Frisbie named director of Loyola School of Law's new Dispute Resolution Program

Loyola University Chicago is pleased to announce that Teresa Frisbie, an experienced mediator and former adjunct law professor at Loyola, has joined the School of Law as director of its new Dispute Resolution Program, which will be a part of the Dan K. Webb Center for Advocacy. Loyola recently launched the program in order to broaden its curricular offerings in the advocacy and dispute resolution skills law students will need in this growing field. “As one of the most respected advocacy programs in the country, we are constantly seeking ways to improve upon what we have built,” said David N. Yellen, dean of the School of Law. “Given the growing need for advocates to apply their skills in alternative dispute resolution settings such as mediation, we are thrilled to have someone as experienced as Teresa Frisbie at Loyola to help expand Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) learning opportunities for our students.” Frisbie joins the law school after more than 20 years of private law practice, the last 12 of which she has spent serving as a mediator and arbitrator in addition to litigating cases. She is a former member of Loyola’s adjunct law faculty, where she taught courses in mediation and international arbitration, and has coached several student competitions. Named an Illinois Leading Lawyer in ADR in the categories of international, employment, and commercial litigation, she has mediated and arbitrated hundreds of disputes ranging from real estate and partnership conflicts to estate and employment disputes. She was previously a partner at Foran & Schultz, spent several years at Davis McGrath, LLC, and has been of counsel at DeGrand & Wolfe P.C. since 2006. Frisbie, who was named a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, London, in 1997, has served as executive director and a panel member for the Chicago International Dispute Resolution Association (CIDRA), as a mediator for the Center for Conflict Resolution, and an arbitrator for the Circuit Court of Cook County. She is on the panel of neutrals for ADR Systems of America and the Circuit Court of Cook County Law Division and Chancery Division mediation programs. She is a member of the Association for Conflict Resolution, and has been involved with many other dispute resolution organizations over the years. “Teresa brings a strong dispute resolution background as well as broad litigation experience to her new position at Loyola,” said School of Law professor Jamie Carey, director of the Dan K. Webb Center for Advocacy. “We are committed to educating our students not only in trial and appellate advocacy skills, but also in advocacy skills necessary in mediation, arbitration, and other dispute resolution processes. We are taking several steps to increase educational opportunities for our students, such as expanding available courses and instituting the new LLM degree in advocacy with a focus on ADR. Hiring Teresa as our new director will be a key step in this process and we are very pleased to have her.” Frisbie could not be more pleased to be back with the University and looks forward to her career in expanding the ADR curriculum in the School of Law. “My vision is to train highly skilled and versatile advocates, who are as adept at analyzing party needs and interests and crafting creative solutions in a mediation as they are at cross-examining a witness at a trial,” said Frisbie. “Loyola already has several excellent arbitration, mediation, and negotiation courses and student competitions, and I am delighted to work with the law school in this new position to take this initiative even further.” Frisbie is a 1983 graduate of the University of Illinois and a 1986 graduate of Loyola University Chicago School of Law. She currently lives in Oak Park, Illinois with her husband and two children. About the Dan K. Webb Center for Advocacy The Dan K. Webb Center for Advocacy at Loyola University Chicago is a centerpiece of the School of Law and one of the most respected advocacy programs in the country. Since its founding in 1908, Loyola has produced many of the most accomplished trial and appellate lawyers in Chicago and across the nation. Renamed the Dan K. Webb Center for Advocacy this spring after law alumnus Dan Webb (JD '70), one of the nation's top trial lawyers, the center recently has added to its rich curriculum an LLM degree in trial advocacy, appellate advocacy, and alternative dispute resolution. A number of scholarships are offered to facilitate participation in advocacy education and to recognize students’ contributions in advocacy-related activities. In addition, Loyola has been the site for the Midwest Regional Program of the National Institute for Trial Advocacy for over a decade. In 2008, the Cooney & Conway Chair in Advocacy at Loyola University Chicago School of Law was established by John D. Cooney (JD ’79), Robert J. Cooney Jr. (JD ’78), and Kevin J. Conway (JD ’76), all alumni of the School of Law. Renowned litigator and scholar Barry Sullivan assumed Loyola’s Cooney & Conway Chair in Advocacy in 2009. About Loyola University Chicago Committed to preparing people to lead extraordinary lives, Loyola University Chicago, founded in 1870, is the nation's largest Jesuit, Catholic university. Enrollment is nearly 16,000 students, which includes more than 10,000 undergraduates hailing from all 50 states and 82 countries. The University has four campuses: three in the greater Chicago area and one in Rome, Italy. Loyola also serves as the U.S. host university to The Beijing Center for Chinese Studies in Beijing, China. Loyola's 10 schools and colleges include arts and sciences, business administration, communication, education, graduate studies, law, medicine, nursing, continuing and professional studies, and social work. Loyola offers 71 undergraduate majors, 71 undergraduate minors, 85 master's degrees, and 31 doctoral degrees. Loyola is consistently ranked among the "top national universities" by U.S.News & World Report, and the University is among a select group of universities recognized for community service and engagement by prestigious national organizations, such as the Carnegie Foundation and the Corporation for National and Community Service. For more information about Loyola, please visit LUC.edu.