News Release
Contact:
Jim Greif
[email protected]
(202) 296-1593
Washington, DC (January 6, 2024) – The Association of American Law Schools (AALS) Committee on Sections has selected the AALS Section on Alternative Dispute Resolution as the organization’s Section of the Year.
First established in 2018, the AALS Section of the Year Award recognizes excellence in member support and other activities that promote the association’s core values. Such activities include: community/pro bono service; expanding membership and member engagement; supporting faculty scholarship; providing mentorship and teaching support; and developing impactful programming.
The AALS Section on Alternative Dispute Resolution was selected for their commitment to excellence in teaching, preparing members on the NextGen Bar Exam, developing engaging programing, collaborating with Mitchell Hamline School of Law to digitize dispute resolution teaching resources, and increasing outreach to law faculty.
“I am thrilled to see our Section recognized with this AALS honor. The members of the Executive Committee worked tirelessly this year to create a mentorship program for junior scholars and put infrastructure in place to help law faculty prepare students for the NextGen Bar exam,” said Donna Shestowsky, Professor of Law and Director of the Lawyering Skills Education Program, University of California, Davis, School of Law. “Given that the bar exam will now test dispute resolution concepts, teaching materials that ADR faculty already develop and share in a spirit of collaboration will help a much broader set of faculty members as they update their courses to reflect this major change.”
The AALS Section on Alternative Dispute Resolution provides opportunities for early career scholars to present their work to receive feedback and recognition for their scholarship through the New Voices mentorship program and an annual works-in-progress conference. The section also presents two annual section awards: the New Voices in Dispute Resolution Award and Best Scholarly Article.
The section was recognized at an awards ceremony at the AALS Annual Meeting in Washington, DC on January 4.
AALS sections provide opportunities for law school faculty and staff to connect year-round on issues of shared interest. Each section is focused on a different academic discipline, affinity group, or administrative area. For a full list of sections, visit www.aals.org/sections.
About AALS
The Association of American Law Schools (AALS), founded in 1900, is a nonprofit association of 176 member and 18 fee-paid law schools. Its members enroll most of the nation’s law students and produce the majority of the country’s lawyers and judges, as well as many of its lawmakers. The mission of AALS is to uphold and advance excellence in legal education. In support of this mission, AALS promotes the core values of excellence in teaching and scholarship, academic freedom, and diversity, including diversity of backgrounds and viewpoints, while seeking to improve the legal profession, to foster justice, and to serve its many communities—local, national and international.
