On October 30, 2024, Debra Berman posted a message on the DRLE listserv encouraging colleagues to drop the word “alternative” from “ADR.” Her post quickly prompted 24 responses. As usual, people were respectful, appreciative, collaborative, and funny even as they expressed differing views. This was one of our best discussions, and I wish we had … Continue reading Choosing to Use Good Language in the “ADR” Field
Last week, University of the Pacific’s McGeorge School of Law named Michael T. Colatrella Jr. as its new dean effective July 1. Many of us know Michael, who hosted the AALS WIP conference last fall. He is the inaugural Tracy A. Eglet Chair in Alternative Dispute Resolution. He joined McGeorge in 2009 as an assistant … Continue reading Michael Colatrella Named Dean of McGeorge School of Law
A recent article in the New York Times described benefits of instructional methods that encourage high school students to take more control over their learning. Young adults say they feel woefully unprepared for life in the work force, and employers say they’re right. In a survey by Gallup and the Walton Family Foundation of more … Continue reading Promoting Law Students’ Agency
This year, I wrote a lot of blog posts and short SSRN articles about the Real Practice Systems (RPS) Project, particularly about attorneys’ real practice systems and legal education. The Project is designed to improve understanding about how dispute resolution practitioners think and act and to help practitioners act more consciously and intentionally. I updated … Continue reading Updates to Collections of Real Practice Systems Project Publications
My friend and colleague, Michael Moffitt, mused about my musings about law review reprints. Not one to let a good musing go to waste, I hereby muse on Michael’s musing. Michael savors others’ reprints. I savor Michael’s prose. In my prior musing, I identified some problems with printed reprints of law review articles but I … Continue reading Harmonizing with Michael
As I was cleaning out my bookshelves to give some books to my school’s library, I encountered stacks of reprints of law review articles. In the olden days, sending reprints was a regular thing. We would order extra reprints of our articles and then send them postally (!) to colleagues, often with a short personal … Continue reading Ode to Reprints
If so, take a look at this Model Mediation Course Syllabus With Teaching Notes – even if you are teaching a dispute resolution course other than mediation. The model syllabus includes a menu of topics, readings, and simulations that can be incorporated in many DR courses. It includes links to short readings for students that … Continue reading Are You Preparing a Dispute Resolution Course Next Semester?
At this year’s AALS ADR Section WIP Conference, I presented data showing that more than 90% of law school mediation courses and more than 90% of the coverage in popular mediation texts focus on the mediator’s role. I asked people what they think the emphasis generally should be in generic mediation courses, and here are … Continue reading If You Will Teach Mediation (or Other DR Course) Next Year, Read This
Pioneering family mediator Michael Lang just released the second edition of his book, The Guide to Reflective Practice in Conflict Resolution. He provided an account of his development as a mediator as one of the Ten Real Mediation Systems. He is the co-director of the Reflective Practice Institute International. Michael’s book builds on Donald Schön’s … Continue reading New Edition of Michael Lang’s Book on Reflective Practice
10%. That percentage – or less – is the rough proportion of the mediation curriculum devoted to mediation representation in US law schools, including about: 6% of mediation clinic courses 9% of mediation simulation courses 3-9% of the coverage in some mediation textbooks 7% of the coverage in many mediation courses Is it too much … Continue reading Is 90% Too Much?
