Dare to Innovate: Lela Love, Professor of Law (Emerita) and Founding Director of the Kukin Program for Conflict Resolution

Creator

Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law

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Creation Date

1-12-2026

Description

This year, as we mark 50 years of Cardozo, we are honoring the community members—past and present—who have dared to make a difference in the legal world. Throughout the year, we will celebrate the faculty, staff, and alumni who have shaped Cardozo across five decades.

Today we honor Lela Porter Love, Professor (Emerita) and Founding Director of the Kukin Program for Conflict Resolution, who dared to reimagine how lawyers resolve conflict. A renowned mediator and dispute resolution pioneer, Professor Love joined Cardozo in 1985 and founded the Cardozo Mediation Clinic, one of the nation’s first programs to train law students as mediators. In 1990, she helped establish the Kukin Program through a generous gift from Ira and Doris Kukin.

The Kukin Program includes four clinical offerings, the Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution, the International Advocate for Peace Award, and a comprehensive dispute resolution curriculum. Cardozo is now ranked the fifth-best dispute resolution law program in the country by U.S. News—a lasting testament to her vision.