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Aggie Dispute Resolution Program

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  Be part of our nationally ranked program
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law.tamu.edu/ADR

 Nancy Welsh  Cynthia Alkon
Nancy Welsh,
Director
Cynthia Alkon

 Carol Pauli  peter-reilly-tmb
 
 
 Carol Pauli
  Peter Reilly
        

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

ADR facultyTexas 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.
    
   

Global Opportunities:  Dispute Resolution Field Studies

Texas A&M Law expands the opportunities for students to study ​dispute resolution across the globe through Global Lawyering Dispute Resolution Field Studies.

 Program News

ADR Logo ColorThe Aggie Dispute Resolution Program has released its 2019-2020 annual report.        
                                                                                                                                                                                                            Read more

March 2020 Symposium Zoom confMarch 2020 has been a busy month for Texas A&M Law’s Dispute Resolution Program.        
                                                                                                                                                                                                            Read more

Michael-Z-Green-thumbProfessor Michael Z. Green was elected to the National Academy of Arbitrators, the official organization of labor and employment arbitrators in the U​.S. and Canada, recognized for his scholarship and leadership activities.
Read more

 Program Events

Current Events

ADR symposium graphic

Conversations with Symposium Authors

ADR's Place in Navigating a Polarized Era

Although the March 20, 2020 symposium was not held in person due to COVID, the symposium authors’ articles are available online, and video conversations with the authors are available below.  Each video conversation focuses on the author’s article or presentation for the symposium.

Published articles: 

Jennifer Reynolds’ article, published in the Texas A&M Law Review, is available here.  All of the other symposium authors’ articles are available in a symposium issue of the Ohio State Journal of Dispute Resolution, available here.

Video conversations with symposium authors and presenters:

  • Jennifer Reynolds – Associate Professor, Associate Dean of Faculty Research and Programs, and Faculty Director, ADR Center, University of Oregon School of Law – “Talking About Abortion (Listening Optional)” - Professors Nancy Welsh and Cynthia Alkon in conversation with Professor Reynolds (https://youtu.be/hDwjEBFcxnM)    

  • Jill DeTemple – Chair of Religious Studies, Professor of Religious Studies, and, by courtesy, Associate Professor of Anthropology, Southern Methodist University – “The Spaces We Make: Dialogic Classrooms and Social Transformation” - Professors Nancy Welsh and Peter Reilly in conversation with Professor DeTemple (https://youtu.be/oBVzqVR1Qso)

  • Deborah Eisenberg – Piper & Marbury Professor of Law, Director of Center for Dispute Resolution, University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law – “Beyond Settlement: Reconceptualizing ADR as ‘Conflict Process Strategy’” - Professors Nancy Welsh and Peter Reilly in conversation with Professor Eisenberg (https://youtu.be/5npBds7AUJs)

  • Howard Gadlin – Ombudsman and Director, Center for Cooperative Resolution, National Institutes of Health (Retired) – “The Center Cannot Hold: Challenges to Ombuds in Federal Agencies During Times of Political Turmoil” (unpublished manuscript) – Professors Nancy Welsh and Carol Pauli in conversation with Howard Gadlin (https://youtu.be/XRWbtG4JCVk)

  • Joint conversation – Professor Nancy Welsh with Professors Sharon Press, Nancy Rogers, Josh Stulberg and Bill Froehlich (https://youtu.be/BOpIsPBsqPE)
    • “Using Dispute Resolution Skills to Heal a Community” - Sharon Press, Professor of Law and Director, Dispute Resolution Institute, Mitchell Hamline School of Law
    • “Sharing Dispute Resolution Practices with Leaders of a Divided Community or Campus: Strategies for Two Crucial Conversations” - Nancy Rogers, Professor Emeritus; Josh Stulberg, Emeritus Moritz Chair in Alternative Dispute Resolution and Interim Co-Director, Divided Community Project; and William Froehlich, Langdon Fellow in Dispute Resolution and Deputy Director, Divided Community Project, The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law

► Details @ law.tamu.edu/ADRSymposium

     

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