I retired in January 2019 after spending 50 years on the Cornell faculty. For the past 12 years I was the Anne Evans Estabrook Professor of Dispute Resolution. From 1988 to 1997 I served as the dean of the ILR School at Cornell. In 1996 I was the co-founder of the Scheinman Institute on Conflict Resolution at Cornell and served as its director for 20 years. I have published 18 books and over 90 articles and chapters in books.
[Excerpt] In many respects, we have entered into a golden era in the evolution and study of confl... more [Excerpt] In many respects, we have entered into a golden era in the evolution and study of conflict resolution. One of the most obvious examples of this new era is the significant growth of conflict resolution programs in institutions of higher education. The purpose of this article is to examine the current state of university and law school conflict resolution programs. We then offer some conclusions and recommendations for addressing what we believe to be the critically important role academia can and should play in training arbitrators. Our review of academic programs suggests that the array of offerings has grown substantially and includes credit courses, clinics, degree programs, and certificates in conflict resolution. At our own institution, Cornell University, the response by our student body to opportunities for studying conflict resolution has overwhelmed our current capacity to meet their needs and interests.
The authors examine debates about the effects of mandatory interest arbitration on police and fir... more The authors examine debates about the effects of mandatory interest arbitration on police and firefighters in New York State under the Taylor Law from 1974 to 2007. Comparing experience with interest arbitration in the first three years after the law was adopted with experiences from 1995 to 2007, the authors find that no strikes occurred under arbitration and that rates of dependence on arbitration declined considerably. Moreover, the effectiveness of mediation prior to and during arbitration remained high, the tripartite arbitration structure continued to foster discussion of options for resolution among arbitration panel members, and wage increases awarded under arbitration matched those negotiated voluntarily by the parties. Econometric estimates of the effects of interest arbitration on wage changes in a national sample suggest wage increases differed little in states with arbitration from those without it. The authors therefore propose a role for interest arbitration in nation...
This article examines the strategic underpinnings of firms’ use of alternative dispute resolution... more This article examines the strategic underpinnings of firms’ use of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) practices. The authors argue that a firm’s strategic orientation and commitment to ADR shape its adoption of dispute resolution techniques—such as mediation and arbitration. Firms vary in the benefits they seek to gain from adopting ADR practices, and firm-level use is affected by these anticipated benefits. The authors also propose a link between a firm’s commitment to the diffusion, access, and their use of ADR, on the one hand, and employee usage on the other. They test their theory using survey data from Fortune 1000 corporations and identify four distinct strategic orientations toward ADR, which in turn help to explain use of ADR within firms. Finally, they also find that a firm’s commitment to ADR is also shown to affect the firm’s use of mediation and arbitration.
... I have had the good fortune of being able to collaborate with several first-rate co-authors, ... more ... I have had the good fortune of being able to collaborate with several first-rate co-authors, most especially my friend and colleague Ron Seeber, and also Harry Katz, Rocco Scanza, Dick Fincher, Jon Brock, and Ariel Avgar (see, for example, Lipsky and Seeber 1998, 2003, 2006 ...
[Excerpt] In many respects, we have entered into a golden era in the evolution and study of confl... more [Excerpt] In many respects, we have entered into a golden era in the evolution and study of conflict resolution. One of the most obvious examples of this new era is the significant growth of conflict resolution programs in institutions of higher education. The purpose of this article is to examine the current state of university and law school conflict resolution programs. We then offer some conclusions and recommendations for addressing what we believe to be the critically important role academia can and should play in training arbitrators. Our review of academic programs suggests that the array of offerings has grown substantially and includes credit courses, clinics, degree programs, and certificates in conflict resolution. At our own institution, Cornell University, the response by our student body to opportunities for studying conflict resolution has overwhelmed our current capacity to meet their needs and interests.
The authors examine debates about the effects of mandatory interest arbitration on police and fir... more The authors examine debates about the effects of mandatory interest arbitration on police and firefighters in New York State under the Taylor Law from 1974 to 2007. Comparing experience with interest arbitration in the first three years after the law was adopted with experiences from 1995 to 2007, the authors find that no strikes occurred under arbitration and that rates of dependence on arbitration declined considerably. Moreover, the effectiveness of mediation prior to and during arbitration remained high, the tripartite arbitration structure continued to foster discussion of options for resolution among arbitration panel members, and wage increases awarded under arbitration matched those negotiated voluntarily by the parties. Econometric estimates of the effects of interest arbitration on wage changes in a national sample suggest wage increases differed little in states with arbitration from those without it. The authors therefore propose a role for interest arbitration in nation...
This article examines the strategic underpinnings of firms’ use of alternative dispute resolution... more This article examines the strategic underpinnings of firms’ use of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) practices. The authors argue that a firm’s strategic orientation and commitment to ADR shape its adoption of dispute resolution techniques—such as mediation and arbitration. Firms vary in the benefits they seek to gain from adopting ADR practices, and firm-level use is affected by these anticipated benefits. The authors also propose a link between a firm’s commitment to the diffusion, access, and their use of ADR, on the one hand, and employee usage on the other. They test their theory using survey data from Fortune 1000 corporations and identify four distinct strategic orientations toward ADR, which in turn help to explain use of ADR within firms. Finally, they also find that a firm’s commitment to ADR is also shown to affect the firm’s use of mediation and arbitration.
... I have had the good fortune of being able to collaborate with several first-rate co-authors, ... more ... I have had the good fortune of being able to collaborate with several first-rate co-authors, most especially my friend and colleague Ron Seeber, and also Harry Katz, Rocco Scanza, Dick Fincher, Jon Brock, and Ariel Avgar (see, for example, Lipsky and Seeber 1998, 2003, 2006 ...
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Papers by D. Lipsky