The drafting of the op-ed was spearheaded by Law professors Bartholet and Halley, according to a signatory of the op-ed with direct knowledge of the situation.

“I did play a major role in the drafting process but it was definitely a group process with many people contributing ideas and language at many stages,” Bartholet said. “Drafting was a significantly group process with many of those signing actively involved in developing the language.”

The op-ed came out of discussions throughout the Law School in which professors expressed concern over the new policy and the example it set to other colleges and universities, Halley said.

In its aftermath, signatories say they have received largely positive feedback.

“My sense honestly is that the faculty by and large is proud that we are standing up on principle and perfectly clear that what is being demanded for us is poor and actually wrong,” Charles R. Nesson ’60, law school professor and one of the op-ed’s signatories, said.

Still, Nesson said that serious work remains to be done in order to create a better policy for the University.

“Harvard Law School has its back up against the wall. It has a response at the moment that doesn't offer anything better,” he said, referring to the op-ed. “The question is whether we can engage in a process that produces a substantive result that transform[s] Harvard Law School from being the bastion of gender discrimination that many think it has been and continued to be into a place that is known for having addressed the problem and transcended it.”

—Staff writer Steven S. Lee can be reached at steven.lee@thecrimson.edu. Follow him on Twitter @StevenSJLee.

—Staff writer Dev A. Patel can be reached at dev.patel@thecrimson.com. Follow him on Twitter @dev_a_patel.