Saltman Center Receives Ninth Circuit ADR Education Award

The UNLV Boyd School of Law and its Saltman Center for Conflict Resolution were awarded the 2008 Ninth Circuit ADR Education Award. The Ninth Circuit Judicial Council created this award to recognize ABA-accredited law schools in the Ninth Circuit that have demonstrated a commitment to advancing education in the field of alternative dispute resolution. The award was presented at the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference on July 28.

“It is a tremendous honor to be singled out for this award among all the law schools in the Ninth Circuit (Nevada, California, Arizona, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Hawaii, and Alaska),” said John Valery White, dean of UNLV’s Boyd School of Law. “In issuing the award the Court particularly mentioned our focus on interdisciplinary approaches, of which we are particularly proud.”

The Saltman Center is accustomed to receiving accolades. In the latest U.S News & World Report’s annual rankings of specialty programs, the Saltman Center ranked 9th in the nation for dispute resolution. At the regional ABA Client Counseling Competition this year, its team won first place and went on to place second at the national competition.

“We believe that by bringing together insights not only from law but also from fields such as psychology, economics, history, sociology, business and medicine we provide a better education to our students and to the public at large in conflict resolution.” said Jean Sternlight, director of the Saltman Center. “Thanks to the huge inspirational and financial support of Michael and Sonja Saltman we have been able to host numerous important conferences and speakers that have enlightened us all on the possibilities for conflict resolution in this troubled world."

The various conferences and lectures hosted by the Saltman Center range in topics from water issues and collaboration techniques to foreign policy and peace building. These events are all open to the public and many are widely advertised. Daniel Schorr, Senior News Analyst for National Public Radio, will speak on "Forgive Us Our Press Passes" as part of the Peace in the Desert™ lecture series on September 11 at UNLV.

The work of the Saltman Center encompasses conflicts arising out of regional, national, and international concerns, and involving both the public and private sectors. In addition to hosting events, the Saltman Center enhances public understanding of ADR through scholarship. Multiple Boyd faculty members have written books and articles on ADR, including Sternlight, a prolific scholar of dispute resolution.

Since its founding, the Boyd School of Law has required all first year law students to take a course called “civil procedure and alternative dispute resolution.” To enhance students’ understanding of ADR, the law school also sponsors in-house competitions in both client counseling and negotiation. Winners of these competitions go on to participate in regional competitions. In 2007, Boyd students won the regional client counseling competition and then made the top U.S. team at the national competition. The team ultimately reached the finals in the international competition in Australia. Similarly, in 2006 a Boyd client counseling team placed third in nationals and in 2005 a Boyd team won the national competition.

The law school offers standard courses such as Negotiation, Mediation, Arbitration, and Interviewing and Counseling. The law school provides mediation training to students in exchange for a certain number of hours of free mediation for the community through the local Clark County Neighborhood Justice Center.

For more information about the Saltman Center at the UNLV Boyd School of Law, visit www.law.unlv.edu/Saltman.html....