Dispute resolution is no longer “alternative.”
Today, the vast majority of legal disputes are resolved outside the courtroom through dispute resolution. Expert negotiation, mediation and arbitration skills are absolutely vital to the practice of law in the 21st century. Dispute resolution is a part of every area of practice, from family law to business and criminal law. Indeed, even trial lawyers must be familiar with dispute resolution processes given that the overwhelming majority – over 96% in Texas -- of both civil cases and criminal cases don’t go to jury trial and are resolved through dispute resolution procedures. Texas A&M School of Law's nationally ranked Aggie Dispute Resolution Program, #1 in Texas, offers a strong, practical foundation to build these critical skills.
Utilizing Dispute Resolution
Regardless of practice area, lawyers are involved in the dispute resolution processes of negotiation, mediation and arbitration. Transactional lawyers negotiate contracts—and craft customized dispute resolution clauses. Lawyers involved with legislation or regulation inevitably negotiate with stakeholders and use negotiation, mediation and arbitration in enforcement actions. Litigators, both civil and criminal, negotiate constantly on behalf of their clients. Civil litigators also represent clients in mediation sessions (sometimes court-ordered, other times voluntary and private) and arbitration proceedings. Lawyers even assist their clients in designing new dispute resolution systems.
Hands-on Curriculum
Texas A&M Law prepares its students for dispute resolution practice with a broad curriculum of courses designed to develop skills and knowledge regarding the relevant law and ethics of negotiation, mediation, arbitration and other dispute resolution processes. Every Texas A&M law student participates in a hands-on, required 1L Dispute Resolution Survey course held during the Winter semester. Students may also dive much deeper by taking advantage of dispute resolution-related symposia and other events, earning a Dispute Resolution Concentration, participating in a dispute resolution-focused Global Field Course, or serving on an ADR competition team. Finally, students enrolled in Texas A&M Law’s clinics can represent real-life clients in negotiations and mediations.
ADR Faculty Team
Texas A&M offers all of these opportunities due to the breadth, depth and activities of its Dispute Resolution Program faculty team. Their expertise reflects the integration of dispute resolution into many different practice areas.
- Cynthia Alkon specializes in criminal law applications.
- Michael Green focuses on arbitration and mediation in the workplace.
- Peter Reilly teaches and writes about dispute resolution in the business law context.
- Carol Pauli integrates journalism, legal writing and dispute resolution.
- Guillermo Garcia, an international petroleum transactions scholar, introduces students to international arbitration for commercial and investment-related disputes.
- In her scholarship and teaching, Nancy Welsh considers the connections between dispute resolution, civil procedure, and other areas of procedural law.
In addition, many other members of Texas A&M’s faculty touch upon dispute resolution topics in their scholarship and courses.