All posts by mmoffitt@uoregon.edu

Frank Sander Innovation in ADR Award Recipients 2024

The ABA Section of Dispute Resolution has announced its 2024 recipients of the Frank Sander Innovation in ADR Award. I had the honor again of serving on the selection committee, and I was again humbled by the extraordinary range of innovative work being done in (and adjacent) to our field. One of this year’s recipients … Continue reading Frank Sander Innovation in ADR Award Recipients 2024

If you teach ADR and CivPro, your exam writing dreams have been answered! (and you need better dreams)

Last week, U.S. Magistrate Judge M. David Weisman, issued an order in a case pitting the state of Illinois against Monsanto and other chemical manufacturers for discharging PCBs. Illinois sought to compel disclosure of certain documents the defendants produced in conjunction with ADR proceedings that arose during nine other lawsuits spanning back to 1984. The … Continue reading If you teach ADR and CivPro, your exam writing dreams have been answered! (and you need better dreams)

Grande Lum – New Director of Stanford Law School’s Gould Negotiation and Mediation Program

I am delighted – – for our field, for our colleagues at Stanford, and for our colleague Grande – – to share the news that Grande Lum was formally announced yesterday as the new Director of Stanford’s Negotiation and Mediation Program. I suspect strongly that Grande is familiar to everyone reading this blog, but just … Continue reading Grande Lum – New Director of Stanford Law School’s Gould Negotiation and Mediation Program

Sander Award Winners – Bipartisanship and Reform in Congress

As those of you who were in Las Vegas for the ABA Conference know, the 2023 Frank E. A. Sander Award for Innovation in Dispute Resolution went to the House Select Committee on Modernization of Congress. Named for long-time Harvard Law School professor Frank Sander, the Frank E.A. Sander Innovation in ADR Award was established to recognize … Continue reading Sander Award Winners – Bipartisanship and Reform in Congress

“Walmart Is Using AI to Negotiate the Best Price With Some Vendors”

From Bloomberg this afternoon, article here. “As ChatGPT dazzles the general public with fanciful uses of artificial intelligence, such as writing Hollywood scripts or opining on fantasy baseball and art theory, Walmart Inc. is leaning on AI for a more pragmatic purpose: bargaining with suppliers….” “Artificial intelligence isn’t a threat to Walmart’s human negotiators, at least not yet. Instead the … Continue reading “Walmart Is Using AI to Negotiate the Best Price With Some Vendors”

An Ethics Case with Something for Almost Everyone (who teaches in this field)

For those among us who teach Professional Responsibility / Ethics courses as well as ADR, just a quick nod (or reminder nod) to the Dolan & Kennedy DC Bar Discipline case available here. The facts are not terribly complicated, although they are pretty horrifying. And the report and recommendation of the Board on Professional Responsibility … Continue reading An Ethics Case with Something for Almost Everyone (who teaches in this field)

Zacharias Prize – Call for nominations

From Professor Samuel Levine (Touro): Submissions and nominations of articles are being accepted for the thirteenth annual Fred C. Zacharias Memorial Prize for Scholarship in Professional Responsibility.  To honor Fred’s memory, the committee will select from among articles in the field of Professional Responsibility with a publication date of 2022.  The prize will be awarded at the … Continue reading Zacharias Prize – Call for nominations

Webinar Oct 14 (“Settle and Sue: Managing Malpractice Risks for Mediators and Lawyers”)

Later this week, I’ll be part of a webinar on malpractice in the mediation & settlement arenas. This is part of the willworkforfood.news project, (introduced to me by Jeff Kichaven) in which webinar participants are charged no fee, but are invited to make contributions to a local food bank. (My contributions go to: foodforlanecounty.org.) October … Continue reading Webinar Oct 14 (“Settle and Sue: Managing Malpractice Risks for Mediators and Lawyers”)

Writing Competition (professional responsibility)

Submissions and nominations of articles are being accepted for the twelfth annual Fred C. Zacharias Memorial Prize for Scholarship in Professional Responsibility.  Eligibility: articles in the field of Professional Responsibility with a publication date of 2021.  The prize will be awarded at the 2022 AALS Annual Meeting. Send submissions and nominations to Professor Samuel Levine at … Continue reading Writing Competition (professional responsibility)