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UC Hastings is now UC College of the Law, San Francisco

Learn more here

Sheila
Purcell

Emerita Clinical Professor and Former Director of CNDR

  • Email Address purcells@uchastings.edu
  • Follow Me on LinkedIn

Biography

Sheila Purcell is an Emerita Clinical Professor and the former Director of the Center for Negotiation and Dispute Resolution (CNDR). For 16 years she designed and directed a public/private dispute resolution partnership of the San Mateo Superior Court, bar and community with civil, small claims, family, probate, complex litigation, and juvenile court ADR programs and staff. She also oversaw the courts’ Jury Division and Self Help Center. In the early 1990’s she worked throughout California as the State Bar’s ADR Program Developer, received a Coro Fellowship in Public Affairs and mediated for the S.F. Mayor’s Office. She received an ABA award for organizing the first-ever national Court ADR conference. Publications include A Bench Guide to ADR along with numerous articles. She has consulted and presented nationally and in Bosnia, China, Hong Kong, Italy, India, Morocco, the Netherlands, Singapore, Slovenia and Uzbekistan. She received a California Dispute Resolution Council Founder’s Award and special recognition from California’s Supreme Court Chief Justice. Her court’s ADR program was a recipient of the “Kleps” Award for Innovation.

At Hastings,  Professor Purcell Professor Purcell taught Negotiation, Mediation, Facilitation, and Dispute System Design. She helped launch and is one of the lead faculty for CNDR’s groundbreaking International Court ADR Institute for international judges and lawyers. In her almost 10 years as Director, Professor Purcell oversaw an consistently top ranked Center where each year approximately one-third of all students continue to engage in a dispute resolution course and master skills through the Mediation Clinic, the Externship Program, and the award-winning Mediation and Dispute Resolution Team. In 2018 she lead CNDR to a US News and World Report ranking in the top ten of ADR programs nationally, and CNDR received the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ADR Education Award.

Donate to the Sheila Purcell ADR Scholarship

CNDR Director Purcell Retires

Expertise

  • Alternative Dispute Resolution
  • International Law
  • Negotiation and Mediation

Education

  1. University of California Santa Cruz

    B.A., Social Anthropology and Environmental Studies

  2. University of California Hastings College of the Law

    J.D., Law

Accomplishments

  1. Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Education Award 2007 and 2018

    Awarded by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals

  2. Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Mediation 2013

    Awarded by the Mediation Society.

  3. James Dennis Award for Justice in the Community 2012

    Awarded by the San Mateo County Bar Association.

  4. ABA Award 2010

    Awarded by the American Bar Association for organizing the first-ever national Court ADR conference.

  5. Kleps Award for Innovation 2010

    Awarded by California Courts

  6. Special Recognition 2008

    Conferred by California Supreme Court Chief Justice Ron George.

  7. Founders Award 2004

    Awarded by the Californian Dispute Resolution Council.

Selected Scholarship

  1. Mediators in the Field: Experiences Around the Globe 01/2014

    Dispute Resolution Magazine

  2. Dispute System Design: A Comparative Study of India, Israel, and California 01/2013

    UC Law SF Research Papers

  3. Court Program Funding: Advice From the Trenches 01/2002

    Dispute Management Magazine

Links

  1. Publications on SSRN

Related News

Faculty Achievements: Fall 2021

11/28/21
Center for Dispute Resolution

CNDR Conducts Training for Labor Commissioner’s Office

11/10/21
Sheila Purcell

Dispute Resolution Program Earns Top 10 Ranking

04/24/21
Untitled design (1)

Students Gain Vital ‘Soft Skills’ in CNDR Certificate Program

08/11/20
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