a way to punish their adversaries,” the Socratic Stage website says.
Ana Goñi-Lessan, state watchdog reporter for the USA TODAY Network – Florida, can be reached at agonilessan@gannett.com.
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