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Laurence H. Tribe (Harvard Law School)

Laurence H. Tribe, a Harvard Law School professor, will join the Justice Department next week as a senior counselor for the the Access to Justice initiative, two federal sources told The Washington Post. The new initiative is a response to concerns that the poor often have difficulties retaining counsel. (See Main Justice’s previous story on that issue here.)

Tribe, who would not comment on the appointment, has been a professor at Harvard since 1968 and has long been viewed as a potential Democratic Supreme Court nominee, according to The Post. The newspaper reports that he will take a leave of absence in order to join DOJ. Among his students at Harvard was President Barack Obama, who Tribe has called his most impressive student in his 30 years at the university, The Post reports.

In addition to his years as a professor, Tribe has extensive courtroom experience, serving as lead counsel in 35 cases before the Supreme Court. An expert on constitutional law, he also has been an expert witness in testimony before Congress on numerous occasions, The Post reports. Two years ago, the university reported that Tribe had been diagnosed with a benign brain tumor, from which he has since fully recovered, a source familiar with his health told the newspaper.

According to The Post, news of Tribe’s appointment has circulated in legal circles for weeks and raised some concerns about the role he might play in hot-button areas, such as national security and international issues. On Thursday, DOJ officials told The Post that Tribe would be focused on domestic affairs and would report to Associate Attorney General Tom Perrelli, also a Harvard Law School graduate.