Nominate a Colleague for the 2023 Professor Frank E.A. Sander Award in Dispute Resolution

The Massachusetts Bar Association is proud to present the 2023 Professor Frank E.A. Sander Award in Dispute Resolution in honor of a true pioneer in the field of dispute resolution (DR). Sander created programs that resulted in measurable, sustained change, going above and beyond the standard of practice to lay the groundwork for today’s modern DR services.

Presented during Conflict Resolution Week in October, this award will acknowledge and honor an individual who has made prodigious contributions to the field of DR. Past award recipients include David A. Hoffman (2018), Christine W. Yurgelun (2019), Hon. John C. Cratsley (ret.) (2021) and John A. Fiske (2022).

This year's award recipient is Professor Dwight Golann. 

More on Professor Dwight Golann

Dwight Golann, research professor at Suffolk University and the University of California-San Franciso law schools, has been a mediator, author and teacher of dispute resolution for almost 30 years.  

Golann is the author of the American Bar Association’s leading books on mediation, Mediating Legal Disputes, and mediation advocacy, Sharing a Mediator’s Powers, as well as law school texts. He has also created a unique and diverse video library showing how mediators and lawyers in the U.S. and other countries negotiate and mediate, which are collected at www.adrvideo.org. These videos and roleplays are offered at no charge and used by hundreds of teachers and trainers around the world. 

Golann is also an active mediator of legal disputes, and serves on the panel of Resolutions, the International Mediation Institute, and other organizations. He brings his experience as a neutral to his teaching and writing.

Golann is the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award of the American College of Civil Mediators, is an Honorary Member of the International Academy of Mediators and is the recipient of the American Bar Association’s 2021 Award for Outstanding Scholarship in Dispute Resolution. 

Golann has also participated in numerous seminars and panel discussions concerning dispute resolution through the Massachusetts Bar Association and has been a source of support to the Dispute Resolution Section of the MBA since it began in 2018.

Check back in 2024 for when the next nomination period begins.

We will be seeking nominations of individuals who:

• Have demonstrated extraordinary leadership, innovation and dedication in the field of DR for more than 10 years
• Have made established contributions to the DR community, and can provide corresponding evidence in a self- or colleague-authored nominee summary
• Are current members of the MBA or willing to join the MBA

We encourage nominations from DR professionals, DR providers, local/affiliated bar associations, government agencies and legal services organizations.