A professor at the J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University has received the Peter W. Billings Sr. Outstanding Dispute Resolution Award from the Salt Lake regional office of the American Arbitration Association.
Gerald R. Williams, a member of the BYU law faculty since 1973, is recognized as a pioneer in the field of alternative dispute resolution (ADR), according to the nomination citation.He has taught negotiations and dispute resolution courses around the world, written extensively on the subject and was primarily responsible for the development of the dispute resolution curriculum at the BYU law school.
Williams has been a member of the Society of Professionals in Dispute Resolution since 1987 and has been a member of the association's arbitration panel since 1986. He has served on the national board of directors since 1992 and has also served on the American Bar Association's standing committee on dispute resolution.
In 1984-85, at a time when ADR was not a popular concept in the study of law, Williams served as a founding member and chair of the Association of American Law Schools' Section on Alternative Dispute Resolution. Williams also served from 1998-91 as chair of the ADR policies and programs advisory committee at the Utah Law and Justice Center.
His reputation and stature within the legal and academic communities have lent credibility to ADR concepts and practices nationwide.
The local award was established in 1996 to honor Peter W. Billings Sr., a distinguished attorney who practiced law in Utah for more than 50 years and was a major contributor to ADR concepts. The award is given annually to the organization or individual who has done the most to further dispute resolution within the states served by the local association office.