ADR Consortium Program

John Woods, Adjunct Professor

Who can apply? Rising 2Ls and 3Ls

Application Process: Year-Long: Apply through the clinic application process during spring semester; Summer: Contact Professor John Woods to apply.

Placement Process: Students are placed through the program.
Pre- or Co-Requisite Course: ADR Survey Course
Is the program year-long or semester-long? Year-long
How many credits? 8 upon completion of full year; Summer: 6 credits

What is ADR?: Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) is the use of processes such as negotiation, mediation, or arbitration to resolve disputes instead of litigation.

Areas of Law: Employment Law, Civil Rights Law, Human Rights Law, Administrative Law, Business Law, and International Trade.

Program Overview:
The mission of ADRC is to provide program participants with experiential education in the administration and application of ADR processes (i.e., negotiation, mediation, and arbitration) in government and industry.

ADRC consists of both a classroom and experiential component.

Classroom Component: ADRC includes a weekly seminar where students study the choices available to lawyers concerning the resolution of disputes. Through the use of simulated exercises, the classroom component will give students an opportunity to learn how to represent clients in dispute resolution processes other than litigation. Students will also learn the skills necessary to function as an effective third-party in various disputes. ADR processes that will be examined during this course include, but are not limited to, negotiation, mediation, and arbitration.
Experiential Component: Program participants will gain practical experience in targeted ADR processes at partner organizations through work assignments and observations. Program participants will be placed and required to work on-site twelve (12) hours per week in both the Fall and the Spring semesters at a partner organization. Over the summer, students work 35 hours per week.

The objective of ADRC, in part, is to provide participating students with: (1) ADR skills development; (2) training to become problem solvers; (3) in-depth analysis of dispute resolution systems and processes; and (4) hands-on practical experience that bridges theory and practice.