Request for Proposals

Hosting the AALS Alternative Dispute Resolution Section

2026 Works-in-Progress Conference

The Association of American Law Schools (AALS) Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Section is pleased to announce a Request for Proposals to host the 19th Annual ADR Works-in-Progress (WIP) Conference in the fall of 2026. Proposals are due by Friday, March 27, 2026.

The AALS ADR WIP Conference is a favorite gathering of ADR scholars at any career stage. Launched in 2007 by Professor Andrea Schneider, the conference features presentations of scholarly projects at all stages of development along with opportunities for constructive feedback, mentorship, and camaraderie.

Each year, the WIP Conference is generously hosted by a law school. Previous hosts include Marquette (2007 and 2016), Arizona State (2008 and 2017), Oregon (2010 and 2022), Harvard (2009), Creighton (2011), Ohio State (2012), Cardozo (2013), Southwestern (2014), Texas A&M (2015), Maryland Carey (2018), the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (2019), Pepperdine (2021), Quinnipiac and Yale (2023), University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law (2024), and UC Law San Francisco (2025). The WIP went on hiatus in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Criteria for Hosting 2026 ADR WIP Conference

To select the next host institution, the ADR Section’s Executive Committee will consider numerous criteria, including:

• Planned mechanisms to enhance the rigorous yet collegial atmosphere of the program, including:
  • proposed structure and scheduling that accommodates opportunities to present work-in-progress at different stages (e.g., nascent project ideas, paper outlines, paper drafts)
  • plans for meeting the interest of maintaining the WIP’s reputation of being welcoming while also ensuring that presentations are well-organized and polished, regardless of the stage of the project;
  •  ideas for ensuring that presenters receive high-quality, structured feedback on projects, whether before, during, or after the conference;
• Demonstrated institutional support for the conference (e.g., funds for meals, sufficient staffing, facilities, and technological support for the conference);
• Planned outreach to attract diverse and robust attendance, including efforts to attract junior faculty (e.g., travel stipends or similar support) as well as faculty who write in interdisciplinary or ADR-adjacent areas;
• Demonstrated engagement with the ADR academic community;
• Demonstrated experience with hosting similar events or educational programs;
• Participant travel convenience, including proximity to a major airport and/or train stations, availability of reasonably priced hotels, convenience and cost of ground transportation for participants (e.g., from airport or train stations to hotels, and from hotels to the conference venue);
• Description of proposed format (in-person or in-person/virtual hybrid), including presentation formats.
  •  Institutions may propose formats that have been utilized in the past (e.g., individual paper presentations, tracks of presentations) or new formats.
  •  If proposing an in-person/virtual hybrid,
    • Specify whether you are proposing remote participation by presenters, assigned commentators and/or audience members and
    • Describe how your technology and in-person set-up would enable active remote participation by presenters, assigned commentators, and audience members.
• Considerations for joint proposals between institutions
  • If proposing a conference involving multiple host institutions, please specify the responsibilities and confirmed support of each institution.
  • Please provide contact information for responsible participants at each institution.
• Identification of all dates on which the institution could host the conference;
• Confirmation that the WIP Conference would be hosted as a separate campus event (preferred), as opposed to combining it, in whole or in part, with another ADR or other campus event on one or more of the same dates;
• Any other special circumstances that support an institution’s application.

The host institution is responsible for organizing all conference logistics, including selecting dates (in consultation with the executive committee), arranging hotel blocks, and scheduling receptions and presentations. The cost of hosting the conference will be borne by the host institution, not the AALS or the ADR Section. The host is also responsible for choosing the papers to be presented and circulating materials to attendees.

Proposals should be sent by e-mail to Professor Ronald Aronovsky of Southwestern Law School, Chair of the AALS Alternative Dispute Resolution Section (raronovsky@swlaw.edu) by  Friday, March 27, 2026.  Please use the following as the subject line for your transmittal e-mail: “Proposal for 2026 AALS ADR Works-in-Progress Conference.” If you do not receive an email within three business days confirming receipt of your proposal, please contact Professor Aronovsky with a follow-up email to ensure that your proposal has been received.