The Conflict Prevention and Resolution Institute (CPR) selected the Harvard Negotiation and Mediation Clinical Program (HNMCP) to be the recipient of its 2010 Problem Solving in the Law School Curriculum Award at its annual awards banquet on January 11, 2011 at the New York offices of Fulbright & Jaworski LLP. The clinic’s director and founder, Professor Robert C. Bordone ’97, traveled to New York to receive the award with HNMCP Associate Tobias Berkman ’10. Speakers and special guests included CPR President and CEO Kathleen Bryan, members of the CPR Board of Directors, and other leaders in the field of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR).
After the ceremony, Bordone remarked, “It was extremely gratifying to receive such an honor in only our clinic’s fourth year of existence. I am very proud of the work we’ve done to build our clinic, and thankful for the hard work and expertise of my colleagues in helping to make this happen.”
The CPR award in this category is for effective teaching of problem solving theory and practice in any law school during either of the preceding two academic years. Criteria for evaluation included innovation in teaching problem solving; substantive and pedagogical strength; ability to be adapted by other law teachers and schools; and other distinguishing or particularly meritorious features of the course or clinic.
Bordone is the Thaddeus R. Beal Clinical Professor of Law at Harvard Law School and the lead instructor of Harvard Law School’s Spring Negotiation Workshop. In 2007 he received the Albert Sacks-Paul Freund Teaching Award at Harvard Law School, presented annually by the student body to a single faculty member for teaching excellence and mentorship of students. Bordone often works as a professional consultant, facilitator and scholar in the field of negotiation and dispute management. His practice spans the public, private, domestic, and international sectors and has included clients such as Coca Cola, The Boston Symphony Orchestra, and the International Criminal Court. With Nancy Rogers, Craig McEwen, and Frank E.A. Sander, Bordone is currently writing Designing Forum and Disputing Systems, a new text on problem-solving and dispute systems design. The book will be published by Aspen in 2012. Professor Bordone also teaches two negotiation courses at the Harvard Negotiation Institute.
Lisa Dealy, Harvard Law School’s Assistant Dean for Clinical and Pro Bono Programs, said: “Bob has created a unique and innovative clinic, which expands the traditional simulation model into an actual practice consulting with clients. Clinical students are involved in every step of the process; they graduate from the clinic as skilled negotiators and they work world-wide replicating Bob’s clinic model.”
Bordone also nominated the winning paper in the Original Student Article or Paper category for the outstanding paper prepared for courses requiring papers as substantial part of grade. Maria Banda ’10 and John Oppermann ’10 (pictured above) are the authors of the winning paper, “Building a Latin American Coalition on Forests: Negotiation Barriers and Opportunities.”
The CPR Institute is an independent, nonprofit think tank that promotes innovation in commercial dispute prevention and resolution. By harnessing the collective expertise of leading minds in ADR and benchmarking best practices, it is the resource of choice for multinational corporations with billions of dollars at risk. CPR is also a leading online destination for lawyers seeking superior arbitrators and mediators and practical ADR resources and solutions.
