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Neither Coronation Nor Chaos: What Dispute Systems Design Can Teach Democrats 

By Deanna Pantín Parrish “U.S. Senator Kamala Harris speaking with supporters at the annual West Des Moines Democratic Party Summer picnic at Legion Park in West Des Moines, Iowa.” by Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, USA. CC BY-SA 2.0 With or without knowing it, we are involved in a nationwide discussion about process. Be still […]

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President Biden just challenged us to re-engage with our values. Will we accept?

By Sara del Nido Budish White House and Green Grass by Gryerbaby CC0 1.0 Who could have predicted that the 2024 Presidential race would be defined by a moment of vulnerability? When President Biden opted to withdraw his candidacy for re-election, he made a clear statement that the interests of the country must override any

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Harvard Mediation Program: Experience of a lifetime

By Bertha Aniagyei LL.M. ’24 Originally published on the website for the Office of Clinical & Pro Bono Programs As a person who has worked for more than a decade in the traditional adjudicatory system and witnessed its high and low points, I was convinced that alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, particularly mediation, offered a better

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Walking a fine line between facilitation and adjudication in the Harvard Mediation Program

By Manoranjitha Reddy Ani LL.M. ’24 Originally published on the website for the Office of Clinical & Pro Bono Programs The earliest memories of my childhood are tinged with the idea and practice of ‘law.’ Having witnessed the journey of two litigators (my grandfather and father) throughout my life, I had a perception that litigation

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Green Line Train running through a neighborhood

The Fight for Boston’s GLX and CLX: Stakeholder Mapping and Integrative Negotiation – Part II

by Justin Minion ’23  In Part I of this series, I have covered stakeholders battles that would likely be described as “distributive.”  For instance, the stakeholder battles between the Conservative Law Foundation and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and between the MBTA and the MassDot would likely be examined through the lens of zero-sum bargaining.  In

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The Fight for Boston’s GLX and CLX: Stakeholder Mapping and Integrative Negotiation — Part I

By Justin Minion ’23 On a Wednesday evening in April of 2014, Jack Wright, the interim project manager for the Green Line Extension, stood on stage at a town hall meeting and faced an angry audience of residents from Somerville, Medford, and Cambridge.  Jack informed the audience that funding for the much-anticipated Community Path, which

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Dealing in Justice: System-Level Solutions for Plea Bargaining Inefficiencies in Massachusetts Municipal and District Courts

by Stephanie Kelemen ’22 Plea bargains are like medications with bad side effects—extraordinarily painful to take, but they get the job done.  In some cases, the pain outweighs the benefit of the treatment.  But in the vast majority of cases—97 percent to be precise—criminal defendants take their medicine.  And it hurts every single time. I

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Two girls arm wrestling

Negotiators x PATHWAYS: A Collaboration to Facilitate Negotiations Training to Students Across the World

This year, the Harvard Law School (HLS) Negotiators (a student practice organization) had the opportunity to work with the PATHWAYS Institute for Negotiation Education to offer undergraduate students on both sides of the Atlantic an experiential journey into creative negotiation, fostering connections with peers from other backgrounds, and developing critical thinking and communication skills.  

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The US Supreme Court Building at Dusk

This time, let’s not talk about process

In the frenzied hours since Politico published a draft opinion by Justice Samuel Alito striking down Roe v. Wade, commentators and writers have used strong language to emphasize the historic importance of the leak:  “unprecedented,” “shocking,” “singular and egregious.” But this focus on the leak—how it happened, who did it, and what it means for the future of Supreme Court deliberations—is misplaced if it comes at the cost of distracting from the opinion itself.  The important work to do right now has to do with substance, not process. 

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