Conflicts are inescapable, be they commercial, employment, familial or interpersonal. In some roles, we find ourselves helping others resolve disputes as their negotiating representative, as a mediator, or as an arbitrator; in other roles, our responsibility is to design an organizational process or program that serves as the forum for resolving disputes. Whichever “private system of justice” we design or use, its desirability and enforceability is always compared with and linked to the “public justice system.” Chief Justice Warren Burger, at the 1976 Pound Conference, famously encouraged judges, lawyers and business leaders to embrace the robust use of ADR processes in order to help all citizens secure access to justice systems and to achieve justice. More than 50 years later, that call, for some persons, remains urgent and desirable; for others, it abandons the fundamental norms and protections of our constitutional order. This course, through discussion, exercises, and simulations, examines the structural values that shape private (ADR) and public dispute resolution processes, the professional values that govern participant conduct within them, and the policy goals that influence process implementation. Grading: Letter-graded Credits: Variable Offered: Irregularly
