Dispute Resolution at Penn State’s Dickinson School of Law

Penn State Dickinson School of Law offers students a range of courses to prepare them to be effective advocates and counselors. With the growing complexity of commercial transactions and an ever-increasing variety of procedural contexts in which to resolve disputes, it is no longer sufficient for the modern lawyer to be familiar with traditional judicial procedures alone. Today, advocates must be able to counsel and represent their clients in negotiation, mediation, administrative adjudication and rule-making, arbitration, and the traditional courtroom atmosphere. Penn State Dickinson provides a full spectrum of courses to educate and train students in dispute resolution, along with special opportunities for those who wish to explore this area more deeply.

Certificate in Dispute Resolution and Advocacy

Interested students can focus their studies and hone their skills in dispute resolution through Penn State Dickinson’s Certificate in Dispute Resolution and Advocacy. Earning the certificate requires students take a series of core courses, demonstrate their proficiency, and complete a capstone course. In addition, certificate students benefit from individualized consultation with the certificate’s faculty advisor, Professor Nancy Welsh, as well as participation in a special dispute resolution colloquium that focuses on current developments and includes guest speakers.

Faculty

Our core faculty features Professor Tom Carbonneau, a well-known authority in international and domestic arbitration; Professor Gary Gildin, one of the nation’s leading teachers of advocacy skills; Professor Catherine Rogers, an expert on international arbitration and an associate reporter for the American Law Institute’s Restatement on International Commercial Arbitration; and Professor Nancy Welsh, a leading scholar in court-connected mediation and procedural justice.

Other members of Penn State Dickinson’s faculty who teach and publish on various aspects of dispute resolution include: Professor Katrice Bridges (Federal Courts), Professor Jamison Colburn (Administrative Law), Professor Les MacRae (Administrative Law), Professor Michael Mogill (Remedies), Professor Tom Place (Post-Conviction Process), Professor Sam Thompson (Business Planning for Mergers and Acquisitions), Professor Grace D’Alo (Client Counseling), Judge Kevin Hess (Pennsylvania Practice), Professor Stephanie Jirard (Advocacy I and II), and Professor Melinda Joyce (Advanced Pretrial Advocacy).

Dispute Resolution Courses

Penn State Dickinson students can choose from the following core dispute resolution courses: Negotiation; Advocacy I; Advocacy II; Mediation; Client Counseling; Arbitration in the United States; International Litigation and Arbitration; and Conflict Resolution Theory Seminar. Some of these courses focus on the study of relevant legal and ethical issues, as well as theoretic and social scientific concepts that inform dispute resolution models. Other courses are designed to be more hands-on to allow students to develop and practice their skills. Still other courses combine both experiential and substantive learning. In Penn State Dickinson's in-house and field-placement clinics, as well as placements provided through the Miller Center for Public Advocacy, students can use their skills and substantive knowledge to represent real clients, facing real issues.

Other dispute resolution-related courses include: Administrative Law, Advanced Pretrial Advocacy, Appellate Practice, Business Planning for Mergers and Acquisitions, Civil Liberties Litigation, Federal Courts, Pennsylvania Criminal Law Practice, Pennsylvania Practice, Post-Conviction Process, and Remedies.

Dispute Resolution Competitions

Penn State Dickinson students also may participate in dispute resolution competitions. The Penn State Institute of Arbitration Law and Practice, directed by Professor Carbonneau, sponsors student participation in an annual moot court competition, the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot in Vienna, Austria. There are also a variety of other appellate and trial moot court teams available to students. Penn State Dickinson students also have competed in the Mediation Representation Competition sponsored by the American Bar Association's Section of Dispute Resolution.

Scholarship and Other Activities

Qualified students who are interested in scholarly opportunities in dispute resolution may enjoy a challenging editorial experience as part of The Yearbook on Arbitration and Mediation. The Yearbook on Arbitration and Mediation, which is under the editorial leadership of Professor Carbonneau, covers domestic and international developments in arbitration, mediation and other dispute resolution processes. It publishes scholarly and professional articles, thorough summaries of leading cases, bibliographic and other documents, and a calendar of events. Student members of the Penn State Law Review and the Penn State Environmental Law Review also have edited symposia issues on dispute resolution topics (“Resolving Disputes Arising Out of the Changing Face of Agriculture: Challenges Presented by Law, Science, and Public Perceptions,” “Dispute Resolution and Capitulation to the Routine”). In 2008-2009, the Penn State Law Review will host a symposium focusing on “The Civilization of Arbitration.”

The Alternative Dispute Resolution Society is a student group devoted to dispute resolution. The organization sponsors speakers and publishes an annual newsletter, Beyond Litigation, that addresses current dispute resolution topics. In 2007-2008, the ADR Society hosted a panel of lawyers currently serving as mediators for the Mediation Program of the Federal District Court of the Middle District of Pennsylvania. Previous speakers have included: Julie Macfarlane, professor of law at the University of Windsor, Canada; Donna Stienstra, senior researcher at the Federal Judicial Center; and Jeffrey Senger, acting director of the Office of Dispute Resolution of the U.S. Department of Justice. In 2005, the Section of Dispute Resolution of the American Bar Association recognized Penn State Dickinson's ADR Society as the best student chapter in the nation. Professors Welsh and Rogers serve as faculty advisors.

Penn State Dickinson also collaborates with the Section of Dispute Resolution of the American Bar Association in sponsoring and administering the annual James Boskey Essay Competition for law students. The purpose of the competition is to promote greater interest in and understanding of the field of dispute resolution and collaborative decision-making among students enrolled in ABA-accredited law schools and graduate programs in the United States and abroad. Winners of the first prize receive $1,000 and an invitation to publish in The Yearbook on Arbitration and Mediation. Their essays are also posted online at the Section of Dispute Resolution's Web site.