Santa Clara – Stanford Conflict Resolution Workshop presents

Overburdened with litigants seeking civil justice, state courts increasingly have relied on ADR procedures to alleviate long waits for trials. But, these procedures provide little opportunity for justice to litigants who are unaware they exist. Professor Shestowsky will describe the findings of her multi-court study designed to answer questions concerning the dissemination of information about courts’ dispute resolution programs. Among the questions we will explore are:

• How informed are litigants about court-sponsored ADR programs for which they qualify? 
• How do represented litigants fare compared to their unrepresented counterparts?
• How does litigant awareness of court-connected dispute resolution programs affect the court?

Donna Shestowsky, a Professor of Law and Affiliated Faculty, Department of Psychology, at the University of California, Davis, teaches Negotiation Strategy, Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), and a Seminar in Legal Psychology. Her research examines assumptions underlying the structure of the legal system and explores ways the legal system might be improved using the methodological and analytic tools of psychological theory and research.

Please join us to examine this research and consider its implications for law schools, courts, and lawyers. As in all our workshops, engage with others to explore the applications of this study.