Harvard Law School Assistant Clinical Professor Robert Bordone ’97 is this year’s winner of the prestigious Sacks-Freund Teaching Award, and Doralean Cox is the winner of the Suzanne Richardson Staff Recognition Award. Both awards were presented at Class Day exercises today by the graduating class in honor of Bordone and Cox’s contributions to student life at HLS.
“When it comes to telling your story, there are many eligible ghost-writers, but there is only one legitimate author, and that person is you,” Bordone said in his acceptance speech. “When developing your storyline, be sure that it is driven by your most deeply held values, ideals, and passions.”
“Bob Bordone brings so much to this school — his enormous concern and caring for the students, his great teaching — and we are very lucky to have him here,” Dean Elena Kagan ’86 said, lauding the recipients. “Doralean just puts a smile on my face, and that’s a very special thing.”
A leading expert in dispute resolution, Bordone is the Thaddeus R. Beal assistant clinical professor of law and director of the Harvard Negotiation and Mediation Program. He joined the HLS faculty in 1998 as a lecturer on law and was named assistant clinical professor of law in 2006. He teaches a seminar on Negotiation and Dispute Resolution, reading groups on Dispute System Design and Mobilization and Organization, and the Negotiation Workshop.
Bordone is the author of several scholarly articles and a book titled “Handbook of Dispute Resolution.” He holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School and an A.B. from Dartmouth College.
Established in 1992, the Sacks-Freund award is named in honor of the late Harvard Law School Professors Albert Sacks and Paul Freund. Recent award winners have included Richard Fallon, Martha Minow, William Stuntz, Laurence Tribe, and Lani Guinier.
Cox is a Boston native and works for Sodehxo in the Harkness Commons cafe. She is the 12th recipient of the staff award, and the fifth since the award was renamed for Suzanne Richardson who was Dean of Students at HLS from 1993-2004.