March 2010
Communique - CNDR's Newsletter
March 2010
CNDR Welcomes Carol Izumi
We are very pleased to announce the appointment of Carol L. Izumi to the Hastings faculty as Clinical Professor of Law. Professor Izumi has been a full-time law teacher for nearly twenty-four years at George Washington University Law School, and has made significant contributions both to GWU's community as well as to the national field of ADR. Carol has taught and directed GWU's Consumer Mediation Clinic since 1986, and founded GWU's Community Dispute Resolution Center Project in 2000, and has served as its Director since that time.
Nationally, Carol acted as a landlord-tenant information specialist for the D.C. Superior Court, and was an assistant to the Director of Public Service Activities for the D.C. Bar. She also pioneered the establishment of a program of mediation in criminal and delinquency cases that has been adopted within the District, northern Virginia, and Maryland. She has been a leader in the movement to bring ADR techniques into the criminal justice system nationally, and has written on the topic and lectured on it extensively for the ABA, the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association, and other professional associations. She has served as the chair, member, and mediator for the D.C. Bar Attorney-Client Arbitration Board. She has also served as Chair of the AALS Sections on Clinical Legal Education and Alternative Dispute Resolution, and was elected to the American Law Institute in 2003.
Carol has an outstanding record of public service. In addition to activities outlined above, she served for eight years as the Secretary of the Board of Directors of the Japanese American Citizens League, and served two terms on the Board of Directors of the Consumers Union, and has acted as an arbitrator and mediator for the Better Business Bureau since 1989. Her public service has been recognized in several awards, including the Walton A. Lewis Brotherhood Award, bestowed by the AME Bethel Church of Detroit in 2006; the Distinguished Service Award, granted by the D.C. Bar Attorney-Client Arbitration Board in 2007; and the Community Service Award, given by the Asian Pacific American Bar Association Educational Fund in 2008.
CNDR Director Grande Lum is excited about Carol's arrival. "She has a strong national reputation in the public interest and Asian American legal world, and within the broader civil rights community as a whole. She will hit the ground running, ignite excitement among a variety of constituencies, and bring fresh perspectives to ADR here at Hastings."
Summer Portal Program
In collaboration with the Office of International and Graduate Programs, the Center for Negotiation and Dispute Resolution is pleased to announce Hastings Summer Portal Program, which will include two two-week intensive courses - one on Digital Media Law and the other on Negotiation and Settlement. The Summer Portal Program is geared towards International Students who expect to receive prior to enrollment a degree that would qualify them for the practice of law outside of the U.S., current J.D. students enrolled at Hastings or other ABA accredited Law Schools, as well as practitioners interested in enhancing their legal knowledge and skills.
The first session, which will be July 12th through 23rd, will be on Digital Media Law. Instructors for this course will be Professors Chris Mammen and Cecily Mak. The second session will be July 26th through August 6th, and will focus on Negotiations and Settlement. Adjunct Professor Jason Meek will be the lead instructor for the course, with likely participation by Professors Grande Lum, Melissa Nelken and Clark Freshman.
Three units per course will be offered upon completion of additional requirements. The cost for each course will be $2400 for current Hastings students or recent Hastings graduates (within 18 months), and $3200 for all others. California attorneys will receive MCLE credit.
The deadline to register for these courses is May 1, 2010. For further information, visit the website.
Mastering the Difficult Negotiation
The core of CNDR's mission is to improve the understanding and practice of negotiation throughout the legal profession. Based on this long-running commitment and on the many inquires we receive from the legal community, we are excited to announce a new offering this year - a unique continuing legal education course designed specifically to enhance and reinforce effective negotiation skills for practicing lawyers.
"Mastering the Difficult Negotiation" presents four full days of negotiation training taught over four consecutive weeks. The course is taught by Hastings Adjunct Professors Maria Joseph and Rochael Soper who have between them over twenty two years of negotiation and mediation practice, training and teaching. Recognizing that most CLE's present attendees with one or two full days of lecture and information overload with no opportunity for practice or feedback, Professors Joseph and Soper specifically designed this course to allow participants to utilize and practice the information and skills between classes before adding new information and skills during the next part of the course. In this way, the course more readily simulates the proven effective training that today's law students receive.
During the course, each individual's skill level and confidence will be built via a combination of in-class learning and real life experience. Participants will be immersed in negotiation skills and practice for one day per week followed by an active workweek in which to test, personalize and integrate newly acquired techniques. Each week will provide new skills and new opportunities for personal feedback based on out-of-class experience. Mastering the Difficult Negotiation sets the bar high for individuals of all personality types. It is unique, challenging and suited to those ready to seriously boost their capacity to confidently get the best outcomes in difficult situations.
Topics and Related In-Class Practice will include:
- Preventing and Managing Difficult Behavior and Predictable Irrationality
- Reducing the Stress of Negotiation
- Probing Beyond Rigid Positions
- Working with Challenging Personalities
- Understanding, Improving and Using Leverage
- Improving your Options away from the Negotiating Table
- Increasing your Ability to Predict and Plan for yourself and your Client
- Identifying and Handling Ethical Issues
Class Dates: May 20, May 27, June 3, June 10, 2010
Location: UC Hastings College of the Law, San Francisco
Cost: $1,495.00
Early Registration by April 1, 2010: $1,375.00
Participants will receive twenty-four hours of MCLE, including three hours of ethics and three hours of elimination of bias.
To register for this course, visit our registration page.
Negotiation and Mediation Team Update
The spring competition schedule is still in its early stages, with five competitions to go, and the Hastings Negotiation and Mediation Team already has much to be proud of. 
In late January Hastings Negotiation Team traveled to Lynchburg, VA to compete in Liberty University's School of Law National Negotiation Competition. In a strange turn of events, severe weather caused a cancellation of the final round of the competition, forcing the competition to end abruptly after a competitive semi-final round that saw both UC Hastings teams advance into the final four. As the results turned out, congratulations are in order to (pictured left to right) Tim Crawley and Christoffer Lee for finishing in 4th place, and Sean Gentry and Jennifer Takehana for finishing in 2nd place.
The 2nd and 4th place finishes are remarkable for teams from a single school in a National Competition, but the finish was bittersweet in that Sean and Jennifer were not afforded the chance they had earned to participate Final Round because of the blizzard. With the way the competition had been going, we feel certain that they had a strong chance to bring home the title had the Final Round been allowed to progress.
The next weekend, the team traveled to Paris, France, where they competed in the International Chamber of Commerce's Commercial Mediation Competition. Our team, made up of (pictured left to right) Gabriela Bischof, Mara Boundy, Emily Chan and Leah Sykes advanced to the final rounds of the competition in a very competitive field consisting of 44 teams from 23 different countries. Our final result was an impressive 5th Place showing. This year's finish was the fifth consecutive year that UC Hastings has finished in the Top 5, a feat that is unprecedented by any participating school and a testament to the teams' consistency and high level of performance, particularly in such a competitive international event.
The next five competitions we are looking forward to include the ABA Regional Representation in Mediation Competition in Eugene, OR, the Negotiations Challenge in Leipzig, Germany, the California Environmental Negotiations Competition in Los Angeles, CA, the National Law School Mediation Tournament in Chicago, IL, and the Merhige Environmental Negotiation Competition in Richmond, VA.
ADR Featured in Hastings Magazine
The spring 2010 edition of Hastings Magazine is out, and we are very pleased to say that the issue, Running in Neutral, follows alumni and students immersed in the world of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). It really illustrates how many different ways there are to use ADR in a successful legal career and how many of Hastings alums have done just that. It also showcases the Center for Negotiation and Dispute Resolution, with Center Director Grande Lum, and Professors Melissa Nelken and Clark Freshman.
Besides the print edition, there is also Hastings Magazine Online, containing extra content such as photo slideshows of the Hastings Negotiation Team and of Professor John Diamond, a video about the California Constitutional Literacy Initiative, and more in-depth articles. Check it out!
Negotiation Tip: When things get adversarial and tempers flare, turn your focus to what you say and do.
(Originally published in the Huffington Post, by Grande Lum)
A conversation is wonderful because one plus one is greater than two. The two individuals affect each other in meaningful ways. Understanding, give and take, new ideas and rapport flow from conversation. The other side of that coin is conversation provokes anxiety and stresses you out because you cannot even stand the idea of talking to the person.
Pointing the finger at the other person is easy. Try the following instead. Imagine there is a video camera that only captures you. For the moment, consider the other person as an actor who is feeding you lines. What is the camera capturing of you?
Block out what the other person is doing to keep walls from forming. The other person likely triggers your fears, angers and other strong emotions. Put aside your reactions temporarily and focusing on your own success. Create an achievable and proactive goal.
In classes and trainings, I actually use a video camera and direct students to choose real difficult situations they are facing. The participants often complain that the other person is the problem. I help them re-frame success by coaching them to work on what they want to see themselves doing, e.g. speaking assertively or discussing the issue civilly. The students practice several takes and then review the video with me afterwards. They walk away with new-found competence and confidence.
See yourself doing well. Separate that from what the other person has done or will do. Picture success as it relates to you, your body language, volume, tone and words. Remember communication is 85% nonverbal. Develop your core message, e.g. the main theme for you in this interaction. Consider the one thing you want to convey. You can then proceed more confidently and competently.
ABA Section of Dispute Resolution Spring Conference
As announced in our December issue, we are looking forward to the ABA Section of Dispute Resolution's Spring Conference here in San Francisco. Hastings will be very involved throughout the conference program. Hastings Professors Clark Freshman and Grande Lum will be presenting, along with CNDR Adjunct Professors Jason Meek, John Ford, Sheila Purcell, Jessica Notini and Rochael Soper. Program Co-chairs for the event are Hastings alums Ruth Glick '91 and Howard Herman '83. And, be sure to check out the Hastings CNDR booth!
In addition, Hastings alumni are invited to a special free Thursday luncheon, 11:30 to 1 pm, in the McAllister Tower's Skyroom. For more information and to RSVP, contact Jolynn Jones at jonesj@uchastings.edu or 415.581.8941.
More information on the Spring Conference can be found here.