LAW PORTAL
- About
About USC Gould
USC Gould is a top-ranked law school with a 120-year history and reputation for academic excellence. We are located on the beautiful 228-acre USC University Park Campus, just south of downtown Los Angeles.
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Academics
Learn about our interdisciplinary curriculum, experiential learning opportunities and specialized areas.
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Admissions
USC Gould helps prepare you for a stellar legal career. You can pursue a JD degree, one of our numerous graduate and international offerings, or an online degree or certificate.
- Students
Students
Participate in an unparalleled learning experience with diversity of people and thought. Get involved in the law school community and participate in activities that enhance your studies.
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- Careers
Careers
We work closely with students, graduates and employers to support successful career goals and outcomes. Our overall placement rate is consistently strong, with 94 percent of our JD class employed within 10 months after graduation.
- Faculty
Faculty
Our faculty is distinguished for its scholarship, as well as for its commitment to teaching. Our 12:1 student-to-faculty ratio creates an intimate and collegial learning environment.
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Richard Peterson
USC Gould School of Law
- FACULTY DIRECTORY
- LECTURERS IN LAW DIRECTORY
- EXPERTS DIRECTORY
- FACULTY IN THE NEWS
- SCHOLARSHIP AND PUBLICATIONS
- DISTINCTIONS AND AWARDS
- + CENTERS AND INITIATIVES
- CENTER FOR DISPUTE RESOLUTION
- CENTER FOR LAW AND PHILOSOPHY (CLP)
- CENTER FOR LAW AND SOCIAL SCIENCE (CLASS)
- CENTER FOR LAW, HISTORY AND CULTURE (CLHC)
- CENTER FOR TRANSNATIONAL LAW AND BUSINESS (CTLB)
- INITIATIVE AND REFERENDUM INSTITUTE (IRI)
- PACIFIC CENTER FOR HEALTH POLICY AND ETHICS
- SAKS INSTITUTE FOR MENTAL HEALTH LAW, POLICY, AND ETHICS
- + WORKSHOPS AND CONFERENCES
Director of the USC Gould School of Law Center for Dispute Resolution and Adjunct Professor of Law
Email: rpeterson@law.usc.eduTelephone: (213) 821-5697
699 Exposition Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90089-0074 USA Room: 447
Last Updated: October 11, 2019
Richard Peterson is the director of the USC Gould School of Law Center for Dispute Resolution and adjunct professor of law.
Previously at USC Gould, he served as a lecturer in law and also served briefly as senior director for experiential education.
Before coming to USC last fall, Peterson was on the faculty of the Pepperdine University School of Law, where he served for 15 years, including as a member of the faculty of the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution. While at Pepperdine, Peterson also served as director of the Special Education Advocacy Clinic and as director of externships. Peterson holds a BSL and a JD from Western State University, as well as an MDR and an LLM from Pepperdine.
Peterson has served as chair of the Disability Law Section and the Law and Mental Disability Section of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) as well as a member of the Board of Directors of a number of non-profit organizations including the Regional Center of Orange County, Down Syndrome Association of Orange County and as a member of the Professional Advisory Board of the Epilepsy Alliance of Orange County. His scholarly publications include articles on the topic of therapeutic jurisprudence.
Before beginning his teaching career in 2002, Peterson worked as a consultant to school districts and schools across the nation, teaching dispute resolution and anger management curriculum to K-12 teachers, administrator, and probation officers as part of gang violence prevention programs. He began practicing law in 1979 and has served as a private mediator and arbitrator for more than 35 years. Peterson has an AV rating with Martindale Hubbell.
FACULTY IN THE NEWS
India Education Diary
September 27, 2022
Re: Andrew T. Guzman
Dean Andrew Guzman was quoted about the USC Gould JD Class Of 2025. “This is an important time to be studying law, as there is no profession that is more essential to the success of democracy,” he said. “Even the smallest legal changes can affect the lives of so many.”
RECENT SCHOLARSHIP
Felipe Jiménez
August, 2022
"Legal Positivism for Legal Officials," Canadian Journal of Law and Jurisprudence.
Robin Craig
August, 2022
"Tribal Water Rights and Tribal Health: The Klamath Tribes and the Navajo Nation During the COVID-19 Pandemic," St. Louis University Journal of Health Law & Policy (Forthcoming 2023).
Robin Craig
August, 2022
"Remembering the Ocean in Water Law," chapter for A Research Agenda for Water Law.
