Leonard Riskin Chesterfield Smith Professor of Law University of Florida, Fred

March 27, 2009

Leonard Riskin, Chesterfield Smith Professor of Law at University of Florida, Fredric G. Levin College of Law, spoke at the Annual Saltman Lecture about "Awareness and Ethics in Dispute Resolution and Law."

He explored how mindfulness, an ancient method of paying attention in the present moment and without judgment, can be combined with a focus on core emotional concerns in negotiation, to foster more ethical negotiation behavior. 

Hon. Rebecca Westerfield (ret.),
Arbitrator/Mediator, JAMS, talked on "Whose Story is it Anyway? A Practical Guide to the Aesthetics of Mediation". She discussed the power of narrative, the space created by the mediator in bringing forth the full narrative, and how that leads to conflict resolution.

Superpowers and Rogue States: Reducing Nuclear Danger was the topic of the Peace in the Desert lecture presented by Robert Litwak, director of international security studies at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, D.C., and by Stephen M. Younger, president of National Security Technologies, LLC, and senior policy scholar at the Wilson Center. The event was a collaboration of the Wilson Center and the Saltman Center for Conflict Resolution at the William S. Boyd School of Law at UNLV.

Professor John Lande, Director of the LL.M. Program in Dispute Resolution at the University of Missouri School of Law, spoke about how lawyers can get better results for their clients by using negotiation agreements. He explained how planned negotiations differ from typical ad hoc negotiations and listed advantages of planned negotiations for clients and lawyers. He described possible features in written negotiation agreements such as provisions regarding phased exchange of information, use of joint experts, and use of third-party neutrals.

Peace in the Desert Film Screening and Panel Discussion with special guest commentary by Amos Sawyer, former President of Liberia (1990-1994)