New Model for Describing How Law Schools View ADR Courses

Michael Moffit, Professor and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at Oregon Law School, has published a new statistical analysis of the recent history of ADR within the legal academy. In addition, he suggests a compelling paradigm describing how law schools approach their ADR offerings.

Some law schools may become Islands of ADR—ones in which ADR is part of the school’s distinctiveness. Some law schools may ADR as Vitamins—requiring every student to take at least the recommended dosage. Some law schools may treat ADR as Salt—vital seasoning for many different offerings, but never consumed on its own. Finally, individual faculty members at some law schools may intentionally, but quietly, incorporate ADR as Germs into their courses.

The article will be published in the Ohio State Journal of Dispute Resolution and is available from SSRN. (Islands, Vitamins, Salt, Germs: Four Visions of the Future of Adr in Law Schools (and a Data-Driven Snapshot of the Field Today), via ADR Prof Blog.)