Dr. Erik Girvan is an Associate Professor at the University of Oregon School of Law, where, as the Executive Director of Law & Conflict Studies, he helps to oversee the law school’s Conflict and Dispute Resolution, LL.M., and undergraduate Legal Studies programs. Erik teaches courses in civil litigation, the psychology and law of discrimination, and the psychology of conflict. Erik earned his J.D. at Harvard Law School and Ph.D. (Social and Political Psychology) at the University of Minnesota. As a practicing attorney, Erik litigated over 100 complex commercial cases in various federal and state jurisdictions across the country. Erik’s research investigates intergroup conflict, including how group-based stereotypes, attitudes, and other biases might impact decisions in the legal system and related contexts, such as school discipline. In collaboration with a diverse variety of legal and other professionals, Erik also develops and tests practical ways to reduce or eliminate the impacts of biases and make conflicts, where they occur, more constructive.
