Tuesday, April 27, 2021

Dispute Systems Design Info Session for HLS Students

This information session brought together current Dispute Systems Design Clinic students—to talk about the skills they’ve harvested from working with real-world clients through the clinic—as well as alums, who reflect on how their clinic experience helped them discern and inform their professional path and work in the world. This info session was held for Harvard… More

Tuesday, March 16, 2021

When Norms Collide, Part 2 – Rights, Interests, and Power: Why Inter-Bubble Conflicts are so Hard to Resolve

by Patrick Maxwell ’21   This post is the second installment of a multi-part blog series by Patrick Maxwell, “When Norms Collide:  The (Growing?) Challenge of Inter-bubble Conflicts.”  The series will explore conflicts that cut across structures, groups, and worldviews—and what it may take to effectively navigate them. Read Part 1 here.   In the previous entry in this series, we… More

Thursday, March 11, 2021

Harvard Negotiation & Mediation Clinical Program Releases Report on a New Safety Response System for the City of Boston

The Boston Police Department routinely responds to calls for service involving mental health, homelessness, substance use, traffic incidents, and nonviolent neighborhood or domestic disputes. In the face of nationwide racial disparities in public safety practices, many have advocated for the ability to seek help in addressing these issues without relying entirely on the police. In June… More

Thursday, March 4, 2021

When Norms Collide: Part 1—What is an “inter-bubble” conflict?

By Patrick Maxwell ‘21    This post is the first installment of a multi-part blog series by Patrick Maxwell, “When Norms Collide:  The (Growing?) Challenge of Inter-bubble Conflicts.”  The series will explore conflicts that cut across structures, groups, and worldviews—and what it may take to effectively navigate them.    Sandra, Alex, and QAnon Although Sandra and Alex had been friends for years, their relationship… More

Wednesday, February 17, 2021

Truth Commissions as an Antidote to Unrest: Where Dialogue and Transparency Promote Reconciliation

by Oladeji Tiamiyu ’20   In recent months, America has experienced significant social upheaval, ranging from the nation-wide protests in the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd to the attempted insurrection of the Capitol that led to the deaths of 5 individuals. In July 2020, Boston, San Francisco, and Philadelphia established truth commissions in… More

Wednesday, January 27, 2021

The Risk—and Relief—in Calls for Unity

President Biden ran on a campaign of unity, “restoring the soul of our nation.” These calls often resembled a pastor’s sermon more than policymaker’s plan, and suggested that division was not a symptom, but instead a harm in and of itself. . . . In President Biden’s view, it seems that division itself is what needs to be overcome. But how? Does his vision of unity include those who stormed the Capitol, or the lawmakers who refuse to denounce them? How do we achieve unity when the current moment also requires an unambiguous rejection of forms of violence? Is his unity a moral aspiration, or a political project? If it is the latter, how do we implement it?… More

Monday, May 4, 2020

Can Dispute Systems Design be “Rapid-Response”?

Dispute systems design, when done well, emphasizes thoughtful, intentional engagement with stakeholders in order to develop robust conflict management systems. Is this approach useful during an acute crisis? A few days ago, a friend who works in a state court system sent the following email to me and a number of colleagues in the field of… More

Thursday, February 6, 2020

Engaging Deep Differences Online

Originally published on the Indisputably blog as part of the Theory-of-Change Symposium . You can find all the submissions for the symposium here.   As we approach the next election, we continue to confront important challenges about engaging across deeply felt differences. Our country remains polarized, and many feel disconnected from those whose views differ… More

Monday, November 5, 2018

What Relevance for ADR in situations of Domestic Violence?

This is the sixth installment of a blog series called From the Field. In this series we spotlight stories and insights from former students, friends, and colleagues who are working in the field of dispute resolution. This post is Part I of a two-part post by Stephan Sonnenberg ’06.   Domestic violence, as we are all… More

Monday, April 30, 2018

Principled Negotiations and Complex Peace Processes: Reflections on connecting theory to practice—Part II

In the first installment of our reflection on the pedagogy of principled negotiation, we began our consideration of the practicalities of applying theories of interest-based negotiation to peacebuilding.

We turn now to the concept of negotiation process. … More

Wednesday, December 7, 2016

Harvard Negotiation and Mediation Clinical Program (HNMCP) 10th Anniversary Symposium Explores a Dynamic Field and Growing Impact

On November 5, 2016, the Harvard Negotiation and Mediation Clinical Program (HNMCP) at Harvard Law School celebrated its 10th Anniversary with a public symposium that was both retrospective and prospective, addressing the clinic’s foundational focus on dispute systems design, as well as looking at the role of facilitation and political dialogue. The symposium was hosted… More

Wednesday, October 5, 2016

Building Capacity Without Losing Capacity: Legal Change and Dispute Resolution in Bhutan

In the spring of 2016 HNMCP engaged with the newly forming Jigme Singye Wangchuck School of Law (JSW Law) to examine the practices of local, traditional dispute resolvers, and to help JSW Law think through how formal judicial institutions, which have been the subject of large-scale capacity building initiatives following Bhutan’s transition to democracy in 2008, can complement, rather than supplant, traditional… More

Monday, September 28, 2015

You Help Me, He Helps You: Dispute Systems Design in the Sharing Economy

We’re excited to announce a new article co-authored by HNMCP Clinical Instructor and Lecturer on Law, Heather Scheiwe Kulp, “You Help Me, He Helps You: Dispute Systems Design in the Sharing Economy,” published in the new issue of the Washington University Journal of Law & Policy (Vol. 48, 2015), subtitled “New Directions in Community Lawyering, Social… More

Friday, October 17, 2014

The Absent Party in NYU’s Expansion Plan: A Dispute Systems Designer

The past fifteen years have witnessed massive expansion, growth, and re-development throughout New York City – from Williamsburg and Prospect Park in Brooklyn to Times Square and the Meatpacking District in Manhattan. If a court decision on October 14 holds, Greenwich Village will become the latest neighborhood slated for a makeover. Last Tuesday, New York… More