<title>10-22-96:Address at Woodrow Wilson High
School, Washington, DC. - Peer Mediation </title>
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7 PEER MEDIATION
8 ATTORNEY GENERAL JANET RENO
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14 Woodrow Wilson High School
15 Nebraska Avenue and Chesapeake Street,
N.W.
16 Washington, D.C.
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21 October 22, 1996
22 2:00 p.m.
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1 P R O C E E D I N G S
2 MS. RENO: Thank you very much. And
3 it is a real pleasure for me to be here
today.
4 As State Attorney in Miami, I
would
5 try to go to a different public school on
the
6 average of once a week to talk with
students,
7 younger and older, because I find that
students
8 ask me better questions than anybody
--
9 including newspaper reporters. And they also
10 have better ideas than most people I
know. So
11 I really appreciate the opportunity to be
here
12 today with you.
13 You are involved in efforts
close to
14 my
heart. The whole concept of mediation,
15 dispute resolution, and conflict
resolution, I
16 think is critical. As a lawyer, I see lawyers
17 fuss with each other. And they go to trial.
18 And they waste people's money going to
trial,
19 and then appealing the case, and then
carrying
20 it out.
21 When if they sat down and talked
with
22 each other, they could probably resolve
the
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1 case much more beneficially to
everybody
2 concerned, at a lot less money and a lot
less
3 time.
4 I am gratified to see that lawyers
5 across the country are beginning to
understand
6 this more and more each day. And in the
7 Department of Justice, we use mediation
and
8 alternative dispute resolution as a
really
9 important tool in resolving some of the
cases
10 that we have when we represent the
government,
11 or when we are suing on behalf of the
United
12 States government.
13 But I think not only mediation
has
14 become more important to Justice
Department
15 lawyers, I have tried to encourage them
to
16 learn from mediation, and learn how
to
17 negotiate themselves without even the
necessity
18 for a third-party mediator,
as a way of talking
19 problems out.
20 One of the things I discovered
is
21 that it is a matter of communication. It is a
22 matter of talking to people and knowing
how to
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1 communicate, and most of all, knowing how
to
2 listen.
3 If I sit around my table in
the
4 conference room at the Department of
Justice, I
5 can see people with five or six
different
6 points of view. And when I first start
7 listening to them, they are not listening
to
8 each other. They are talking past each other.
9 And so we try to get them
into
10 talking to each other, and listening,
and
11 communicating, and having a respect for
each
12 other's views. And it makes such a difference.
13 I see what can be done
through
14 mediation and through negotiation, in
terms of
15 settlements of conflict in the field. For
16 example, the way the FBI handled the
Freemen
17 situation in Montana is an example of how
the
18 Department is trying in every way it can
to use
19 negotiation and mediation as an important
tool
20 in resolving disputes without guns.
21 The Community Relations Service is a
22 tremendously important entity in the
Department
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1 of Justice. And it works so well in doing so
2 much in communities to resolve disputes.
3 Sometimes the negotiation or
the
4 mediation produces a result that can make
such
5 an important difference. We are involved in
6 environmental litigation. And if we just win
7 the suit, we may not win the day.
8 Whereas if we negotiate the
matter,
9 and work out the matter, or have it
mediated,
10 we can not only say, "Okay. You are liable.
11 But here is what you can do to correct
what
12 caused the problem in the first place, and
here
13 is how we can work together to improve
the
14 community."
15 Why I am particularly gratified
to be
16 here today is to hear from you about
your
17 diversity workshop. I think that this is
18 critical.
I come from Miami, which is now one
19 of the great international cities of the
world:
20 so many different languages, so many
different
21 people from all over this Western
Hemisphere.
22 When I first was growing up in
Miami,
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1 it was basically a city that represented
the
2 East Coast of the United States, and not
much
3 more.
And it has been so magnificent to see
4 how that city has become so much
greater
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because of its diversity.
6 I would like to know first-hand
today
7 what you are doing here with at Woodrow
Wilson
8 High, and what I might take back to
the
9 Department of Justice to share with other
high
10 schools across the nation in terms of the
work
11 you are doing in diversity, and with
your
12 workshop.
13 So one of the reasons, as I
said, I
14 like to come to schools is you ask better
15 questions, and have better ideas. And I would
16 like to hear from you now about how you
are
17 using mediation, about your diversity
workshop,
18 and what I can take back to the Department
of
19 Justice.
And also any questions you have about
20 what we do about the Department of
Justice, or
21 about what I do as Attorney General.
22 Just generally to give you some
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1 scope, as Attorney General, I am
responsible
2 for the FBI, the DEA, the Bureau of
Prisons,
3 the Immigration and Naturalization Service,
and
4 most of the Government lawyers. So there is a
5 lot on my plate.
6 But I have got 103,000 people
working
7 with me.
And they are great people, for the
8 most part.
So it has been an extraordinary
9 challenge.
10 I would make one final
comment. The
11 fact that you all are here and involved
today
12 is indicative to me of your commitment
to
13 others.
But I urge you, no matter what you do
14 with your life, to consider some form of
public
15 service during the course of your
career. It
16 is a wonderful feeling.
17 It is great to be a lawyer. But it
18 is much greater to be a lawyer using the
law to
19 try to serve people, and to try to do it
the
20 right way.
These three and a half years have
21 been an extraordinary opportunity to try
to do
22 that.
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1 And so I would like to hear from
you
2 now about questions you may have, or what
you
3 are doing here at Wilson.
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