FACULTY

James J. Alfini
Professor of Law and Dean Emeritus

“ Discourage litigation. Persuade your neighbor to compromise whenever you can. Point out to them how the nominal winner is often the  real loser - fees, expenses, and waste of time. As a peacemaker, the lawyer has a superior opportunity of being a good man (or woman).”

-Abraham Lincoln

As a law faculty, we have a special obligation to insure that our students are educated as problem-solvers and counselors as well as advocates.

Education
BA, Columbia University
JD, Northwestern University School of Law

Areas of Expertise: alternative dispute resolution, constitutional law, mediation, judicial ethics

Biography
JAMES J. ALFINI is Professor of Law and Dean Emeritus. Prior to his arrival at STCL, Dean Alfini was Professor of Law at Northern Illinois University, where he taught constitutional law, mediation theory and practice, legal ethics, and related courses.  He served as dean of the Northern Illinois University College of Law for six years and previously was a member of the law faculty at Florida State University. 
 
James Alfini is widely published in the field of judicial ethics and is co-author of Judicial Conduct and Ethics, published by Lexis and in its 4th Edition (2007).  He served on the American Bar Association Joint Commission to Evaluate the Model Code of Judicial Conduct.  The Commission’s work resulted in the 2007 Model Code of Judicial Conduct, adopted by the House of Delegates of the American Bar Association.

Alfini also has expertise in dispute resolution.  While at Florida State, he served as Director of Education and Research of the Florida Dispute Resolution Center and was a member of the Florida Supreme Court Arbitration and Mediation Rules Committee. He was also a member of the AAA/ABA/SPIDR Committee that drafted the Standards of Conduct for Mediators in 1994.  He has served as Chair of the American Bar Association Dispute Resolution Section and Chair of the Association of American Law Schools Alternative Dispute Resolution Section. He has published numerous books and articles on ADR, including the co-edited ADR Personalities and Practice Tips published by the American Bar Association and the co-authored  Mediation Theory and Practice, a law school textbook published by Lexis Law Publishing. 

Dean Alfini  received his undergraduate degree from Columbia University and his J. D. from Northwestern University.   

Curriculum Vitae (pdf)

Email: jalfini@stcl.edu

Phone: 713.646.1834

Office: 636T

Bibliography of Writings

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