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Law School Will Honor George Mitchell at Symposium
The Harvard Negotiation Law Review and the Harvard Program on Negotiation will honor former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell with the first “Great Negotiator Award” on Friday, April 7, as part of a two-day symposium on problem solving at Harvard Law School. The symposium, “The Lawyer as Problem Solver: A Symposium on Dispute Resolution and Deal Making” will be held Friday, April 7, and Saturday, April 8, in Pound Hall.
During the opening dinner on Friday evening, Mitchell will be presented with the award prior to giving the symposiums keynote address.
The Program on Negotiation established the “Great Negotiator Award” to honor individuals of extraordinary achievement in dispute resolution. The award is designed not only to honor the accomplishments of outstanding negotiators, but also to focus public attention on the important role of negotiation as society faces increasingly complex disputes in all sectorspublic and private, technological and ethical, personal and professional.
Mitchell is being honored for his role as master builder of coalition leadership at home and abroad. He served in the U.S. Senate from 1980 to 1995, spending the last six years as majority leader. His major accomplishments include the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the ratification of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
He was named “the most respected member” of the Senate by a bipartisan group of senior congressional aides for six consecutive years. Recently, Mitchell served as chairperson of the peace negotiations in Northern Ireland. Under his leadership the governments of Ireland and the United Kingdom and the political parties of Northern Ireland agreed on a historic accord, ending decades of conflict. In May 1998, the voters of Ireland, North and South, in a referendum overwhelmingly endorsed the agreement.
Mitchells leadership in Northern Ireland has earned him worldwide praise.
The goal of the symposium is to bring together leaders in the fields of dispute resolution and problem solving to discuss the role of these activities in the legal profession.
The Saturday symposium is free to all students. Nonstudents may be admitted for a fee. Seating at the dinner is limited, and an admission fee is required. For information on the dinner and symposium, contact the Harvard Negotiation Law Review at hnlr@law.harvard.edu or at (617) 495-1684, ext. 545.
