Alternative Dispute Resolution Scholarship and Impact

UC Law SF provides students and practitioners with world class alternative dispute resolution (ADR) education, training, and events through our Center for Negotiation and Dispute Resolution (CNDR).

Recent News

Celebrating 20 Years of Innovation in ADR Education

In 2023 UC Law SF’s Center for Negotiation and Dispute Resolution (CNDR) celebrated 20 years of commitment and service to the international legal community, making it one of the oldest and highest-ranking alternative dispute resolution (ADR) think tanks in the U.S.

The influence and impact of CNDR’s applied research and innovative teaching methodology extends well beyond the U.S. CNDR faculty have provided training and legal reform advice to lawyers and legal educators working in Ghana, Haiti, India, and Kosovo, and to government entities and NGOs such as the National Judicial College, the judiciary of Kazakhstan, the judiciary of Rwanda, the Ministry of Justice of Colombia, and the World Bank.

In addition to its innovative pedagogy and global reach, CNDR’s professional training program and vibrant events series add breadth and depth to its ADR offerings.

Mediation Education for Global Legal Professionals

In fall 2023, CNDR hosted a distinguished group of international visitors, including Supreme Court justices, judges, lawyers, and mediators from every continent except Antarctica.

CNDR provided the group with training and insight from a cross section of international experts from the court system, private ADR institutions, and the World Bank, providing expertise on how to cultivate robust dispute resolution ecosystems in participants’ home countries through the establishment of mediation centers.

ADR Student Scholarship Honors Francis E. McGovern

CNDR is offering a new annual scholarship to students who display exceptional commitment to ADR. The Francis E. McGovern Scholarship for ADR has been bequeathed by Katy McGovern to honor the life and legacy of her late husband, Professor Francis E. McGovern, whose career exemplified the highest level of commitment to the principles and practice of ADR.

Professor McGovern’s professional life was shaped by his belief in the role of communication in building and nurturing clients’ trust to mediate conflicts. UC Law SF Chancellor & Dean David Faigman described McGovern as a “master who excelled at mediating high-profile controversial cases” while being generous and good natured to all who met him.

Selected Scholarship

Professor and CNDR Director Hiro Aragaki published a study of the Federal Arbitration Act, comparing it against the arbitration acts of 196 countries and suggesting avenues for reform on the occasion of its 100th anniversary in 2025.

Professor Aragaki has been actively supporting the worldwide advancement of ADR. He serves as vice chair of the ABA Section of International Law’s International Arbitration Committee, mediation advisor to the World Bank’s Business Ready report, co-chair of the Academic Committee of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) USA, board member for the ABA Rule of Law Initiative (ROLI) and chair of ABA ROLI’s Central European and Eurasian Law Initiative Council, among others. He submitted (with Srividhya Ragavan, Texas A&M) an invited response to the Expert Committee of the Indian Ministry of Law & Justice on proposed arbitration reforms.

Clark Freshman hosted an ADR speaker series at UC Law SF and presented his empirical research Emotional Efficiency: An Empirical Study of How Small Boosts Improve Negotiation Outcomes For Ordinary People. Professor Freshman also gave “integrating meditation into dispute-resolution” classes to ABA’s virtual Dispute Resolution Legal Education session, and presented Eliminating Bias Through Mindfulness, Lovingkindness, and … Tech! at ABA’s 26th Annual Section of Dispute Resolution Spring Conference.

What will right-wing legislation do to efforts to bring restorative justice to schools? Thalia González explored this question with Mara Schiff in The Uncertain Future of Restorative Justice: Anti-Woke Legislation, Retrenchment, and the Politics of the Right (2024) in the William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice. Professor González also gave a keynote address at a conference of the United States Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs.

Mattie Robertson was named co-chair of the AALS Clinical ADR Committee.