When Roberto de Palma Barracco was an LL.M. student at Oregon Law, he saw an opportunity to connect professionals and academics from around the world. “One of my initiatives was to bring Professor Freitas of Brazil’s University of Sao Paulo - Faculty of Law (FDUSP) and Professor Akiyo of Japan’s Shinshu University together with Professor Elizabeth Tippett of Oregon Law, and from that, a conference emerged.”

Hosted at Shinshu University in Matsumoto, Japan on January 8 and 9, the “Brazil-Japan Litigation and Society Seminar: Courts and Dispute Resolution” brought approximately 50 academics and professionals together. “It was exciting to be part of this conference, especially with Oregon Law students representing two of our programs,” says Tippett, faculty co-director of the Master of Conflict and Dispute Resolution (CRES) program. Tippett, also a member of school’s acclaimed Appropriate Dispute Resolution faculty, chaired the panel “Courts and ADR” as well as presented “Administrative ADR.”

Kayla Brinda, LL.M '17 presented "Transboundary Waters: Conflict and Opportunity for Cooperation: Case Studies from Canda, Brazil, and Japan." CRES students Lauren Asher and Jeff Ehren presented "ADR in the Workplace: It Benefits the Whole System." Both Asher and Ehren were granted funding through the CRES Jubitz Peacemaker Fund for Professional Development.

In addition to presentations and panels, event highlights included a ceremonial signing of an academic exchange agreement among the Association of Federal Judges of Brazil and the Faculty of Economics and Law of Shinshu University. The conference concluded with a tribute to Professor of Law Masato Ninomiya of Sao Paulo University who was born in Nagano, Japan and is a naturalized citizen of Brazil. Professor Masato Ninomiya graciously addressed the Oregon Law students in English before making an impassioned acceptance speech - first in Portuguese to the Brazilians, and then in Japanese to the hosting faculty.

By Jeff Ehren, CRES candidate ’18