Is ADR mandatory in Law Schools- New Zealand and Australia?

Published by Chinwe Egbunike-Umegbolu

 

Excerpt from Episode 24: ADR and Workplace Conflict: A US Perspective with David .A. Hoffman on  Expert Views on ADR (EVA)  Vid / Podcast Show– he has taught  Mediation course at Harvard Law School.  He also teaches courses on Legal Profession: Collaborative Law and Diversity and Dispute Resolution. David is the founding member of Boston Law Collaborative, LLC (“BLC”), where he serves as a mediator, arbitrator, and attorney.

He stated the following:

“We should make ADR a mandatory subject for teaching lawyers- we should put it on the bar examination, so before you become a lawyer, you will have to study ADR. When you think about the popular media, what impression do people have of lawyers and conflict resolution? They see programmes about courtrooms and trials but do not see shows about mediators. There was a show in the US called ‘fairly legal’ that ran for three seasons and then died; it is a show all about mediators, but it seems that the popular chase finds conflict more entertaining than peace-making.”

The question was then posed by the blogger (Chinwe Stella Egbunike-Umegbolu) on member connect. Resolution. Institute, and it got the following responses. See the link below: 

https://memberconnect.resolution.institute/discussion/adr-mandatory-in-law-schools-new-zealand-and-australia#bm24c79b4c-09d3-4e49-96ca-01850e0b7ac0

Question:

“We should make ADR a mandatory subject for teaching lawyers- we should put it on the bar examination, so before you become a lawyer, you will have to study ADR. When you think about the popular media, what impression do people have of lawyers and conflict resolution? They see programmes about courtrooms and trials but do not see shows about mediators. There was a show in the US called ‘fairly legal’ that ran for three seasons and then died; it is a show all about mediators, but it seems that the popular chase finds conflict more entertaining than peace-making”-David .A. Hoffman, Excerpts from Expert Views on ADR (EVA) Podcast-Episode 24

a) What is your take on the excerpts mentioned above?

b) Is ADR mandatory in law schools in New Zealand and Australia?

Resolution Institute blogpost:
https://memberconnect.resolution.institute/blogs/chinwe-umegbolu1/2022/12/14/adr-and-workplace-conflict-a-us-perspective-with-d?CommunityKey=ca3c9f1c-d081-4b93-bd77-b2041de7b451
YouTube Link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFWSLQM7Tko
Podcast Link:
https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/lLb4PnpyTvb

 

 

 
Members Response:

D.R : 

At La Trobe Law School, Dispute Resolution is now a requirement for all students in the first semester and an elective for others. Given that all lawyers will either be involved in drafting clauses in contracts, advising clients or representing them as advocates in DR/ADR proceedings, this is a very welcome development. Particularly in mediation, many lawyers have yet to learn the proper advocacy skills, so this will help to change things going forward.

I also always recommend a mediation course, even if not for accreditation, as the skills are the same for the most part.
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Chinwe Egbunike-Umegbolu
Dec 14, 2022 11:08 PM
Chinwe Egbunike-Umegbolu
That’s interesting to know that La Trobe School offers mediation during the first semester; I hope other jurisdictions follow suit. Thank you so much for your contribution.

——————————
Chinwe Egbunike-Umegbolu
PhD | Part-time lecturer |ADR Blogger |Host and Producer of Expert Views on ADR (EVA)
University of Brighton
Brighton

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3.
J. R:

This should be a no-brainer! ADR is the present and the future. Litigation is fast becoming regarded as a costly and less civilised last resort to a dispute.

 
4.
l
 A. P
Subject: ADR mandatory in Law Schools- New Zealand and Australia

QUT already does, I am sure

5.
Chinwe Egbunike-Umegbolu
Dec 14, 2022 11:32 PM
Chinwe Egbunike-Umegbolu
During my days in Law school in  Nigeria, ADR was not offered. However, during my undergraduate, it was offered as an elective. Of course, it has its pros and cons hence the need for a balanced story -let students have a feel of both and then decide…
Thank you so much for your contribution.
There is a need for more research on the above subject matter… I’ll get every one of you on my podcast Expert Views on ADR (EVA) to discuss this further.——————————
Chinwe Egbunike-Umegbolu
PhD | Part-time lecturer |ADR Blogger |Host and Producer of Expert Views on ADR (EVA)
University of Brighton
Brighton——————————
From: C.T
Subject: ADR mandatory in Law Schools- New Zealand and Australia: Well, it has been a very long time since I completed my law degree and my bar examination however, I agree with your statement. It was during 2nd or 3rd year at law school that our law professor invited in a tenancy tribunal mediator who also happened to be a Māori woman. I was so mesmerised by what she was saying and I knew immediately that this was a field I wanted to practice in when the time was right.  My understanding (happy to be corrected) is that ADR was a post graduate qualification following the completion of a law degree but that qualification has been discontinued at the university that I studied at.In terms of pros and cons, one of the challenges of mediation/facilitation is that doesn’t create case law and, yes, I used to run home from the law library to get my weekly fix of Boston Legal.

 
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