Aggie Dispute Resolution
Courses

Rapidly expanding e-commerce, the growth in cross-boundary transactions, and the inability of traditional legal processes to deal with disputes arising over the web has created a need for online redress options. The international consensus is that online alternative dispute resolution is the best solution to these problems. Online ADR (or “ODR”) can resolve online disputes quickly, confidentially, and effectively. It helps parties to be at their best, it connects capable neutrals with parties in effective ways, and it brings efficiencies to inefficient online marketplaces. In this course, we’ll analyze some of the new practice and ethical challenges ODR poses to neutrals and courts, and look at all the major providers, administrative agencies, courts, and international organizations currently involved. We’ll also get to try out ODR technologies through a series of simulations, and begin to wrestle with the challenges of providing effective dispute resolution online.

This course is tailored to prepare students participating in ADR competitions and developing related professional skills. Thus, the course introduces the principles of ADR and then focuses on dispute resolution skills that are common across all of the processes in the Client Counseling, Negotiation, Mediation Representation, and Securities ADR competitions (in-person and online) and in a legal career. Such skills include client preparation, persuasive speaking (with very different audiences – e.g., the client, opposing counsel, a mediator, an arbitrator, or an arbitral panel), questioning, reflective listening, listening for interests, and creative problem-solving. The coaches for individual ADR competitions will supplement these skills with process-specific education and training.

In this seminar, you will study workplace dispute resolution with a focus on the legal status and practical application of Alternative Dispute Resolution in the workplace. It begins with the most familiar alternative to litigation, labor arbitration. It then examines labor arbitration’s first cousin, individual employment arbitration. Then the course will shift into a discussion on mediation of employment disputes. Throughout the course, we will also review litigation of employment disputes as a necessary component of the foundation for exploring the pros and cons of using ADR versus litigation. You will have assigned background reading on all these matters and will perform simulations of arbitration and mediation of these disputes. Taking an employment-related course such as Labor Law, Employment Discrimination, or Employment Law is NOT a prerequisite. However, because the course concentrates on employment issues, you should have a strong intellectual interest in workplace dispute resolution and a desire to write about topics related to the course concentration (either a workplace topic or an ADR topic) in completing the rigorous writing requirement. Prerequisite: All lockstep courses except Constitutional Law.

This course will serve as an introduction to the main three tools of Alternative Dispute Resolution: negotiation, mediation, and arbitration. (Negotiation is when two or more parties work together to achieve a voluntary, mutually acceptable agreement. Mediation is when a neutral third party (the mediator) assists the parties in communicating and negotiating in order to achieve a voluntary, mutually acceptable agreement. Arbitration is when parties choose a neutral third party (the arbitrator or a tribunal of arbitrators) to decide the outcome of a dispute in an informal setting and with the parties typically expecting that the arbitrator’s decision will be the final resolution.) Through the use of lecture, simulations, and exercises, students will learn both theoretical and practical aspects of all three tools.

This course will serve as an introduction to the main three tools of Alternative Dispute Resolution: negotiation, mediation, and arbitration. (Negotiation is when two or more parties work together to achieve a mutually acceptable agreement; mediation is when a neutral third party plays the role of mediator in assisting by asking questions and guiding the conversation of two or more parties as they work together to achieve a mutually acceptable agreement; and arbitration is when a neutral third party takes on the role of judge and decides the outcome of a disputed matter after it is presented to him or her in a setting similar to a court trial.) Through the use of lecture, simulations, and exercises, students will learn both theoretical and practical aspects of all three tools. Prerequisite: One year of law school in the full-time or part-time program.

Critical analysis of processes, other than trials, used in the U.S. criminal justice system to resolve criminal cases; includes plea bargaining, therapeutic justice, restorative justice and juvenile justice; examines the policy goals supporting continuing, starting or expanding the use of these processes to resolve criminal cases. Prerequisite: (1) All lockstep courses except Constitutional Law; (2) Criminal Procedure.

Over ninety percent of the criminal cases in the United States are resolved before going to trial. In this seminar we will consider the most traditional form of dispute resolution in criminal cases: plea bargaining of criminal cases. The course will also look at emerging trends in the criminal justice system such as restorative justice and therapeutic courts including drug courts. This seminar will also examine issues relating to juvenile justice including alternative proceedings and the theory and policy underlying the treatment of juvenile offenders. Students and will gain a basic understanding and critically examine the various forms of criminal case resolution and the underlying policy goals. Prerequisite: (1) All lockstep courses except Constitutional Law; (2) Criminal Procedure.

This course is designed to introduce students to the arbitration process. Arbitration is a method of private dispute resolution in business, consumer, employment, and international transactions. The course will examine the legal framework governing arbitration, the policy implications of its expansion, and the skills necessary to be a successful advocate in both domestic as well as international arbitral forums.

Students will learn the process of contract negotiations in the labor setting in both the private and public sectors. Topics covered will include who has the right to bargain contracts, what can be bargained, bargaining in good faith and legal remedies. Bargaining techniques including data-driven proposals will be discussed. Students will be involved in labor bargaining simulations. Prerequisite: One year of law school in the full-time or part-time program, including Contracts.

This course examines the law and ethics of mediation, relevant social psychological and economic theories and empirical research, and the dynamics, law and ethics of representing clients in mediation. The course will involve some simulations and exercises.

This course provides the opportunity to develop mediation skills, and an introduction to mediation law and policy. Through discussions, exercises and simulations, students examine the mediation process and techniques used to assist participants in reaching mutually agreeable resolutions. In doing so, students also learn underlying negotiation orientations and strategies. Prerequisite: One year of law school in the full-time or part-time program. Registration priority will go to students who have not previously taken the Family Mediation Clinic or Mediation Clinic.

This course involves intensive participation in simulations and exercises that introduce students to the mediation process, its stages, and the tools and techniques used by mediators and lawyers representing clients in mediation. The course also introduces students to core negotiation approaches and techniques.

This course offers students the opportunity to further develop their negotiation skills. It will focus on simulations and negotiation exercises intended to give students firsthand experience in applying interest-based negotiation techniques. The course examines the skills, constraints, and dynamics of negotiation. Students will also learn a theoretical framework for understanding negotiation practice in a variety of contexts through readings from the fields of law, psychology, business, and communication. Prerequisite: One year of law school in the full-time or part-time program.

This course provides students the opportunity to develop and strengthen their negotiation skills mostly in the context of business and transactions work. Through lectures, role-plays, and simulations, students will refine their negotiation strategies and techniques in negotiating deals, contracts, and relationships. While the vast majority of the course will focus on improving student ability to engage in transactions work within the United States, the course will also consider various barriers to deal making in a global context, including culture, ideology, and foreign governments and laws. Prerequisite: One year of law school in the full-time or part-time program.