Why teach ADR to law students? Part 2 : an empirical survey

In Part One of this article, the authors posed the question 'Why teach ADR to law students?' The question was generated by a review of the literature on the teaching of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) in a member of Western countries, particularly the United States and Australia. The...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inLegal education review Vol. 17; no. 1; pp. 67 - 101
Main Authors Fisher, Tom, Gutman, Judy, Martens, Erika
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Bond University 01.01.2007
Subjects
Arbitration
Conflict resolution
First year students
Grievance procedures
Higher education
La Trobe University. La Trobe Law
Law schools
Law students
Lawyers
Legal education
Legal practice
Professional education
Student attitudes
Student characteristics
Student surveys
University curriculum
Australia
Victoria
Melbourne (Vic)
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Summary:In Part One of this article, the authors posed the question 'Why teach ADR to law students?' The question was generated by a review of the literature on the teaching of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) in a member of Western countries, particularly the United States and Australia. The literature revealed that many law schools in these countries have demonstrated a commitment to teaching ADR theory and practice to their students in keeping with the upsurge in clinical education and the belief that 'back letter' law units expose students to a narrow perspective of legal practice. The commonly held view is that legal education should teach law students 'what lawyers need to be able to do', not just 'what lawyers need to know'. Part One of this article raised important questions for both the academy and the profession. It also noted that attitudinal change, if any, that may ensue as a result of teaching ADR subjects to law students, remains an important question for research in both the fields of legal education and legal professional practice. Part Two of the article examines this latter topic. In the presentation of this part of the authors' work, they seek to suggest some answers to these questions by reporting on an empirical pilot study of teaching ADR as a mandatory unit to first-year law students at La Trobe University in 2005. This article provides a brief profile of the students undertaking the unit along a variety of measures and then focuses on a detailed exploration of their views towards ways in which the legal profession manages disputes. [Author abstract, ed]
Bibliography:Refereed article. Includes bibliographical references.
Legal Education Review; v.17 n.1 and 2 p.67-101; 2007
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ISSN:1033-2839
1839-3713
DOI:10.53300/001c.6198