About the Beecroft Lecture Series
The Beecroft Lecture Series was established in honor of the late Chris Beecroft Jr., a 1971 UNLV graduate and commissioner of Alternative Dispute Resolution for the Clark County District Court. Following Beecroft’s passing in December 2016, the ADR section of the State Bar of Nevada worked quickly to launch the Chris Beecroft Jr. Fund, which helps to sponsor the lecture series at the Saltman Center.
Past Beecroft Lectures include:
2024: Arbitrating Sports, Politics, & Human Rights: Who Decides?, Professor Maureen Arellano Weston, Professor of Law and Director of the Entertainment, Media & Sports Dispute Resolution Project, Pepperdine Caruso School of Law. This lecture is available to view on YouTube.
2023: Truth. Regardless of Reconciliation?, Professor Michael Moffitt, Philip H. Knight Chair
University of Oregon, School of Law & Honors College, and Professor Bobbie Conner, Director of Tamástslikt (Tah-MAHST-slickt) Cultural Institute, the tribally-owned museum on the Umatilla Reservation near Pendleton, Oregon
2022: Civil Public Discourse: Some Lessons from Psychology, Professor Jennifer Kirkpatrick Robbennolt, Associate Dean for Research and Alice Curtis Campbell Professor of Law, Professor of Psychology, and Co-Director of the Illinois Program on Law, Behavior and Social Science, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
2021: Restorative Justice and Anti-Racism, Professor Martha Minow, 300th Anniversary University Professor and former Dean of the Law School Harvard University. This lecture is available to view on YouTube.
2020: Hiding Harassment, Professor Pat Chew, Judge J. Quint Salmon & Anne Salmon Chaired Professor, University of Pittsburgh School of Law
2019: Behavioral Ethics and Legal Negotiation, Professor Russell Korobkin, Vice Dean for Graduate and Professional Education and Richard C. Maxwell Professor of Law at UCLA
2018: Gender and Negotiation: What About the Guys, Professor Andrea Schneider, Marquette University Law School
In Memory of Chris Beecroft, Jr.
Chris Beecroft, Jr. was born in St. Paul, Minnesota. He moved to Nevada and received his undergraduate degree from UNLV in 1971, the first recipient of the Nevada Centennial Scholarship Award, which is given to the graduating senior holding the highest four-year scholastic record. He then earned his law degree from McGeorge School of Law in 1974. Chris became a member of the State Bar of Nevada and worked in private law practice for over twenty-five years. Chris also was a president of the UNLV Alumni Association and served on the Alumni Board of Directors.
In 2000, Chris joined the Office of Alternative Dispute Resolution and became its ADR Commissioner in 2001. He was tasked with developing and monitoring a collection of court- connected, alternative dispute resolution programs. These programs provided litigants an opportunity to resolve their disputes without having to go to a full trial. Shortly after becoming the ADR Commissioner, he began the Eighth Judicial District Court's Short Trial Program. This unique program went on to win an Achievement Award from the National Association of Counties in 2004 and a better government award from the Pioneer Institute for Public Policy Research in 2008. In 2008, he was appointed Family Court Discovery Commissioner and in 2012 he became the Discovery Commissioner for additional departments within the Eighth Judicial District Court.
Chris passed away on December 26, 2016 at the age of 67. He is survived by his wife of 46 years, Christine, their children Melissa and Jonathan, along with other members of his extended family. His family lovingly remembers his passion for cooking, traveling, and spending time on his boat ("On The C's"). He was known to say, "Don't just watch the boats floating by, be on your boat floating by."
Thank you for your interest in the Saltman Center for Conflict Resolution and the Memorial Beecroft Lecture. You can help us continue our work by making a donation here.