Pracademically Speaking: Incorporating Real-World Legal Practice into the Dispute Resolution Curriculum

Bridging the gap between traditional dispute resolution pedagogy and the realities of practice has been a major point of discussion within the legal academy for some time. Professors want to equip students with the dispute resolution knowledge and skills that will allow them to thrive as attorneys. At the same time, the dynamics and time constraints within traditional dispute resolution courses can create many obstacles to doing so. In this article, Professors Berman and Peterson provide tangible recommendations for designing dispute resolution courses that maximize practice-readiness. They address options for course structure, class format, skills building, and various methodologies professors can consider in courses that cover negotiation or mediation. By thinking outside the box and adapting to the realities of practice, professors can ensure that their students are prepared to handle the myriad and growing circumstances in which attorneys must employ a range of dispute resolution knowledge and skills.