For a forthcoming article about law school mediation courses, I developed a list of key values and principles that I think people in our field generally share. They are about the roles of practitioners – including both mediators and attorneys – when working with clients in mediation. Faculty can advocate them in any mediation course … Continue reading Shared Values and Principles in Mediation
Posting my short article, The Important Role of Attorneys in Promoting Parties’ Self-Determination in Mediation, on the NYC-DR listserv prompted several reactions. This post highlights and elaborates some points in my article. Why Law School Faculty Should Increase Instruction in Mediation Representation I’m a retired law professor who mediated and taught mediation for years. The … Continue reading Attorneys, Mediators, and Self-Determination
From my colleague, Rachel Wechsler: The Journal of Dispute Resolution is seeking articles related to labor and employment dispute resolution for its 2024 Writing Competition. The winners will be published in the Winter 2025 Issue of the Journal of Dispute Resolution. Writers should send submissions to umclawjournal@umsystem.edu with the subject line “2024 Writing Competition.” The … Continue reading Journal of Dispute Resolution Writing Competition – September 6 Deadline
The University of Missouri’s Center for the Study of Dispute Resolution will hold its 40th anniversary symposium on Friday, October 25. It’s entitled, “Dispute Resolution at Forty: Looking Back, Looking Forward,” and features an indisputably all-star cast. Here’s the lineup. The starred characters are Mizzou student and/or faculty alumni. Welcome: Paul J. Litton Remarks: Ilhyung … Continue reading Come to Missouri’s 40th Anniversary Symposium on October 25
I recently published It’s Time to Make Important Upgrades to Our Mediation Curriculum, which notes significant changes in American mediation practice in the past five decades and suggests that law school faculty upgrade our mediation instruction accordingly. Modern Mediation Practice in American Legal Cases is a two-page summary of that article, which was published in … Continue reading Modern Mediation Practice in American Legal Cases
It’s not breaking news that law school graduates generally have difficulty working with clients, don’t understand the “big picture” of client matters, and aren’t well trained in negotiation. The problem for law students and law schools is exacerbated by the transition to the NextGen bar exam and a movement in various states to use alternative … Continue reading Two Short Articles Proposing Courses Teaching Preparation and Advocacy in Dispute Resolution
Are you going to teach a law school mediation course this fall? If so, I suggest that you read It’s Time to Make Important Upgrades to Our Mediation Curriculum right away. It’s also relevant to ADR survey, negotiation, and lawyering courses. The article includes numerous suggestions and links to handy resources that you can incorporate … Continue reading If You Will Teach a Law School Mediation Course This Fall, Read This Article Right Away
This 4-page article riffs on comments at a program at the recent ABA Section of Dispute Resolution conference to illustrate how oxymoronic the terms “facilitative,” “evaluative,” and “empowerment” have become. When people use these terms, we kinda, sorta, probably think we know what they mean. But we don’t really know. The article suggests ways that … Continue reading Oxymorons R Us
Here are excerpts from an article in the ABA Journal: Oregon’s new Supervised Practice Portfolio Examination that allows ABA-accredited law school graduates to join the state’s bar by working closely with a supervising attorney instead of taking the bar exam is gaining traction with candidates and potential employers. … The additional pathway allows applicants to … Continue reading Oregon’s Alternative Pathway to the Bar Proves Popular
This short article summarizes a program entitled Pracademically Speaking: Incorporating Real-World Legal Practice Into the Curriculum at the Legal Educators Colloquium during the annual conference of the ABA Section of Dispute Resolution. Debra Berman and Denise Peterson (South Texas College of Law Houston) and I gave the presentations. The article describes problems with legal curricula, … Continue reading Preparing Law Students for Real-World Practice
