Patrick N. Chapin is Assistant Professor-in-Residence and Associate Director of the Saltman Center for Conflict Resolution at the William S. Boyd School of Law at UNLV. He develops and teaches experiential learning courses in the areas of arbitration, mediation, and negotiation. Prior to coming to Boyd, he spent more than thirty years in private practice concentrating on federal and state civil litigation with an emphasis on employment law. In addition, he has served as an arbitrator or mediator for hundreds of matters. Professor Chapin is past Chairperson for the ADR Section of the State Bar of Nevada and a former panel arbitrator/mediator for the American Arbitration Association. During his years of private practice, he was an elected member of the National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals (Nevada Chapter), rated AV by Martindale-Hubbell and listed in its Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers. He is a past Vice-Chair of Nevada’s Standing Committee on Judicial Ethics, former Judge Pro Tempore, and a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum.

Professor Chapin received his Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Purdue University and Juris Doctor from Capital University Law School, Columbus, Ohio. In addition, He has advanced degrees in Theology and Divinity (fun fact — he is an ordained lay Buddhist Priest). Civically, he was a long-time Board Member for Nevada Public Radio
and in 2003 was elected Board Chairperson Emeritus.

Professor Nantiya Ruan joined Boyd Law as a Professor of Law in the Fall of 2023. Professor Ruan is bringing her considerable strengths in teaching legal writing to Boyd’s top-ranked Lawyering Process program; she will also teach courses related to her other areas of expertise in workplace law and homeless advocacy.

Professor Ruan’s research and scholarship explores low-wage work, collective action, poverty and homelessness, and social justice teaching. Her scholarship has appeared or will appear in, among other publications, the Georgetown Journal on Poverty Law & Policy, the Harvard Civil Rights – Civil Liberties Law Review, the Brooklyn Law Review, the ABA Journal of Labor & Employment Law, the Clinical Law Review, the Villanova Law Review, the Vanderbilt Law Review, and the Marquette Law Review.

Professor Ruan graduated from Denver University with dual J.D. & M.S.W. degrees and clerked in the U.S. District Court in S.D.N.Y. She has represented plaintiffs in discrimination, pay equity, and wage and hour class actions. She is a dedicated advocate for workers and indigent clients. The legal writing community recently awarded her the Terri LeClercq Courage Award (LWI) and the Inaugural Diversity Award (ALWD).