A Cautionary Tale: For those who think hiring high profile, superstar professors is a great idea, the latest news from Harvard may be a bit disillusioning. Noted Harvard Law School professor Charles J. Ogletree, the co-chairman of the (slavery) Reparations Coordinating Committee, announced that the group will be filing a class action lawsuit in a recent New York Times Op-Ed piece (link requires registration).

The prime target will be the federal government, but many private corporations and organizations will be included. Among the groups being considered for inclusion in the complaint, according to Professor Ogletree, are universities such as Brown, Yale, and, of course, Havard.

It’s bad enough when one of your own professors, and one of the better known of the breed outside of academia, is leading a drive to sue you for untold millions. But I have to think it’s worse when he’s a leading light in your Law School, and can still justify a frivolous legal action like this:

“We are hopeful that this move will create opportunity for discussion of slavery and its impact on culture and society, as well as how we can move forward as a nation to remove barriers and work for equality to stop racial disparity.”

You heard it here first ladies and gentleman: the legal doctrine of “I’m suing you because I think it’ll create a good discussion.” Coming soon: “I accused you of stealing to break that uncomfortable silence.”

Remember this the next time someone talks about all the changes Dartmouth should make to facilitate the recruitment of renowned academics.

That well-known bastion of conservatism, The New Republic, takes on this absurdity here.