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This advanced course builds upon and augments the basics of mediation theory and practice through an in-depth examination of selected aspects of the process. Students expand and refine their skills as mediators by addressing topics such as dealing with difficult parties, overcoming impasse, mediating with large numbers of participants, responding to media in a mediation, using a decision-tree analysis, and employing counterintuitive and "mindful" mediation strategies. Controversial ethical issues and public policy concerns, such as the limits of confidentiality and expectations of procedural fairness, are also explored through complex scenarios. The personal qualities of a mediator and central components integral to a professional mediation practice are examined, together with suggestions for marketing, managing and building a successful practice. Pre-requisite: Law 1422 Mediation Theory and Practice, LAW 380 Mediation Clinic suggested Top
Designed as an advanced study of trial skills, this course focuses on the mastery of direct and cross-examination of lay and expert witnesses, voir dire, opening statement, closing argument, the use of exhibits, and ethical considerations. The class will emphasize "learning by doing" students will actively participate in classroom exercises and will be critiqued by other students and faculty. The class will build on those skills learned in the basic Trial Practice or Trial Advocacy course. Each student will prepare for and represent a client in a simulated trial.
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Focuses on the non-litigation processes of dispute resolution and their relationship to traditional litigation. The course involves the study of negotiation, mediation, mini-trials, private judges and special masters, court-annexed and private arbitration as well as court related settlement options such as panel evaluations, settlement conferences, and summary jury trials.Top
Introduction to, and in-depth study of, the appellate process including historical and comparative viewpoints; and preservation of the record for appeal, post trial motions, appellate procedure, and research and preparation of brief. Oral argument is studied, including communication theory, administrative appeals, rehearings, and petitions for certiorari.Top
Today, business, employment and consumer disputes in the United States are frequently resolved outside the court system in private proceedings under the terms of agreements for binding arbitration. Such agreements are now broadly enforced by federal and state court decisions, and in recent years a substantial body of law has developed around arbitration. This course introduces students to the range of issues now addressed by the Federal Arbitration Act and state arbitration laws. Topics include the preemption of state law by federal law, the enforcement of arbitration agreements and arbitrators' decisions (awards), legal standards surrounding disclosures of potential conflicts of interest by arbitrators, and fairness issues in arbitration under employment and consumer contracts. Only Available to Law Students, Law School Graduates and LL.M. CandidatesTop
Today many business and employment disputes are resolved through out-of-court binding arbitration processes. This intensive, interactive course is designed to provide students with a practical grounding in counseling and advocacy skills required for state-of-the-art arbitration practice through problems and exercises simulating common arbitration scenarios in which students play the parts of lawyers, arbitrators and parties. Students learn how to draft dispute resolution agreements for arbitration and how to advise clients on many different aspects of arbitration, including the suitability of arbitration as an alternative to negotiation, mediation or litigation. They also experience advocacy roles at all stages of arbitration, including the filing of an arbitration demand, the selection of arbitrators, planning for and conducting hearings, the publication of a final decision (award), and the enforcement or setting aside of an award. The course emphasizes modern commercial and employment arbitration in the U.S. but also includes references to international, consumer, securities and labor arbitration.Top
Based on communication studies, this course examines the vehicle of communication in the context of conflict, both in the courtroom and as part of various alternative dispute resolution processes and other conflict-driven interactions. It builds on basic conflict theory covered in Psychology of Conflict while narrowing its focus to findings related to communication. Concepts explored include the following: basic principles and assumptions of a range of communication theories; influence, persuasion, rhetoric, dialogue, narrative paradigm, and linguistics; non-verbal communication, listening skills, neuro-linguistic programming (NLP); perception and perceptual distortion; power, threat, and face-saving; argumentation vs. aggression; group dynamics and differences in interpersonal, intra-group, inter-group, and organizational contexts; and the effect of third party interventions. The course includes at least one self-assessment instrument to enhance student awareness of individual differences in conflict communication styles. Pre-requisite: LAW 1302 Psychology of ConflictTop
This course surveys the impact that cultural differences, stereotypes and attributions have on key dispute resolution processes, and on conflict generally. It is designed to build theoretical knowledge, to equip students with an analytical framework useful in determining suitable dispute resolution processes, and to instill practical skills and strategies to enhance effectiveness in cross-cultural contexts. Cultural differences in language, customs, values, legal systems and world-views are examined along various dimensions: orientation towards the individual or the collective community; importance of career success over quality of life; deference to authority; long vs. short term orientation; extent to which expectations for behavior are implicit or express; perceptions of time and personal space; and aversion to risk.Top
This course is a study-abroad program that will provide an introduction to international alternative dispute resolution in a particular region of the world: Europe, Asia, Latin America, or North America. The course will focus on the laws, practices, and institutional framework of international alternative dispute resolution in the respective region of study.Top
Participants in this course will study dispute resolution in two of the most important cities in the world. In London, the focus will be on commercial international dispute resolution, and in Geneva participants will learn about public dispute resolution systems through classes and site visits.Top
Participants in this course will study the impact of culture on dispute resolution in two of the most vibrant cities in Asia. This program will focus on the cultural nuances of Asian and the United States as they impact the three main ADR processes: negotiation, mediation and arbitration. Participants will learn from U.S. and Asian professionals who have successfully negotiated, mediated and arbitrated matters between American and Chinese concerns.
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This course explores conflict in the context of religion, with a focus on how religious beliefs can generate and affect conflict as well as provide guidance on its resolution. It examines special considerations important in managing religious disputes and unique factors to be taken into account when facilitating the resolution of conflicts set within the context of religious organizations, including those that do not involve religious issues per se. Techniques to help parties integrate their own religious beliefs into their approaches to conflict are given special emphasis. The course uses the Judeo-Christian perspective as a starting point for examining other religious heritages, to gain an appreciation for how various religious beliefs can influence an individual's approach to conflict resolution and reconciliation and how religion contributes to regional and international political strife.Top
This advanced course examines conflict in the educational environment with a focus on devising and implementing age-appropriate strategies for its prevention, management, and resolution at all levels of education, from pre-kindergarten through university. Conflicts between and among students, faculty, parents, administrators, school boards, governmental entities and community groups are addressed, including those arising out of local, state, and federal mandates and entitlements. Commonly disputed concerns receiving special emphasis include: equal access to education; violence, safety, and discipline; faculty hiring, promotion and tenure; discrimination and sexual harassment; individual educational plans for special needs students; local school governance; curricular issues such as intelligent design vs. evolution; and public support for extracurricular activities. Peer mediation programs and other internal dispute resolution processes prevalent in educational institutions are also explored. Pre-requisite: Mediation Theory and Practice OR Alternative Dispute Resolution
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Members of the staff receive credit for their work on the Dispute Resolution Law Journal. The amount of credit will vary according to the number of semesters in which a student participates. No credit is awarded until the student has fulfilled the commitment to the journal, at which time a grade will be assigned to the credits based on the student's performance. All members are required to write publishable articles and to do editorial and staff work.Top
This advanced course explores conflicts that arise in the context of families, with emphasis on negotiating and mediating issues surrounding marital separation and divorce. It is designed to equip students with the strategic judgment, skills and sensitivity needed to help parties build consensus on matters such as child custody, visitation, division of property, spousal support, and child education and support. Relevant emotional concerns, such as feelings of betrayal and loss, are examined, along with techniques for addressing them. Special considerations surrounding high conflict families, domestic violence, spousal or child abuse, and "move aways", as well as ethical issues related to power differentials, court-mandated mediation, collaborative law and mediator certification, are also covered. Pre-requisite: Mediation Theory and Practice OR Alternative Dispute ResolutionTop
This advanced course examines the consensual processes used to resolve public policy disputes, particularly those concerning environmental and community impact, natural resources management, and land use and regulation. It is designed to equip students to strategically facilitate understandings among large constituencies with divergent interests through, for example, identification of stakeholders, selection of appropriate spokespersons, management of multiple participants, acquisition of approval from public sector entitles, and coordination with elected officials. Negotiated rule-making and the 1990 Administration Dispute Resolution Act are also covered. Pre-requisite: Mediation Theory and Practice OR Alternative Dispute ResolutionTop
This course provides a comprehensive overview of international arbitration law and practice. Topics explored include the making and enforcement of arbitration agreements; the selection and appointment of the arbitral tribunal; preliminary proceedings, including procedural orders and interim relief; the arbitration hearing; and the making and enforcement of the arbitral award. Particular attention is paid to the enforcement of arbitration agreements and awards, the role of the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards and other treaties, and their interplay with national laws as a backdrop for private arbitration agreements.Top
This course introduces students to the growing variety of options for preventing or resolving international business disputes, including negotiation, mediation or conciliation, expedited evaluation, and binding or nonbinding arbitration, as well as complex approaches incorporating multiple processes. Students are familiarized with the tools employed by counselors, drafters and advocates for companies doing business abroad, including the evolving international or regional organizations and procedures supporting private dispute resolution and the varying judicial enforcement of agreements for private dispute resolution or of resulting settlements. The course focuses on approaches other than international arbitration, although arbitration is addressed for purposes of comparison, contrast, drafting of multi-stepped agreements and other interface issues.Top
This course addresses the treaty-based systems established to allow foreign
direct investors and host states to arbitrate disputes arising from alleged breaches
of international law. In addition to examining the major treaties affecting the
field, the course will survey the many important doctrines bearing on tribunal
jurisdictions, claim admissibility, and the enforcement of awards against a state.
Matters of process design will also be considered. Top
Designed to be a seminar, the course combines lecture and problem solving in addressing the following topics: basic choice of law and choice of forum analysis, international judicial assistance (service of process and discovery abroad), enforcement of judgments internationally, alternative dispute settlement mechanisms (conciliation and arbitration), enforcement of arbitration awards, prejudgment remedies, and sovereign immunity.Top
This course develops the craft of the lawyer in client interviewing and counseling. It examines the theoretical framework and strengths and weaknesses of prevailing models of attorney-client relationships with a focus on planning and decision-making. Authoritative, client-centered, and collaborative approaches are explored and compared. The class also examines principles of moral responsibility underlying this critical aspect of a lawyer's role. Emphasis is on learning competent and ethical interviewing and counseling skills through simulated exercises, case studies and discussions.Top
This course is designed to give students a "hands-on" experience in making lawyering decisions, relating to clients, and researching and drafting documents typically used in the civil litigation process. Students handle and develop several fictitious case files and are expected to research and draft such diverse assignments as opinion letters, complaints, answers, pretrial motions, discovery requests, and motions for summary judgment. Students are given instruction and feedback regarding the lawyering techniques involved in client counseling, legal research, legal analysis and writing, and advocacy.Top
This course is designed for non-lawyers and non-law degree seeking students in the graduate dispute resolution programs. This course provides students with an understanding of law, its role in society, and the dispute resolution principles that have emerged from it. It familiarizes students with the court system, its operation, and the challenges it faces in serving as this society s traditional formal dispute resolution forum. The course examines efforts to reform the justice system and the movement of the last two decades. The course is taught using a traditional law school case method, but it also includes substantial personal contact with those most prominently involved in the justice system practicing lawyers and sitting judges as well as personal observation of the court system.Top
This practicum offers students the opportunity to actually apply mediation theory in context and to enhance their mediation skills by serving as the mediator in numerous small claims court cases and other referred disputes. Students share the specifics of their mediation experiences in class and receive feedback on their strategic and tactical choices, as well as on their tone and demeanor. This critical review is designed to cultivate and refine advanced mediation skills. Students must be available to mediate six hours per week during normal business hours. Pre-requisite: Mediation Theory and PracticeTop
This course explores the various theories underlying and practices basic to mediation. The mediation process is organized into a series of stages, and basic mediation skills and techniques appropriate to each stage are identified and cultivated. Simulations and experiential exercises provide students with an opportunity to develop proficiency as mediators and to rigorously analyze appropriate roles and behavior as mediators and advocates taking into account the legal, ethical and public policy issues surrounding the practice of mediation.
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This course examines the theory and practice of negotiation as a process used to put deals together or to resolve disputes and legal claims. Students learn about competitive positional bargaining and collaborative problem solving and acquire insight into the strategic management of the tension between the two approaches. Through simulated exercises, students develop skills and confidence as negotiators, including an awareness of the psychological encouragements and barriers to consensus. Special challenges of multi-party negotiations are addressed with an emphasis on the attorney-client relationship, including applicable ethical standards, codes, and law.Top
Based on findings from the social sciences, this course examines how individuals think about and relate to one another in the context of conflict. Students acquire a theoretical framework for understanding and assisting parties in conflict. Concepts explored for their usefulness in conflict resolution include the following: personality development and differences; neurotic styles, difficult people and psychological disorders; predictable cognitive biases; sources of psychological resistance to dealing with conflict such as fear of abandonment, shame, guilt and unresolved grief; stages of conflict including escalation, stalemate, de-escalation, and resolution; social origins of conflict, including differences in values, beliefs and mores; socialization of aggressive and cooperative behaviors; emotional intelligence, self-awareness and empathy; trust and altruism; anger and the limits of argumentation and rationality; prejudice and the need for enemies. The course includes at least one self-assessment instrument to enhance student awareness of individual differences in psychological styles.Top
This course explores the restorative justice movement, a systematic approach to criminal justice that emphasizes repairing harm caused or revealed by criminal behavior. Restorative justice incorporates aspects of alternative dispute resolution and civil law into criminal matters in furtherance of its overarching goals of healing and reconciliation. The course considers where the movement originated, how it has developed in the past twenty years, the opportunities and challenges it confronts, and specific ways in which it can be woven into and implemented as part of the criminal process.Top
This course is a general category designed to accommodate and include a broad range of narrowly focused dispute resolution courses, each with its own specific emphasis. Examples include in-depth examination of dispute resolution theory, processes, customs and practices as applied to the following contexts: employment law; labor unions; entertainment industry; and healthcare. Pre-requisite: Mediation Theory and Practice OR Alternative Dispute Resolution.Top
This course explores the role and responsibilities of advocates when advising and representing clients in dispute resolution processes. Opposing teams of students will represent the parties to a commercial dispute under the supervision and guidance of the instructor acting as the supervising attorney for each team. They will advise and represent their clients in an arbitration proceeding before a professional arbitrator who will issue an award. They will also represent their clients in mediation with a professional mediator. Each student will write a paper assessing and comparing the role of an advocate in the two processes. There is a prerequisite of Arbitration and Mediation courses or, with permission of the instructor, equivalent practical experience.Top
This class will examine each of the themes of apology, forgiveness, and reconciliation. A spectrum of definitions and meanings of each theme will be explored. A variety of approaches on how to implement each theme will be discussed. The material will be addressed from the context of governing our own lives, providing professional advice to another as an advocate, and serving as a mediator. Class material will include religious and nonreligious perspectives on these themes.Top
This course will address protocols for resolving disputes in the non-unionized workplaces. The class will discuss unique concerns originating from the negotiation, mediation, and arbitration of employment claims like race, age, gender, and religious discrimination, sexual harassment, wage hour class actions, American with Disabilities Act violations, worker's compensation, whistleblowers, Family and Medical Act, occupational safety requirements, and wrongful termination, EEOC dispute resolution programs, internal dispute resolutionsystem for employees and the growing trend of Ombuds offices.Top
This course focuses on how disputes are resolved in the entertainment industry through mediation and arbitration. A broad range of contexts, such as motion pictures, television, music publishing and records, as well as sports and the arts, form the backdrop for the examination of various cases and simulations. ADR is explored from the point of view of house counsel, business affairs executives, outside counsel, transactional attorneys, litigators, mediators, arbitrators, agents, creative executives, union representatives, performers, artists and Olympic athletes. Students gain familiarity with details of established dispute resolution programs, such as the following: Entertainment Panel of American Arbitration Association (AAA); Independent Film & Televisions Alliance (IFTA); Arts Arbitration and Mediation Service (AAMS); Writer's Guild of America (WGA); Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS); NCAA and professional sports leagues dispute resolution protocol. The course also addresses entertainment industry acceptance of ADR, ethical issues, blended ADR processes, international issues, entertainment industry style and subculture, and practice tips.Top
This course explores the growing trend toward the design and development of dispute resolution systems within organizations: in the workplace, at the enterprise level, in business-to-business and e-commerce marketplaces, and in other organizational settings. Starting with historical and legal contexts, the course will examine the burgeoning field of dispute systems design in the new economy with focus on potential advantages and disadvantages of this approach to what arguably is the privatization of justice. Students will also be provided with a practical framework to apply dispute systems to design concepts in specific situations.Top
This course will address protocols for resolving disputes in the non-unionized workplaces. The class will discuss unique concerns originating from the negotiation, mediation, and arbitration of employment claims like race, age, gender, and religious discrimination, sexual harassment, wage hour class actions, American with Disabilities Act violations, worker's compensation, whistleblowers, Family and Medical Act, occupational safety requirements, and wrongful termination, EEOC dispute resolution programs, internal dispute resolution system for employees and the growing trend of Ombuds offices.Top
This course integrates the dynamics of religious faith with conflict resolution in the international context. Course topics include the principles and practice of faith-based diplomacy, modes of third party intervention, religion and communal identity, reconciliation and nation building, religion as a cause of international conflict, religion as an asset for international peacemaking, and preventative diplomacy.Top
This course will provide a framework for understanding dispute resolution in health care by exploring various conflicts and suggest conflicting issues affecting various stakeholders in the US health care delivery system. This course analyzes the view of positions, interests and possible creative solutions of patients, physicians, nurses and allied staff, hospital administrators, managers of corporations responsible for claims of hospitals, managed care organizations, employers and private and public sector regulators. Students will reflect on themes like implementation of quality initiatives, cost control management, disruptive physicians, regulatory compliances, and employee/patient/physician satisfaction.Top
This course assesses the ideological assumptions for various approaches to third party conflict intervention. The foundational question of what value is added by adjudication, dilogue, and various approaches to mediations is addressed. Special emphasis is given to the transformative model of mediation as an outgrowth of a relational ideology. Through a series of interactive exercises, students are exposed to the transformative model of mediation designed to empower disputants to value and believe in themselves and to recognize and acknowledge one another's humanity. The course will encourage students to analyze how differing ideologies and styles of discourse impact public policy, alter mediator understanding, yield differences in mediator practice, and affect the experience of parties of conflict.Top
The United States leads the world in the creative and inventive arts. Movies, music, literary works, gaming, computer software, innovative technology and innovative brands are our most valuable commodities. Our intellectual property law protects the authors, inventors and sellers who create these copyrightable works, patentable inventions and unique trademarks. Intellectual property lawsuits have exploded over the last decade, and they will continue to proliferate. Trained mediators capable of mediating complex copyright, patent and trademark disputes are in high demand. In this course, students will be taught what they need to know to competently and successfully mediate intellectual property disputes. Students will receive summary instruction on substantive intellectual property law necessary to be able to understand and participate in simulated mediation sessions. Students will participate in interactive discussion on how dispute resolution theories and methods can be customized and applied to maximize the likelihood of a successful mediation of complex intellectual property disputes.Top
This course focuses on the customs and practices related to negotiation, mediation, and arbitration in the labor-management arena. Students will learn the negotiation norms and best practices in collective bargaining agreements. The class will address the negotiation, mediation, and arbitration of various types of allegations of breach of a collective agreement (grievances) as well as the usual culture of how to resolve disputes not covered by the collective bargaining agreement, such as personality conflicts between union members. The class will also explore from the inevitable conflicts that arise when a union is trying to organize a union and in the event of a strike, both a management and union leadership perspective.Top
This 2-unit survey course will explore corporate and organizational litigation and conflict management on both a portfolio "macro" level and matter-specific "micro" level, and will emphasize the role of the attorney as a problem solver. Students will learn both the theory and practice, as well as the ethical implications, behind various techniques that can be utilized to prevent, manage, and resolve significant individual, multiparty, and class action disputes on behalf of a corporation or organization, as well as related theory and practice with respect to preventing, managing, and resolving large volumes of litigation and conflict on an enterprise-wide or similar basis. The format will include interactive lectures, discussions, role plays and videos designed to illustrate various dispute resolution processes. Students will obtain an overview and understanding of how to develop legal and business strategies and tactics in the context of detained case plans and the associated economics of such plans; the principles of early case assessment and exploring early resolution strategies; and an in-depth understanding of how a particular process is or is not appropriate for a given fact situation.Top
This course will consider how the Internet can assist dispute resolution both as an augmentation to, and, in some cases, replacement of traditional face-to-face dispute resolution processes. It will discuss opportunities for integrating the Internet into comprehensive dispute resolution system design and how courts, agencies, corporations, organizations, and individuals may consider utilizing the power of the Internet for dispute resolution. Course participants will consider the extent to which the Internet is an extension of traditional dispute resolution and the extent to which it offers unique qualities and opportunities for dispute resolution. It will consider ethical and policy issues and what the future may hold. The full range of currently available Internet technologies will be reviewed and made available for exploration. The course will include simulated on-line negotiation, mediation, and arbitration exercises.Top
This course will explore the theory and practice of ombuds and ombuds programs. These programs are being created at a quickening pace. Our goal is to provide a thorough background that could be used in making a decision about establishing an ombuds program or in examining ombuds practice as a personal career direction. This course is organized around a series of questions: 1. What is ombuds? A general overview of the concept and it evolution. 2. Why does ombuds work? A review of the theory of third party intervention in conflict. 3. How does ombuds work? A survey of ombuds practice with opportunities to try it out. 4. How can ombuds get wide institution/constituency support? An exploration of best programmatic practices for building strong and enduring programs. 5. What are the issues that arise in ombuds practice? An open-ended discussion of the current opportunities and challenges in the profession. Time will be spent in a variety of activities: presentation, discussion, brainstorming, and skills practice.Top
This course is an advanced study of the issues involved in the mediation and management of mass claims. Recognizing that mass claims have unique considerations the class will focus on the following topics: the life cycle of a mass claim; maturation of a mass claim; methods of resolution; and macro and micro considerations for the design of a settlement. The course will consider the implementation of a mass-claim settlement as a potential ongoing mediation process. Students will examine case studies and participate in simulated exercises and discussion on emerging issues in mass-claim resolution. Top
Preparation of the trial from the first interview with the client, investigation of the facts, choice of forum, practical aspects of discovery, importance of depositions and how to conduct them, preparation of witnesses for discovery and trial, preparation of trial file, and settlement negotiations. Prerequisite: Law 904 Evidence.Top
A study of the methods and procedures of counsel in various aspects of trial. Students will actively participate in direct and cross examination of witnesses, making objections, methods of impeachment, use of depositions, introduction of exhibits, the importance of ethics, decorum, and personal mannerisms in the courtroom. Participation in complete practice trials, learning through actual experience. Prerequisite: Law 904 Evidence.Top
* Courses intended for lawyers or law students only.
** Courses intended for non-lawyers or non-law students only.
Dean Tacha Interviews Justice Sandra Day O'Connor at Civic Learning California Summit: Duane and Kelly Roberts Dean and Professor of Law Deanell Reece Tacha sat down with Justice Sandra Day O'Connor ... more
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