Robert Bordone ’97, formerly the Thaddeus R. Beal Assistant Clinical Professor of Law, has been named a full clinical professor of law. An expert in negotiation and dispute resolution, Bordone is the founding director of the Harvard Law School Negotiation and Mediation Clinical Program.
“Bob is a very gifted clinician and teacher, and we are very fortunate to have him on the faculty at Harvard Law School,” said Lisa Dealy, assistant dean for the Office of Clinical and Pro Bono Programs at HLS. “He is nationally recognized for creating the best Negotiation and Mediation Clinic in the world, with truly outstanding and unparalleled projects for our students. We are delighted he has been promoted to Clinical Professor.”
Bordone joined the HLS faculty in 1998, when he was named deputy director of the Harvard Negotiation Research Project and a lecturer on law. In 2006, he launched the HLS clinical program focused on negotiation and mediation—the only program of its kind in the U.S. In 2007, Bordone received the Sacks-Freund Award for excellence in teaching.
“I am thankful for the school’s ongoing commitment both to my field of negotiation and ADR and to the value of clinical education in the law school curriculum,” said Bordone. “Harvard Law School has played a rich and meaningful role in my professional and personal life. I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues – fellow faculty, students, staff, and alumni – to expand and strengthen the Law School’s new clinic in Negotiation and Mediation and thereby assure that Harvard Law School maintains and builds upon its historic leadership role in negotiation and ADR for many years to come.”
The author of more than 30 articles and case studies on topics of dispute resolution and negotiation, Bordone co-edited and co-wrote two chapters in “The Handbook of Dispute Resolution.” The handbook won the 2005 book award of the National Institute for Advanced Conflict Resolution and has since become one of the leading handbooks in the field.
In addition to his J.D. from Harvard Law School, Bordone holds an A.B. from Dartmouth College. He started his teaching career at HLS in 1996 as a teaching and research assistant in the Negotiation Workshop and was named the Harvard Negotiation Research Project/Hewlett Foundation Research Fellow. From 1997-98, Bordone clerked for U.S. District Court Judge George A. O’Toole, Jr. ’72, in Boston.