Will Cesta

Will is an Australian-Italian legal scholar based at Harvard Law School, where he is pursuing a Doctor of Juridical Science (S.J.D.) and has completed a Master of Laws (LL.M.). As a Research Associate for Summer 2026, Will’s work at IEMI examines the interplay of local, state, and federal governments in the construction of new carceral infrastructure.

As an SJD student, Will’s first strand of research asks why art is often relegated to the margins of democratic theory and, against that trend, studies the art world as a form of democratic infrastructure. He is interested in the legal arrangements that shape how art is made, funded, circulated, and encountered, and in how those arrangements might be redesigned to better serve democracy. His second strand investigates legal protections for knowledge institutions, including schools, universities, libraries, museums, and public broadcasters. It asks how law can safeguard the independence, integrity, and public mission of institutions that provide an epistemic foundation for democracy. His third strand examines the impact of the carceral state on democracy and how law can be used to resist mass incarceration and mitigate political exclusion. His scholarship has appeared in numerous peer-reviewed law journals.
Alongside his research, Will has served Harvard Law School as a Graduate Program Fellow and Teaching Fellow. In 2026, he commenced a term as President of the S.J.D. Association and joined the Institute to End Mass Incarceration as a Research Associate.

Before moving to the United States, Will worked in the Australian higher education sector while completing his Juris Doctor part-time at Sydney Law School. He served as General Manager of University Colleges Australia (2022–2024) and as the Director of Education (2020–2022) and Head of Admissions (2019) of St Andrew’s College within the University of Sydney. Alongside these leadership roles, he taught and mentored students across the University of Sydney, including as Head Tutor in Musicology at St Andrew’s College and as a Tutor at Sydney Law School.

Will is also a pianist. He holds a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and has performed throughout Australia, China, Finland, Hong Kong, Italy, Portugal, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In 2026, he will release his debut album and make his first appearance in France at the Basilique Notre-Dame de Thierenbach.