Pepperdine University's Straus Institute

Pepperdine University's Straus Institute
Name	Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution
Parent	Pepperdine University
Established	1969
Type	Graduate professional school
Location	Malibu, California, United States
Dean	Eric D. Green
Campus	Malibu
Colors	Blue and Orange

Pepperdine University's Straus Institute

Pepperdine University's Straus Institute is a graduate program specializing in dispute resolution and mediation located on the Malibu campus. Founded as a response to rising interest in alternatives to litigation, the institute integrates practice-oriented training with scholarship and hosts conferences attracting jurists, diplomats, and corporate counsel. Its alumni and faculty collaborate with courts, nonprofit organizations, and international bodies to develop methods used in civil, family, commercial, and international disputes.

History

The Straus Institute traces its roots to the late 1960s dispute resolution movement alongside figures and entities such as Frank E.A. Sander, Richard Posner, Roscoe Pound, American Bar Association, and Harvard Law School clinical initiatives. Early partnerships included workshops with participants from United Nations, International Court of Justice, U.S. Supreme Court, California Supreme Court, and bar associations across Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York City. During the 1980s and 1990s the institute expanded under influences tied to Alternative Dispute Resolution Act of 1998 debates, exchanges with Oxford University, University of Cambridge, and collaborations with arbitration institutions like the American Arbitration Association and International Chamber of Commerce. Philanthropic support came from donors linked to institutions such as the Straus family and foundations associated with John M. Olin Foundation, enabling growth of clinical programs and international outreach to regions including Eastern Europe, Latin America, and Southeast Asia.

Academic Programs

Straus offers degree and certificate programs including a Master of Dispute Resolution, dispute resolution concentrations for Juris Doctor candidates, and continuing education certificates aligned with professional bodies such as the State Bar of California and Association for Conflict Resolution. Curricula feature courses influenced by pedagogies from Yale Law School, Stanford Law School, Columbia Law School, and workshops modeled on training used by diplomatic services like the U.S. Department of State and international organizations including the World Bank and European Court of Human Rights. Electives cover negotiation strategies drawn from work by scholars at MIT Sloan School of Management, restorative practices associated with Howard University initiatives, and ethics discussions referencing precedents from cases argued before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and tribunals such as the International Criminal Court.

Clinics and Practical Training

The institute operates clinics that place students in real-world matters, partnering with entities like the Los Angeles Superior Court, Santa Monica Municipal Court, Ventura County, California Court of Appeal, nonprofit legal services such as Bet Tzedek Legal Services, and international NGOs including Amnesty International and International Rescue Committee. Clinical placements have included mediations in family law with references to practice reforms shaped by California Family Code, complex commercial mediations involving firms linked to Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, and community dispute resolution projects in collaboration with civic groups like United Way. The Straus Arbitration Clinic has facilitated arbitrations under rules of the ICC International Court of Arbitration, the American Arbitration Association and ad hoc panels informed by scholarship from Princeton University and University of Chicago legal scholars.

Research and Publications

Faculty and students publish scholarship in venues such as the Pepperdine Law Review, Harvard Negotiation Law Review, and journals associated with Cornell University Law School and Georgetown University Law Center. Research areas include negotiation theory advanced by work connected to Roger Fisher and William Ury, empirical studies drawing on methods from National Bureau of Economic Research, and comparative dispute resolution analyses referencing decisions from the European Court of Justice and the Supreme Court of Canada. The institute convenes symposia that attract contributors affiliated with Yale Law Journal, Columbia Journal of Transnational Law, University of Pennsylvania Law Review, and policy organizations such as the Brookings Institution and RAND Corporation.

Faculty and Administration

Straus faculty encompass mediators, arbitrators, and scholars who have served in roles with the U.S. Department of Justice, California Judicial Council, World Trade Organization, and as adjuncts from law firms including Latham & Watkins and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. Administrative leadership has engaged with networks such as the International Mediation Institute, the American Arbitration Association, and academic exchanges with The Hague Academy of International Law. Visiting lecturers have included jurists and practitioners associated with Antonin Scalia, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Elena Kagan, and international figures tied to Kofi Annan and Boutros Boutros-Ghali in mediation and peacebuilding contexts.

Admissions and Student Life

Admissions draw applicants from law programs at institutions like Harvard Law School, Yale Law School, Stanford Law School, University of California, Berkeley School of Law, and international law schools including University of Cambridge Faculty of Law and Oxford Faculty of Law. Students engage in student organizations paralleling national groups such as the American Bar Association, the Association for Conflict Resolution, and campus activities coordinated with Pepperdine's schools of public policy and business, including collaborations with entities like Pepperdine Graziadio Business School and civic initiatives connected to City of Malibu government. Career placement has led alumni to roles with courts and firms such as the California Courts of Appeal, City Attorney offices, nonprofit leadership at Mediation Service Centers, corporate positions at multinational companies like Google, Apple Inc., and international appointments with agencies including the United Nations Development Programme.

Category:Law schools in California