Hockey's Top Arbitrator

When the National Hockey League and its Players Association face off in a labor dispute, lawyer Larry Holden '61 steps out on the negotiating ice .Since last fall, when he was given jurisdiction over all disputes between the two groups, he has managed to settle more than a third of the disagreements before any gloves came off.

Holden does it with a problem-solving approach that uses everything from psychology to hard-nosed legal precedents resolving conflicts over such issues as free agency and injuries. "There's a very definite trend toward alternative dispute resolution, mediation and arbitration," says the Harvard and Boston University Law School graduate, who handles cases from his Lincoln, Mass., home office.

Holden, a former varsity tennis player and captain of the Big Green soccer team, describes himself as a casual hockey fan. That's qualification enough. The job requires "some understanding of the game," he says, "but I'm not a rules expert."

Holden, despite thezebra stripes,doesn't officiate.But fie does putdisputes on ice.