The role of ADR in developing lawyers' practice: lessons from Australian legal education

Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) in legal education is an important area of study to ready law students for the rising use of ADR in justice systems around the world. In spite of the move towards ADR in legal practice, law schools internationally continue to debate the merits of including this area of study as a mandatory course in the legal curriculum. In Australia there have been increasing calls for the review of ADR in the legal curriculum and many lobby for the mandatory inclusion of ADR. However, if ADR is made a mandatory part of legal education in Australia it will be important that the way ADR is included ensures that students will experience the full benefits of studying this disciplinary area. The article outlines some of the benefits and challenges of including ADR in the legal curriculum. It draws on qualitative research with ADR teachers in law schools in Australia that analysed the most valuable approaches to including ADR in the legal curriculum. Analysis of the data gathered from twenty-nine ADR teachers shows the importance of skills based and experiential learning in ADR methods, the complexity of the issue of where to place the study of ADR, the difficulties of finding staff with sufficient expertise to teach in this area and the challenges of gaining support for typically costly teaching methods in the current environment of reducing funding for higher education.