Northwestern Pritzker Law Offers “The Perspective Project” to Incoming Students

In August 2025, Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law will offer a new program for 50 incoming students the week before Orientation called The Perspective Project. Developed with the goal to provide students with a framework for thinking and speaking across difference, the program will be a five-day immersive experience that integrates foundational negotiation training with deep, reflective practice in dialogue, active listening, and perspective-taking.

“The Perspective Project aims to give our students three tools: the lawyer’s skill of negotiation, the problem‑solver’s art of resolving conflict, and—most fundamentally—the human capacity to bridge divides,” said Edna B. and Ednyfed H. Williams Memorial Professor of Law and Vice Dean Emily Kadens. “We want to invite our students to step outside the echo chambers that social media has created and learn to use curiosity and empathy to engage with diverse viewpoints. We believe the ability to see issues through another’s eyes is essential not only in the practice of law but also in a flourishing democracy.”

Funded by anonymous alumni donors and the Office of the President, The Perspective Project comes at a time of growing polarization and change, in which the ability to engage in thoughtful, respectful conversation with someone whose views differ from one’s own is becoming an increasingly rare—and increasingly essential—skill. Such skill is particularly essential to the practice of law, in which effective advocacy, negotiation, and problem-solving depend on the ability to listen across ideological divides, manage conflict constructively, and engage in meaningful dialogue grounded in mutual respect. Yet many students arrive at law school with limited exposure to diverse viewpoints. The program is designed to introduce students to the legal and interpersonal skills that support productive conversation, even around difficult or contentious topics.

Students will experience a curriculum that combines theoretical grounding with hands-on practice and is rooted in the idea that core legal conflict-resolution competencies also support community dialogue and collaborative problem-solving. The program will focus on advanced listening and information gathering, interest-based negotiation techniques, emotional intelligence and relationship-building, critical analysis and perspective-taking, and the neuroscience of decision-making. Through interactive workshops led by Northwestern Pritzker Law faculty, small-group practice, and substantive conversations on challenging current issues, students will develop communication skills and perspectives that will help them become a thoughtful lawyer and engaged citizen.

Annalise Buth and Alyson Carrel, Co-Directors of the Bluhm Legal Clinic’s Center on Negotiation, Mediation, and Restorative Justice, believe the program will prepare students not just for legal practice, but service and leadership in their communities by developing the empathy, listening, communication, and self-awareness necessary in navigating dialogue across difference, skills that are needed now more than ever before. “This pilot program builds on our Center’s rich history of supporting Northwestern Pritzker Law students in dialogue, conflict resolution, and restorative justice,” said Buth. “This moment provides an opportunity to better see ourselves and one another.”

“At its core, The Perspective Project acknowledges that lawyers serve clients whose opinions they may or may not share, work with colleagues of varying viewpoints, and function as community leaders,” added Carrel. “We’re providing a space for incoming students to develop the skills to navigate these complex relationships with intention and empathy.”

The Perspective Project is only the latest in a series of initiatives by Northwestern Pritzker Law that aim to facilitate constructive dialogue across difference, including updated orientation programming and the Knox Conversations, which were established to create space for an open exchange of ideas, public debate, and respectful discourse on matters of importance to the legal and Law School community. As with those initiatives, The Perspective Project reflects Northwestern Pritzker Law’s investment in preparing students not only to succeed in the legal profession, but to lead with thoughtfulness and integrity in a complex and diverse world.

The program seeks students with a broad range of backgrounds, perspectives, and political views with “openness, humility, and a willingness to engage with people who see the world differently than you do.” Because The Perspective Project will form a strong cohort of dialogue leaders at the start of their law school journey, the program’s creators hope that it will contribute to a more open, respectful, and intellectually engaged student culture.

“Will this improve the student experience at Northwestern? We certainly hope so,” said Carrel. “Will it ensure we graduate more effective attorneys? Absolutely.”