Michael Colatrella

Michael Colatrella is the 11th Dean of the University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law and holds the Inaugural Tracy A. Eglet Chair in Alternative Dispute Resolution. A full-time Professor of Law, he co-directs the Institute for Law Teaching and Learning and serves as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Law Teaching and Learning. His career spans academic leadership, mediation practice, and legal education reform. He previously held administrative roles at McGeorge, including Associate Dean for Academic Affairs (2015-2019) and Interim Dean (2019-2020), and has served as a Visiting Professor at UC Law—San Francisco and Brooklyn Law School.

• Education: BA from Rutgers University, JD from Seton Hall University, LLM from New York University

Michael Colatrella's research focuses on alternative dispute resolution and legal pedagogy. His ADR work emphasizes improving mediator techniques for self-represented litigants, ethical mediation practices, and conflict management frameworks. His legal education scholarship explores interdisciplinary learning, professional identity development, and innovative teaching methods, including insights from art education. He has developed comprehensive training programs for mediators and contributed to seminal ADR literature.

The scientific awards received by Michael Colatrella include:

• Inaugural Tracy A. Eglet Chair in Alternative Dispute Resolution (2023)

As an educator and consultant, Michael Colatrella has advised on legal education reform, developed McGeorge's required first-year course 'The Legal Profession,' and trained lawyers, corporate executives, and mediators. His grants and projects include a six-hour online training program for the California Judiciary on mediating disputes with self-represented parties. He has consulted for major organizations like Ericsson, Lockheed Martin, and FEMA.

Michael Colatrella co-founded Southern Methodist University's Center for Dispute Resolution, established a Mediation Clinic, and created international programs in Florence and Dublin. He also co-developed the Academic Partners for Peace initiative, participating in a 2017 study group on the Middle East Peace Process with Israeli and Palestinian stakeholders.