Two More Things

I forgot to include two things in my list of readings and resources you might want to think about as you plan for the coming academic year.

The Theory-of-Change Book, which can be downloaded for free, contains 63 bite-size think pieces, averaging less than 4 pages each, written by 59 contributors in the following sections:

  • Reflections on the Past-and-Future Conference
  • The Big Picture
  • Impact and Use of Technology
  • Legal Education
  • Professional Training and Practice
  • Research and Scholarship

You might want to assign specific pieces as reading assignments, possibly including the introduction to the book or introductions to the various sections.  Students who are really interested in ADR may want to read a number of pieces on their own.

The Legal Education, ADR, and Practical Problem-Solving (LEAPS) Project of the Law Schools Committee of the ABA Section of Dispute Resolution was designed to help faculty incorporate “practical problem-solving” (PPS) into a wide range of courses, including doctrinal, litigation, transactional, and ADR courses.  The website provides:

  • descriptions of various teaching methodologies
  • suggestions for how to engage colleagues in teaching more PPS in their courses
  • “talking points” for discussing the incorporation of PPS into doctrinal courses
  • a survey of how schools integrate PPS skills in their curricula
  • a list of legal texts that incorporate PPS
  • lists of consultants who can help with specific courses
  • suggestions for making discussions with faculty as productive as possible
  • examples of course exercises
  • approaches to introducing PPS in doctrinal courses and teaching materials
  • links to relevant resources on other websites.

This project grew out of a realization of our limited ability to convey our ideas and skills in specifically “ADR” courses and that we would need to reach out to colleagues who teach more traditional courses to incorporate them in their courses.

One easy thing you could do would be to offer to be a guest lecturer in a traditional course.  You could discuss how ADR principles and techniques might be used to help parties manage disputes in the contexts of the particular courses.

Take a look.