The Center for Creative Problem Solving at California Western School of Law is co-directed by Professor Thomas D. Barton and Professor James Cooper.

Since 1997, they have worked with faculty members at California Western School of Law, the local and international Bench and Bar, and like-minded non-governmental and educational institutions to promote problem-solving and prevention in legal education and problem-solving mechanisms in society.

Professor Thomas D. Barton
Louis and Hermione Brown Professor of Law
Director, Louis M. Brown Program in Preventive Law
Coordinator, National Center for Preventive Law

Ph.D. Cambridge University [law]
J.D. Cornell University
B.A. Tulane University [magna cum laude,
Phi Beta Kappa, political science]

Courses Taught: Civil Procedure I & II, Contracts I & II, Problem Solving & Preventive Law, Problem Solving Skills & Theory

Professor Barton came to California Western in 1990 from West Virginia University College of Law, where he was the Roscoe P. and Hale J. Posten Professor. In addition to teaching contracts law and problem solving topics, his interests in professional responsibility and the forms of social control reflects his expansive knowledge of the social, historical, and intellectual contexts of law.

Barton has published numerous articles and essays dealing with legal and political philosophy, legal sociology, and problem solving. During law school, he was a member of the Cornell Law Review. Barton practiced taxation and antitrust law in New York state before studying the common law as a problem -solving institution at Cambridge.

faculty webpage here

Professor James Cooper
Assistant Dean for Mission Development,
Center for Creative Problem Solving
Director, International Legal Studies Program
Institute Professor
Director, Proyecto ACCESO
Director, Chile Summer Program

LL.M. University of Cambridge
[international law]
LL.B. University of Toronto
B.A. University of Toronto
[high distinction, political science]

Courses Taught: Comparative Law, Laws 101: UCSD, Introduction to NAFTA & Other Hemispheric Trade Agreements, Law of Armed Conflict & Peacekeeping, NAFTA & Business Law Issues, Topics in Law Reform, Introduction to Latin American Legal Culture, Border Law.

As Assistant Dean for Mission Development at California Western School of Law, Professor James Cooper is a co-director of the Center for Creative Problem Solving. He designs and develops multimedia educational tools to educate law students, lawyers, judges and law enforcement officers on problem-solving, cross-cultural negotiation, and judicial innovation. He directs Proyecto ACCESO, a legal skills training and rule of law public education program which has been funded by and has partnered with the U.S. Government, German Government, Organization of American States, United Nations Development Programme, private philanthropic foundations, and national ministries of justice around Latin America. He also directs the Chile Summer Program for the Consortium for Innovative Legal Education. In Fall 2008, he will be a visiting professor at UCSD's Earl Warren College.

Cooper is a co-director of the International Post Graduate Program with University of Heidelberg, University of Chile, and CEDEP in Asuncion, Paraguay and a member of academic staff of Heidelberg Center for Latin America. He also directs public education campaigns for governments in Latin America. A Barrister and Solicitor, Cooper worked at Baker & McKenzie, the world's largest law firm, facilitating international commercial transactions and has taught at the University of Strathclyde Law School in Glasgow and the University of Toronto Faculty of Law.

faculty webpage here

The Faculty/Advisory Board

Faculty members at California Western School of Law and other institutions have been involved with the Center for Creative Problem Solving since 1997. Scholarship, demonstration projects, curriculum development, and consulting and public policy work emerged from these facuilty-driven initiatives. These faculty have included:

Professor Laurence Benner

Professor Janet Bowermaster

Professor Arthur Campbell

Professor Barbara J. Cox

Professor Floralynn Einesman

Professor Jessica Fink

Professor Ruben J. Garcia

Professor Marilyn Ireland

Professor Andrea Johnson

Professor Janeen Kerper (d. 2003).

Professor Phyllis Marion, Associate Dean, Information Technology

Professor Linda Morton

Professor Jacquelyn H. Slotkin

Professor Glenn Smith

Dean Steven R. Smith

Professor Jan Stiglitz

Professor Mark I. Weinstein

Professor Janet Weinstein

Richard Page, Esq.

Judge Howard B. Weiner