Dispute Resolution and Arbitration Commons^™

The Case For Mediation Representation Clinics And Externships, John Lande

Faculty Publications

This article recommends that law schools offer mediation representation clinics and externship courses to assist self-represented litigants in cases with legally-represented parties. These courses would prepare law students to practice in the modern world. Students would get experience working with real clients, conduct interviews, help clients assess their goals and interests, analyze claims, perform legal research, prepare documents, coordinate with mediators, and negotiate with counterpart attorneys.

The courses would address the needs of multiple stakeholders including self-represented litigants, law students, law schools, courts, attorneys, mediators, and society in general. Law schools would develop these courses in collaboration with many potential …

The Case For Strategic Case Evaluation And Management Courses, John Lande

Faculty Publications

This short article argues that law schools should substantially increase instruction in pretrial litigation, teaching students how to strategically evaluate and manage cases. Law school graduates generally are unprepared to work with clients, have difficulty communicating with clients, and don’t understand the “big picture” of client matters. They generally aren’t well trained in negotiation, which is essential in modern legal practice. The problem for law students and law schools is exacerbated by the transition to the NextGen bar exam and a movement in various states to use alternative mechanisms for licensing that would require demonstration of practical skills.

To address …

It's Time To Make Important Upgrades To Our Mediation Curriculum, John Lande

Faculty Publications

In the past five decades, mediation practice and teaching have grown in size and sophistication. Inevitably, some ideas that made sense early in this development need revision and updating to reflect evolving realities and improved understandings. This is a moment deserving reflection about what faculty should teach about mediation, especially in light of the NextGen bar exam and changes in various states’ licensing regimes.

This article suggests various upgrades of our mediation instruction. Change is hard but can be worth the effort. The article includes numerous specific suggestions and links to handy resources that faculty can incorporate in their courses …

Oxymorons R Us, John Lande

Faculty Publications

This short article riffs on comments at a program at the ABA Section of Dispute Resolution’s annual conference to illustrate how oxymoronic the terms “facilitative,” “evaluative,” and “empowerment” have become. It suggests ways that dispute resolution academics and practitioners can avoid speaking oxymoron.

Modern Mediation Practice In American Legal Cases, John Lande

Faculty Publications

This article provides excerpts of It's Time to Make Important Upgrades to Our Mediation Curriculum. It notes significant changes in mediation practice in the past five decades and highlights the nature of modern mediation practice in American legal cases. It suggests that law school faculty upgrade of our mediation instruction to reflect the realities of modern practice.

Ombuds Programs: How Alternative Dispute Resolution Improves The Lives Of Native Long-Term Care Residents, Brett Newberry

Journal of Dispute Resolution

Many Americans will spend at least some time in a long-term care facility. During their stay, every resident should receive competent care and maintain the highest possible quality of life. Long-term care ombuds programs exist to help achieve these goals. Long-term care ombuds (“LTCOs”) advocate for individuals living in long-term care facilities and for improvements to the long-term care system. Tribal long-term care ombuds are a subset of LTCOs who connect with and advocate for Native residents living in long-term care facilities. LTCOs help facilitate dispute resolution between residents, facilities, and family members, and work to improve resident care. The …

The Copyright Infringement Threat To X: How X (Formerly Twitter) Could Benefit From Licensing Agreements With Arbitration Clauses, Mary Claire Rose

Journal of Dispute Resolution

Copyright infringement on social media platforms is an ever increasing threat to society today. As social media platforms have grown, music publishers and movie studios have become more outspoken in criticizing the inadequacies in handing copyright infringement on these platforms. On June 14, 2023 a civil complaint was brought by Concord Music Group Inc. along with many other music publishers against X Corp. (“X”), formerly Twitter, for copyright infringement. The complaint alleges that X has infringed the copyright of more than 1,700 songs and the plaintiffs are seeking more than $250 million in damages. However, one can argue this was …

Exempting The Fmla From Forced Arbitration: The Need For Special Consideration Of Pregnant And Working Mothers To Achieve Gender Equality In The Workplace, Taylor Trefger

Journal of Dispute Resolution

Pregnant and working mothers face a multitude of challenges when making decisions that pertain to their health, children, and their livelihoods. Historically, women have encountered numerous barriers regarding their entrance and treatment in the United States labor force as a result of gender discrimination that promotes the idea that women, in their inherent ability to become mothers, renders them inadequate or inferior workers in comparison to men. Unfortunately, such archaic notions of gender roles persist still; today, the reality is that women are more likely to be employed part-time, occupy lower-paid roles, and are less likely to take on managerial …

Alternative Dispute Resolution In Agency Administrative Programs, Kristen Blankley, Kathleen Claussen, Judith Starr

Articles

This Article studies how federal agencies use and might better use different types of alternative dispute resolution (ADR)-including mediation, conciliation, facilitation, factfinding, minitrials, arbitration, and the use of ombuds-in the programs Congress has entrusted them to administer. The use of ADR by the executive branch of the federal government to resolve disputes with or among private actors has deep historical roots. ADR related to managerial agency matters such as employment or procurement is well-established across the government and performed under a uniform set of laws. Much less has been known, however, about the scope and reach of ADR in the …

Mandatory Mediation In England And Wales: A Paradigm Shift In Dispute Resolution, Mckayla Bogda

Journal of Dispute Resolution

In May of 2023, Tribunals in England and Wales had a backlog of nearly 144,000 cases. In a press release issued on July 25, 2023, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) unveiled a significant policy change to combat this backlog. Under its new directive, individuals or entities wishing to pursue debt recovery claims of £10,000 or less are required to engage in mediation proceedings prior to their case’s adjudication in the small claims courts of England and Wales. This transformative shift signifies a departure from the traditional adversarial litigation model of both of these countries’ judicial systems.

Faculty List

Journal of Dispute Resolution

No abstract provided.

Masthead

Journal of Dispute Resolution

No abstract provided.

Description

Journal of Dispute Resolution

No abstract provided.

Alternative Dispute Resolution In Agency Administrative Programs, Kristen Blankley, Kathleen Claussen, Judith Starr

Journal of Dispute Resolution

This Article studies how federal agencies use and might better use different types of alternative dispute resolution (ADR)—including mediation, conciliation, facilitation, factfinding, minitrials, arbitration, and the use of ombuds—in the programs Congress has entrusted them to administer. The use of ADR by the executive branch of the federal government to resolve disputes with or among private actors has deep historical roots. ADR related to managerial agency matters such as employment or procurement is well-established across the government and performed under a uniform set of laws. Much less has been known, however, about the scope and reach of ADR in the …

Table Of Contents

Journal of Dispute Resolution

No abstract provided.

How Can Courts–Practically For Free–Help Parties Prepare For Mediation Sessions?, John Lande

Journal of Dispute Resolution

Consider two hypothetical scenarios of mediations of a personal injury lawsuit. In one scenario, Kenji, the plaintiff, arrived at the mediation session feeling anxious because his attorney hadn’t told him much about the process and he didn’t know what to expect. He didn’t understand the factual and legal issues, how the mediation would unfold, or how he might participate in the process. He felt demoralized because he didn’t know enough to feel confident and assertive about making decisions in his case. In the mediation session, he spent a lot of time alternately hearing the mediator explain why he couldn’t get …

Arbitration And The Mandatory Law Problem: A Mixed Mode Adr Approach, Hossein Fazilatfar

Journal of Dispute Resolution

Rigorous scholarly debate has shaped the discussion on the application of mandatory laws and public policy in arbitration, which has led to an array of legal solutions to the mandatory law problem. The determination of the applicable law in arbitration is a dilemma due to arbitrators’ contractual source of authority and commitments to the parties, their mandate to issue an enforceable award, and the imperative nature of mandatory laws at stake. Proposed solutions thus far have primarily been suggestions that are based on either contractual concerns of the parties, jurisdictional (mandatory law) concerns of states involved, or a mix of …

We’Re Getting Sued??? *Emotional* *With Proof*: Using Alternative Dispute Resolution In Child Influencer Disputes, Werthen Gass

Journal of Dispute Resolution

Thanks to a new Illinois law, alternative dispute resolution could play an important role in fighting mommy-vlogger clickbait in the coming years. It could allow us all to escape outrageous videos of exploitative parents crying on kitchen floors with titles such as “We’re getting SUED by our OWN CHILD?? *emotional* *with proof*”. On August 11, 2023, the governor of Illinois signed Illinois Public Act 103-0556 (“the Act”) into law, amending the current child labor laws in Illinois and adding a provision specifically pertaining to payment of child influencers. Essentially, the new law, which will go into effect on July 1, …

Filling The Enforcement Gap: Alternative Dispute Resolution As An Approach To Solving "Copyright" Disputes For Ai-Generated Content, Aly Rezek

Journal of Dispute Resolution

On August 12, 2019, the United States Copyright Office (“the Copyright Office”) sent Stephen Thaler a rejection letter stating it would not issue him federal copyright protection for artwork generated by a computer program he owned. After countless appeals to the Copyright Office and the Federal District Court under various legal theories, one thing was made clear: The U.S. Copyright system would not protect works created by non-human authors. This principle presents a problem. Artificial intelligence (“AI”) is a rapidly developing tool in business and a rapidly developing issue in the law. Courts have routinely held that to be copyrightable, …

Consumer Litigant Finance And Legal Ethics: Empirical Observations From Texas, Anthony J. Sebok, Lynn A. Baker

Articles

A handful of states, including Texas, have Rules of Professional Responsibility which permit attorneys to provide cash advances to their own clients. In previous work, we suggested that if more states permitted law firms to offer this sort of funding to their clients it would increase competition within the consumer litigant funding market, to the benefit of consumers. We also hypothesized that relaxing these existing prohibitions would better enable tort claimants to decline low-ball settlement offers from defendants in one-off cases.

This Article offers some initial insights into these questions. It reports the findings of our modest empirical study involving …