Alternative Dispute Resolution
Loyola is committed to educating its students in the growing field of alternative dispute resolution. Courses in ADR are taught by attorneys known regionally, nationally, and internationally for their work in arbitration, negotiation, and mediation. Additionally, students are given the opportunity to put the skills they acquire into practice by participating in national and international ADR competitions.
Upcoming Event: Special Conference
E-Discovery Disputes and ADR: What are the Alternatives?
Friday, October 7, 2011
9:00 a.m. - 12 p.m.
History of Alternative Dispute Resolution at Loyola
Loyola University Chicago School of Law was one of the first law schools in the nation to offer a course on alternative dispute resolution. In the early 1980s, the late John ("Jack") Cooley, a former federal magistrate, long time mediator and arbitrator, and prolific author on ADR topics, and Richard A. Salem, who mediated such disputes as the Nazi-Skokie conflict in Chicago, the Kent State war protest and the Wounded Knee incident, started teaching an ADR overview course. Since that time Loyola has greatly expanded its offerings through a variety of classes, seminars, student competitions and the student ADR society.
Most recently, Loyola launched a new initiative to broaden its curricular offerings by hiring Teresa F. Frisbie, an experienced mediator and arbitrator and former adjunct law professor, to be the director of the new Dispute Resolution Program, part of the Dan K. Webb Center for Advocacy. The mission of the Dispute Resolution Program is to train highly skilled and versatile advocates who are as adept at analyzing party interests and crafting creative solutions in a mediation or settlement negotiation as they are at cross-examining a witness at a trial.
Another important development is our new LLM program in Trial Advocacy, Appellate Advocacy and Alternative Dispute Resolution designed to provide graduate law students with the advocacy skills to excel in any setting. The program, launched in the 2010-2011 academic year, allows students to learn from distinguished academics as well as experienced attorneys, judges, mediators and arbitrators.
Loyola continues to be a favorite venue for hosting ADR events because of the wonderful meeting spaces at the law school. In March of 2010, Loyola hosted the International Association of Dispute Resolution (INADR) international mediation competition, with teams coming from as far away as India and Australia. In the spring of 2011, Loyola will again host the INADR competition as a regional competition, with the finals taking place in London. Loyola also hosts the annual Loyola Pre-Moot for the Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot competition, a regional competition that takes place each spring a few weeks before the Vis competitions in Vienna and Hong Kong. In recent years, approximately 125 students and volunteer arbitrators, including practitioners from some of Chicago’s largest law firms, have participated in the event. Loyola also hosts seminars and symposia related to dispute resolution. In the 2010-11 school year Loyola is hosting a seminar on Collaborative Law and presenting George Bermann, a Columbia law professor, speaking on the ALI Restatement of U.S. Law on International Arbitration at the Wing Tat Lee Lecture.
Loyola students also participate and place well in ADR student competitions, which are coached by experienced and enthusiastic Loyola faculty, such as the ABA Negotiations Team, coached by Adjunct Professor Ethan Zelizer, and the Vis Moot team, coached by Professor Margaret Moses.
Loyola’s commitment to graduating advocates who are skilled in dispute resolution is also demonstrated by the caliber and number of classes devoted specifically to ADR, ranging from Collaborative Law to Transnational Dispute Resolution, and by the requirement that students who wish to obtain the Advocacy Certificate must also study dispute resolution. As with the LLM program, because the law school is located in Chicago, an outstanding group of attorneys, mediators, and arbitrators are able to add their passion, knowledge and experience to the program. In addition, many recent alumni remain very involved in the vibrant Loyola ADR community, coming back frequently in the evenings and on weekends to volunteer at Loyola ADR events or to assist students practicing for ADR student competitions.
Why Take Dispute Resolution Classes in Law School?
Alternative Dispute Resolution Courses
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Vis Moot
Each year, Loyola competes in the Willem C. Vis International Moot Arbitration Competition. Sponsored by Pace Law School, the Vis Moot is an international competition based on a problem governed by the U.N. Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG). Loyola sends students to compete in both the Vis Moot, which is held in Vienna, Austria, and in its sister competition, the Vis Moot (East), held in Hong Kong. Loyola has an impressive record of success at both competitions.
Students who wish to compete in either of the competitions on behalf of Loyola must register for the International Commercial Arbitration and the CISG course. More information about the Vis Moot is on the Pace Law School Web Site: www.cisg.law.pace.edu/vis.html.
Vis Mini-Moot
Loyola has moved into the the forefront of Chicago law schools preparing students for the international legal environment by hosting an annual Vis Mini-Moot, which is co-sponsored by the Chicago International Dispute Resolution Association (CIDRA), and the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. The Mini-Moot serves as a practice moot for student teams going to the Vis International Moot Arbitration Competition in Vienna and Hong Kong. Students who participate in the Mini-Moot are predominantly from schools in the midwest, although teams from Canada and California have also participated. The arbitrators came from as far away as England, Toronto, and New York. The event is organized by Professor Margaret Moses.
ADR Student Competitions
Loyola participates in several other ADR competition programs as well, including the ABA Negotiation Competition, the National Mediation Association Competition, and the On-line Mediation Moot Court Competition. For these competitions, students compete within the school for positions on teams. Students who represent Loyola receive supervision and training by members of the faculty as well as the practicing bar, and they are eligible to receive academic credit for their participation. Loyola teams consistently excel at these competitions, winning numerous awards.
