Dispute Resolution in Action: Boyd Law Grads Put Skills to Use in the Real World
Written By: Mike Weatherford
Dispute resolution aims to help litigants find mutually beneficial solutions to their dispute without going all the way trial—even if that resolution happens just steps from the courtroom.
Harrison Bohn experienced this firsthand while working at the Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada, helping tenants facing eviction. He often found himself engaging in a fast-paced version of mediation right outside the courtroom doors.
“Sometimes we were having these conversations with opposing counsel five feet from the courtroom,” he recalls. “You’re making deals in as little as two minutes. Then we go in and tell the judge what we’ve discussed and what we’ve agreed to.”
Before discovering the dispute resolution concentration at the William S. Boyd School of Law, overseen by faculty from the Saltman Center for Conflict Resolution, Bohn thought of law school as strictly “calculated and precise.” But real-world negotiations, he learned, can unfold organically—right there on the spot.
Samantha Vanillo also found that the concentration helped her bridge classroom theory with real-world practice. As a mediator with the Thomas & Mack Legal Clinic she developed essential interpersonal skills.
“The Mediation Clinic took me outside my comfort zone,” says Vanillo. She was eager to sharpen her people skills, especially “the ability to read between the lines… how to ask clients good questions, and rephrase their answers to make sure you're really understanding what they need.”
Both Vanillo and Bohn continue to apply dispute resolution skills in their professional lives. Vanillo (Class of 2024) now works in Reno with the law firm Womble Bond Dickinson. Bohn (Class of 2023) serves as a lobbyist with Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck.
“The state legislature is a great learning environment,” says Bohn, who developed a passion for legislative politics as an undergraduate at the University at Albany—State University of New York. He chose Boyd specifically for its legislative externship program.
“There’s no place where you're put on the spot more than in front of elected officials,” he says. “You never know where the questions are going to come from.” That’s when dispute resolution skills come in handy—helping to “tone down the temperature in the room.”
Vanillo agrees that mediation can be unexpectedly intense. “It’s kind of surprising how emotional it can get,” she says. “A lot of underlying personal issues may be driving the case.” She emphasizes the importance of recognizing what’s truly at stake. “You have to figure out how much of it is about the facts—and how much is about something else.”
“Business is never just business,” she adds, “because it’s always about relationships between people.”