The Moritz College of Law offers many opportunities for students to learn and practice Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) techniques while in law school, culminating in the Certificate in Dispute Resolution. A complete description of the Certificate Program along with the Program on Dispute Resolution Guidelines 2021-2022 is now available.
The Program on Dispute Resolution trains future lawyers in multiple processes other than litigation, including negotiation, mediation, and arbitration. The importance of dispute resolution methods is increasing as courts explore other means of resolving the volume of cases before they and clients seek out ways to avoid litigation. The program also emphasizes the value of designing dispute resolution systems tailored to the needs of public and private institutions, including the award-winning, iterative Divided Community Project.
All law students should consider enrolling in at least one Program on Dispute Resolution course. Those with an especially strong interest can serve as a member or editor of the Ohio State Journal on Dispute Resolution or as a research assistant to one of the law faculty teaching in this area.
- Eight law faculty regularly offer courses in dispute resolution, and six other faculty offer a unit on negotiation, mediation, or arbitration within another course offering.
- Law students who complete 15 credit hours in ADR courses and satisfy the externship requirement are awarded a Certificate in Dispute Resolution upon graduation.
- In the Mediation Clinic, one of the nation’s longest-running clinics, students mediate actual disputes in local court systems.
- In the Dispute System Design Workshop, students work with outside clients to design customized systems for addressing disputes.
- Students edit and write articles for the award-winning Ohio State Journal on Dispute Resolution, which is the journal of record for the American Bar Association’s Section on Dispute Resolution.
- Students participate as research assistants on public policy initiatives involving dispute resolution processes.
- Nationally prominent scholars and practitioners deliver lectures and symposia on critical dispute resolution issues, including the annual Schwartz and Lawrence Lectures.
- Students participate in arbitration, mediation advocacy, and negotiation competitions regionally and nationally, including the annual Lawrence Negotiation Competition.
- Students work on their own and with faculty mediating disputes at The Ohio State University and in public schools in Franklin County.