The place of ADR in our law schools: the Canterbury Christ Church University experience By Dr Leonardo Raznovich Department of Law & Criminal Justice Studies Canterbury Christ Church University

An Outline of the Presentation - A brief outline of legal education approach at CCCU - Deficiencies of the academic stage of legal training - Some suggestions to overcome these deficiencies - Concluding remarks

Designing the Curriculum CCCU has designed a new and innovative curriculum using a combination of: socio-legal approach – law curriculum in general - eg TDR clinical legal education – Mediation clinic where theory meets practice ADR - Observation of ‘live’ mediations & simulated role play exercises Students’ benefits – enhanced employability and facilitates the acquisition of knowledge and understanding: personal and interpersonal skills autonomy and independence of thought decision making skills

Deficiencies with the traditional approach: isolation of law from society Curricular ‘Thinking like a lawyer’ Mystification of law and the legal process. Overlooking the social context Methodological Acceptance of one right answer theory Ignores that normative coherence is not enough Perpetuates alienation of law from society

Dealing with these deficiencies: micro/macro/practical legal thinking Curricular – micro/macro socio-legal approach Methodological - practical Clinical work: theory meets practice

The Mediation Clinic Experience According to the Higher Education UK Centre for Legal Education (UKCLE) the broad aims of ‘live’ clinics are: to enhance the students' learning experience and understanding of the substantive law, legal process, ethics and the role of law in society to produce students that can take the learning experience offered by live client clinics and reflect upon how and why cases were progressed and how this fits into the overall context of their legal studies to empower the students to become pro-active in the process of learning to provide formative assessment methods which are in themselves a strategic and integral part of the learning experience

Practice of Dispute Resolution: case studies Case study 1 Sport Commitment Case study 2 Dyslexia Case study 3 Reality Bites

Learning Through Reflection Reflective learning is key to higher education Reflective practice is a key component for successful experiential learning The effective dimension to learning includes emotions and also a deeper, non-rational understanding of the situation Reflective practice, including ADR, brings about space for ethical considerations “people learn from experience through a direct encounter with life that involves total immersion with all its attendant sensations and feelings” Kolb (1984)