Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Team

collage of student competitors

DESCRIPTION:

The competitive Board of Advocates Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Team is Berkeley Law’s negotiation and mediation competition team. The ADR team competes in a number of national and international competitions each year that involve diverse areas of law, including intellectual property, business, sports, entertainment, and environmental law. It is not unusual for the team to place in the top three in every competition in which it competes. As with the other Board of Advocates branches, tryouts are very competitive. Typically less than a third of the students who tryout make it on the team.

If you have questions or need additional information about the ADR Team, please contact the ADR/Negotiations Team Student Directors, at adrteam@law.berkeley.edu. Please note that the competitions listed below are subject to change from year to year.

SKILL BUILDING:

Students can expect to learn strategies in moving through a negotiation, and methods to navigate mediations. In the Fall semester, ADR team members enroll in a 1-unit Negotiations Intensive Class with Head Coach Clint Waasted. They learn how to build a negotiation framework, relevant terminology (e.g. BATNA/WATNA), and explore their personal communication styles. All eligible team members will compete in at least one competition as part of their team requirements. In preparation for competitions, students are partnered into teams and are assigned a designated coach. The coaches provide competition-specific guidance as well as individualized feedback. Competing teams will also “spar” with other members of the ADR Team to help prepare them for competitions. Team members learn multilayered communication skills — from partners navigating a live “deal” to how to build rapport with the opposing side to achieve the desired results. Finally, they learn how to approach different stages of a negotiation, and how to draw on specific skills to move negotiations forward.

collage of students on a Zoom meeting

COMPETITIONS:

Below are some of the competitions that the ADR Team has recently participated in:

STUDENT TESTIMONIAL:

Karen Yang (Class of 2021) – International Mediation Singapore (IMSG 2020)

International Mediation Singapore 2020 was definitely a highlight in a year ridden with difficulties—and despite being hosted virtually, the competition brought together nearly 50 teams from 16 countries through virtual tours of Singapore, networking events, and team engagement activities (such as an internal meme competition!). The competition format itself was unique, with five rounds spread over two weekends and power-matching to ensure the best competitors went against each other.

Though the competition was a lot of work, nothing brought our team together more so than waking up at 4AM to practice or gear up for our rounds. I had an amazing experience, worked with some of the most talented team members and coaches, and learned a myriad of mediation advocacy styles through negotiating against competitors of diverse cultures and receiving feedback from judges of varied backgrounds. IMSG was definitely an unforgettable experience.

HEAD COACH:

Clint Waasted

Professor Clint Waasted is a Negotiation and Mediation Professor at Berkeley Law and an Executive Fellow at the Berkeley Center for Law and Business. He is also a professor at University of California, Hastings College of Law where he is the Director of the Negotiation and Dispute Resolution Team at the Center for Negotiation and Dispute Resolution and the faculty advisor for the ADR Board. Additionally, Professor Waasted is Senior Director of Business Development at Zynga, Inc. and Founder and Chairman of the Board for EMI Foundation, an educational nonprofit dedicated to supporting ADR Education programs.