Hiro Ruth and Bruce in a panel talkThe Center for Negotiation and Dispute Resolution (CNDR) is celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2023. To start off celebrations, CNDR hosted a special alumni event during UC Law SF Alumni Spring Week to look at what the Center has accomplished over the years and its plans for the future.

UC Law SF can count among its alumni some of the most preeminent ADR practitioners and thought leaders, both in the Bay Area and beyond. Many of those alums took ADR courses and clinics or competed on ADR moot court teams offered though CNDR, so it was wonderful to bring some of them back to see how far we have come.Debra and Rachel in a panel talk

During the first panel, Everything You Wanted to Know about Starting or Developing a Mediation/Arbitration Practice or Taking it to the Next Level, CNDR Director and Professor Hiro Aragaki moderated a panel of Deborah Bogaards (’81, Bogaards Law), Bruce Edwards (’81, JAMS), Rachel Ehrlich (’96, Judicate West), Ruth Glick (’91, independent arbitrator & mediator). They discussed how to transition into work as an arbitrator or mediator, looking at everything from how to get a foothold in the field and getting cases to making a career out of doing ADR full time. It was also an opportunity to hear these seasoned neutrals share stories about their own unique career paths. 

CNDR panelistsDuring the second panel, Twenty Years of ADR at UC Law SF: What We’ve Accomplished, Where We’re Headed, and How You Can Get Involved, Mattie Robertson, Deputy Director of CNDR spoke with Professor Howard Herman (’83, JAMS), Professor Clint Waasted (’04, Zynga), and current students Ariel Kahn and Casey Vaez. The professors shared CNDR’s beginnings and growth over the years with our many wonderful adjuncts, top notch Directors, and dedicated students. The students described how our Mediation Clinic and ADR team in particular had an impact on their choices during law school, and the paths they are choosing after graduation.