CNDR Student Daniel Partiyeli Wins ABA Boskey Essay Contest on Dispute Resolution 

The Center for Negotiation and Dispute Resolution (CNDR) is proud to announce that Daniel Partiyeli, a third year J.D. student at UC Law San Francisco, recently won the American Bar Association’s prestigious 2023 James B. Boskey Law Student Essay Contest on Dispute Resolution. Daniel’s paper, Rabbinical Arbitration: Controversy Over a Growing Trend, has been published on the ABA’s website. 

Daniel originally wrote the paper for an upper division ADR writing seminar taught by UC Law SF Professor and CNDR affiliated faculty Clark Freshman. “The paper is one of the best student papers I’ve ever advised or read since I began as a full-time law professor in 1995,” Professor Freshman said. “When Daniel first wrote it, the paper was sophisticated in teasing out the tensions between so-called cultural sensitivity and sensitivity to the historic sexism of Orthodox Judaism.” Now, Freshman sees added significance. “With the rise in anti-Semitism across the globe, including college and law school campuses, the paper is also a reminder why some Jews historically turn to other Jews to resolve disputes.” 

Daniel’s interest in the topic grew from his family’s own experience. Daniel’s father is a distributor of health and beauty products, electronics, and other general merchandise. One day, an Orthodox Jewish customer disputed a credit card payment for an invoice. “Instead of taking the customer to Los Angeles Superior Court, which would have cost tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees, prolonged with several months of anguishing headache,” Daniel explained, “my father instead filed a complaint with Beth Din of America [which provides arbitration services] and eventually settled the invoice within two months.” 

Despite the qualifier “rabbinical” in its title, the paper is much broader. “My paper was able to holistically bring the three sects of the Abrahamic religions together (Judaism, Islam, Christianity) and compare and contrast their methods of dispute resolution.” Professor Freshman encouraged Daniel to write the paper in part because he saw the paper as an extension of his own 1995 Stanford Law Review Note on the ways seemingly different forms of bias may often share similarities and distinct challenges. “Daniel did not just point out advantages of religious arbitration,” Professor Freshman said, “but also noted how institutions like rabbinical arbitration that mitigate one form of bias, such as anti-Semitism, may promote another injustice, such as the unequal treatment of women.” Rabbinical courts continue to exclude women from serving as arbitrators, but allow women lawyers to act as advocates.  

The Boskey Essay Competition is held annually, with the aim of creating greater interest in the field of dispute resolution among law students at U.S. law schools. One prize of $1,000 is awarded for the best entry as judged by the Boskey Essay Committee, which is comprised of leading ADR scholars from across the nation. “A hearty congratulations to Daniel on his 2023 win,” said the Chair of the Committee, Professor Peter Reilly of Texas A&M University Law School. “It was a particularly competitive year with entries from many of the strongest ADR programs in the country. Twenty law professors from throughout the nation assisted in selecting the winning essay.” 

Congratulations, Daniel! CNDR and UC Law SF are so very proud of you and your incredible achievement.  

Daniel Partiyeli is a driven and accomplished law student, breaking barriers as a first-generation achiever. He earned his undergraduate degree at UCLA, majoring in economics and minoring in accounting. Now, Daniel is a rising 3L at UC Law SF, where he is pursuing his J.D. with a concentration in tax.  

Before law school, Daniel worked as a paralegal for nearly two years at a boutique law firm that dealt with real estate, business, and insurance law. Daniel’s legal curiosity continued to grow after his first-year studies when he externed for the Hon. Eduardo Rodriguez, a federal bankruptcy judge in McAllen, TX. After his second-year, Daniel continued to gain legal experience while interning at Ernst & Young (EY) as an International Tax and Transaction Service / Tax Transaction Service intern. Outside of law, he enjoys engaging in hobbies that fuel his passion.  

Daniel’s journey and hard work reflect his unwavering commitment to becoming a skilled legal professional that will one day benefit the community that he grew up in.