2026

SANTA CLARA, Calif., July 2, 2026—Dorian Daley, J.D. '86 has made a transformative gift to Santa Clara University School of Law to create a state-of-the-art Center for Conflict Resolution, devoted to training in communication, negotiation, mediation, and conflict resolution. 

Daley’s $5 million donation will endow the center, now called the Daley Center for Conflict Resolution. The center provides a rich array of academic activities, calling on Santa Clara Law’s signature strengths in technology, international law, and social justice. 

Its academic offerings include courses covering negotiation, mediation, arbitration, restorative justice and online conflict resolution, with an emphasis on the development of exceptional interviewing and counseling skills. It also provides a variety of experiential learning opportunities such as the Bates Mediation Clinic, which was established in 2017 through the vision and generosity of John Bates, Jr., J.D. ’74, a preeminent mediator. The Daley Center will support impactful research, student competitions, workshops, and conferences, as well as professional development opportunities for lawyers and members of the greater Silicon Valley professional community.

“I am thrilled to support Santa Clara University School of Law’s existing program on conflict resolution. Forty years ago, SCU invested in me as a law student, both educationally and financially. And after a long career as a litigator and the General Counsel of a large technology company, it seems fitting for me to invest in a program that focuses on those skills and a mindset that were not just critical to my practice, but for which there is a great need. The core of what we do as attorneys is solve problems, and that means understanding the genesis and different perspectives underlying a dispute, speaking the same language as one’s perceived adversary, establishing trust, strong and persuasive—yet non-antagonistic—advocacy that acknowledges disagreement, and creatively looking for a path forward that can address the grievances while maintaining and even extending relationships,” said Daley. 

“The new Center for Conflict Resolution will build on its existing excellent program to give our law students the tools to develop these skills and better serve their future clients. I am grateful to Dean Kaufman for inviting me to be a part of this effort, to John Bates’ development of the Bates Mediation Clinic, and to Dean Emerita Lisa Kloppenberg, whose vision and passion for this topic has been the moving force behind the program and new Center.” 

With more than 95 percent of civil cases being resolved before trial, developing strong conflict resolution and negotiation skills is paramount for attorneys to effectively serve the interests of their clients. Courts, legislatures, government agencies, and private organizations are increasingly endorsing various forms of conflict resolution methods, including mediation and arbitration, as viable alternatives to traditional legal remedies. 

“The entire law school community appreciates the value of conflict resolution, not only as a tool to manage disputes, but as a way to conduct their lives and to best reflect the values that Santa Clara represents. We have taken efforts to advance the concept, and now, thanks to Dorian Daley, it will become a bedrock of legal education at Santa Clara and assure its continued vitality. For that we are incredibly grateful,” said Bates. 

The Daley Center has equipped, and will continue to equip, Santa Clara Law students with these essential skills and competencies, while drawing on the university’s Jesuit tradition to ensure graduates are guided not only by professional excellence but also by compassion, empathy, service to others, and a commitment to social justice. 

"I'm so grateful for the generous support of this Center, which is so aligned with our Jesuit values and will teach students to be wise, effective counselors for their clients and the justice system,” said Dean Emerita and Professor of Law Lisa Kloppenberg, who was instrumental in bringing conflict resolution education to Santa Clara Law. 

“On behalf of our entire Santa Clara Law community, I want to extend our heartfelt gratitude to Dorian Daley, whose remarkable support, counsel, wisdom, and grace has blessed our community for decades and who now has established this pathbreaking Center,” remarked Dean Michael J. Kaufman.  

“The Daley Center is both timely and timeless. It will fulfill an urgent need of our era to foster the peaceful resolution of disputes, building beautifully on the law school’s Bates Mediation Clinic. It will actualize our Jesuit mission, articulated so powerfully by Pope Leo XIV, to ‘build the civilization of love’ by bringing people together from across town and across the globe to reconcile their differences through respectful and reflective dialogue in a new and genuine ‘culture of negotiation.’ And it will empower our law school to build on its rising reputation in the burgeoning field of dispute resolution to become the home for the top conflict resolution program in the world.”

“By establishing the Daley Center for Conflict Resolution, Dorian has made a gift that will help Santa Clara Law’s students serve their clients and communities in justly and peacefully resolving disputes for generations to come.”

Daley was the Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Oracle Corporation for over 15 years and was part of and then led the litigation group for 15 years prior to her appointment as General Counsel. Daley remained actively involved with litigation and dispute resolution, investigations, and working with regulators around the world. She has been named one of America’s “top” or outstanding general counsel in various local and national publications over the years, and she received the prestigious Burton Award (in conjunction with the Library of Congress) as a Legend in Law, a national honor given to general counsel whose careers have been exemplary. 

Daley enrolled in Santa Clara Law in 1986 after receiving a scholarship and has paid that generosity forward throughout her 40-year relationship with the law school. She is a former member of the High Tech Advisory Board and has been a member of Santa Clara Law’s Law Advisory Board (LAB) since 2017, serving as Chair since 2024. In 2013, Daley received the Santa Clara Law Alumni Special Achievement Award, and in 2010, she received the Diversity Gala Award for her contributions to the school’s inclusive excellence.

The Daley Center for Conflict Resolution joins a growing number of top-ranked centers of excellence at Santa Clara Law, which include the Datta Center for High Tech Law, the Center for Global Law and Policy, and the Center for Social Justice and Public Service. 

About Santa Clara University School of Law

Santa Clara University School of Law is dedicated to educating lawyers who lead with a commitment to excellence, ethics, and social justice. Santa Clara Law offers students an academically rigorous program including certificates in high tech, international, public interest and social justice, privacy, and sports law, as well as numerous graduate and joint degree options. Located in the heart of Silicon Valley, Santa Clara Law is nationally distinguished for its faculty engagement, preparation for practice, and top-ranked programs in intellectual property and international law. For more information, see law.scu.edu.

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Pamela Nonga Ngue | Santa Clara Law Marketing & Communications | pnongangue@scu.edu | 408-551-1763