Classroom Curriculum

The School of Law provides students with a broad range of opportunities to learn about dispute resolution. Many courses examine carefully the legal foundations of litigation-based problem-solving. Classes also explore the prospect of using nonlitigation means of addressing cases. The school regularly offers several courses specifically focused on building dispute resolution processes and skills.

ADR Courses

• ADR Survey
• Mediation
• Negotiation
• Arbitration
• Insurance and Commercial Mediation
• Federal Judicial Settlement Practice
• Litigation Practice and Procedure
• Interviewing and Counseling
• Trial Practice Laboratory
• Mediation Clinic

Traditional Law Courses

Nonlitigation alternatives exist in every area of law. Reflecting modern practice, some School of Law courses focus exclusively on the law, policy and skills of dispute resolution.

Many other courses introduce students to important applications of dispute resolution processes in a range of legal contexts.

• Family Law students explore how mediation requirements affect custody disputes.
• Students in Consumer Law and in Contracts survey the enforceability of arbitration agreements.
• Plea bargaining dynamics are explored in Criminal Law.
• Students in Estate Planning consider how best to apply ADR principles when they draft clients' wills.
• In Indian Law, students explore both the cultural and structural differences in contemporary tribal dispute resolution practices.
• Students in a course on Hazardous Waste explore possible settlement strategies for cleanup cases.