Dispute Resolution
Summer Institute

Summer 2022 Institute

Online courses

• Justice and Dispute Resolution | May 22-July 2, 2022
  2 – 3 law school credits (3-credit includes long paper option)
  Qualifies for 24 MN Rule 114 continuing education credits

  Faculty:  Joseph “Josh” Stulberg, Co-Director, Divided Community Project;  Emeritus Moritz Chair in Alternative Dispute Resolution, Ohio State University

  Conflicts are inescapable, be they commercial, employment, familial or interpersonal. In some roles, we find ourselves helping others resolve disputes as their negotiating representative, as a mediator, or as an arbitrator; in other roles, our responsibility is to design an organizational process or program that serves as the forum for resolving disputes. Whichever “private system of justice” we design or use, its desirability and enforceability is always compared with and linked to the “public justice system.” Chief Justice Warren Burger, at the 1976 Pound Conference, famously encouraged judges, lawyers and business leaders to embrace the robust use of ADR processes in order to help all citizens secure access to justice systems and to achieve justice. More than 50 years later, that call, for some persons, remains urgent and desirable; for others, it abandons the fundamental norms and protections of our constitutional order. This course, through discussion, exercises, and simulations, examines the structural values that shape private (ADR) and public dispute resolution processes, the professional values that govern participant conduct within them, and the policy goals that influence process implementation.

• Organizational Conflict Management | July 3 – August 13, 2022
  2 law school credits
  Qualifies for 24 MN Rule 114 continuing education credit
  Faculty: Aimee Gourlay, Executive Director, Mediation Center

  This course explores the nature and sources of systemic and organizational conflict and provides students with an opportunity to develop practical skills to prevent destructive conflict before it occurs and manage inevitable conflicts which arise in organizations. This course will utilize a range of modalities including case studies, discussions and research projects to illustrate key organizational conflict concepts. Students will learn how to analyze conflicts and help organizations create productive outcomes.

• Arbitration | May 21-26, 2022
  2 law school credits (3-credit long paper option available to MHSL JD students)
  May 21 (8:30 am–5:00 pm) and May 23, 24, 25, 26 (4:30-9:30 pm)
  Qualifies for 24 CLE credits; MN Rule 114 certification standard for civil adjudicative/evaluative neutrals applied for

  Faculty: Henry Blair, FCIArb., Robins Kaplan Distinguished Professor of Law, Mitchell Hamline School of Law

  This foundation course covers the salient points of U.S. arbitration law as it relates to domestic and international matters. The course curriculum begins with an introduction to the basic legal concepts that make up arbitration law and to the institutions that are central to arbitration practice. Consideration of the Federal Arbitration Act follows, along with a systematic treatment of the role of contract in arbitration and the function of subject matter inarbitrability. Problems relating to the enforcement of arbitral awards, the role of the arbitrator (focusing on the arbitrator’s functions, duties, and responsibilities), and other practice issues are examined. The basic facets of international commercial arbitration also are introduced. Through lectures, demonstrations, discussions, and simulations, this interactive curriculum is designed to foster effective use of contemporary arbitral processes.

• Family Mediation | June 4-9, 2022
  3 law school credits
  June 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, (9:00 am–5:00 pm)
  Qualifies for 36 CLE credits; MN Rule 114 certification standards for family mediation facilitative neutrals applied for

  Faculty: Aimee Gourlay, Executive Director, Mediation Center and Susan Mainzer, Dispute Resolution Consultant

  This is a challenging, high-energy course in basic divorce mediation skills and practice development. Along with the basic content areas of divorce settlement—property division, parenting, child and spousal support, divorce tax issues—the course also addresses the role of consultants and lawyers, conflict theory, psychological issues, power balancing, domestic abuse, drafting agreements, and mediation ethics. Although designed with the law student and family lawyer in mind, the course also is an ideal training and specialization opportunity for therapists and other social service professionals. This course emphasizes experiential learning with the opportunity for individual feedback from experienced coaches.

• Challenging Conversations | June 4-5, 2022
  1 law school credit
  June 4-5 (9:00 am–5:00 pm)
  Qualifies for 12 CLE credits; Qualifies for 12 MN Rule 114 continuing education credit

  Faculty: Michael Tsur, Founder and Director, Shakla and Tariya, Israel; Senior Fellow, Dispute Resolution Institute, Mitchell Hamline School of Law; Member of the Israeli Defense Force Hostage Negotiation Unit

  This course challenges students to master key communication and conflict processing skills. Negotiating when we are personally and emotionally involved is one of our greatest challenges. But is it possible not to be involved? Can we check our feelings at the door? Communication skills, like handling challenging conversations, allow negotiation to happen, and help us get back on track when things get stuck. The course methodology is based on the book, Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most, authored by Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton, and Sheila Heen from the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School. The course will focus on two skills dimensions: internal skills—the ability to work with your thoughts and feelings before and during a conversation; and external skills—the things we need to say and do in a conversation to help it go better. Mastering these skills offers the possibility of negotiation success even when your negotiating partners do not share your aspiration to collaborate. The course is constructed as an intensive workshop, including group discussions, simulations, and challenging conversations set in a wide variety of contexts.

• Decision Making in a Chaotic Reality | June 6-11, 2022
  2 law school credits
  June 6, 7, 8, 9,  (4:30-9:30 pm) and June 11 (8:30 am-5:00 pm)
  Qualifies for 24 CLE credits; Qualifies for 24 MN Rule 114 continuing education credits

  Faculty: Michael Tsur, Founder and Director, Shakla and Tariya, Israel; Senior Fellow, Dispute Resolution Institute, Mitchell Hamline School of Law; Member of the Israeli Defense Force Hostage Negotiation Unit

  Professionals in today’s chaotic world must develop the skills necessary to handle those inevitable situations in which external events intrude upon, and interfere with, the professionals’ abilities to make clear and appropriate decisions. These situations of uncertainty can easily deteriorate into crises. If not handled correctly, they also can cause irreversible damage to relationships. In order to be effective in such situations, conflict professionals must possess the capacity to collect, assess and adapt new and changing information. They must also develop their creative capacities and vision to take into account and address the consequences for the future (“the day after”). Using the most contemporary tools and methodologies for creative problem solving, students will develop the skills needed for making good decisions in a chaotic reality.

• Mediation (Synchronous-Online) | June 12-29, 2022
  3 law school credits
  June 12 (1:30-5:00 pm) and June 14, 15 (4:30-9:00 pm) and June 16, 21, 22, 23, 28, 29 (4:30-8:00 pm) and June 25 (9:00 am-4:30 pm)
  Qualifies for 36 CLE credits; MN Rule 114 certification standards for civil facilitative/hybrid neutrals applied for

  Faculty: Alyson Carrel, Clinical Assistant Professor and Co-Director, Center on Negotiation and Mediation, Northwestern University School of Law

  Through discussion, simulations, and roleplay, this course focuses on the structure and goals of the mediation process and on the skills and techniques mediators use to aid parties in overcoming barriers to dispute resolution. The course also examines the underlying negotiation orientations and strategies that mediators may confront and employ; the roles of attorneys and clients; dealing with difficult people and power imbalances; cultural, race, and social identity considerations; and ethical issues for lawyers and mediators. In addition, special attention is devoted to the art of successful representation of clients in mediation.

• ODR: Dispute Resolution in the Digital Age | June 18-23, 2022
  2 law school credits
  June 18 (8:30 am-5:00 pm) and June 20, 21, 22, 23, (4:30-9:30 pm)
  Qualifies for 24 CLE credits; Qualifies for 24 MN Rule 114 continuing education credit

  Faculty: Amy Schmitz, John Deaver Drinko-Baker & Hostetler Chair in Law, Michael E. Moritz College of Law, The Ohio State University

  This course explores how the Internet can assist dispute resolution as an augmentation to, and, in some cases, replacement of traditional face-to-face dispute resolution processes. We will discuss opportunities for integrating the Internet into comprehensive dispute resolution system design and how courts, agencies, corporations, organizations, and individuals may use the Internet for dispute prevention and resolution. Course participants will consider the extent to which the Internet is not only an extension of traditional dispute resolution, but also a frontier ripe with unique qualities and opportunities for reimagining access to remedies, and justice. We will consider ethical issues, including the tensions in using technology in dispute prevention and resolution, and what the future may hold. The course will include simulated online negotiation, mediation, and/or arbitration exercises, using technology currently available. Furthermore, the class will discuss development of best practices and question policy directions.

  Note: There is a $25 student fee accessed for course materials.  No other book is required.

• Theories of Conflict | July 9-14, 2022
  2 law school credits
  July 9 (8:30 am-5:00 pm) and July 11, 12, 13, 14 (4:30-9:30 pm)
  Qualifies for 24 CLE credits; Qualifies for 24 MN Rule 114 continuing education credit

  Faculty:  Ken Fox, Professor, Hamline University School of Business; Senior Fellow, Dispute Resolution Institute, Mitchell Hamline School of Law 

  This interdisciplinary course introduces students to important theoretical perspectives on our understanding of conflict and conflict response. Specifically, students explore the biological/physiological, psychodynamic, social psychological, communication, and sociological/political perspectives on conflict by reading and discussing major theoretical works within each perspective. Emphasis is on comparing and distinguishing key dimensions of these theories, such as the nature and sources of conflict, conflict escalation, conflict response, and the nature of the third party role. Classes follow an interactive format. Using case studies, exercises, and group discussion to draw upon personal experiences, including those involving race and social identity, the course explores the usefulness of each perspective to understand the experience of conflict.

  Note: There is a $100 student fee assessed for course materials.  No other book is required.

• Negotiation | July 16-23, 2022
  3 law school credits
  July 16-17 and 23 (9:00 am-5:00 pm) and July 18, 19, 20, 21 (5:00-9:30 pm)
  Qualifies for 36 CLE credits; Qualifies for 36 MN Rule 114 continuing education credit

  Faculty: Timothy Hedeen, Professor of Conflict Management, Kennesaw State University

  This course examines the skills, constraints, and dynamics of the negotiation process. A theoretical framework for understanding negotiation practice in a variety of contexts will be developed through readings, highly interactive exercises, and role-plays. The course addresses fundamental skills such as systematic preparation, management of the negotiation process, and identification of optimal agreements. Ethical constraints of negotiation also are considered. Course content is drawn from the fields of law, psychology, business, and communication.

• Dispute Systems Design (In-Person & Synchronous) | July 30-August 3, 2022
  2 law school credits
  In-person: July 30 & 31 (9:00 am-4:30 pm) and August 1 (5:00-9:30 pm)
  Synchronous online: August 2, 3 (5:00-9:30 pm)
  Qualifies for 24 CLE credits; Qualifies for 24 MN Rule 114 certification standards for civil facilitative/hybrid neutrals

  Faculty: Heather Scheiwe Kulp, Circuit Court Administrator for the New Hampshire Judicial Branch

  Each of you operates in hundreds of dispute management systems every year, far beyond litigation, mediation, or arbitration. You engage in complaint systems at work, conflict management within a family, and discourse about community projects. Thinking critically about both legal and non-legal dispute systems, their components, and how they may be improved is the focus of this course. This practice is called “dispute systems design,” and is a critical skill set for lawyers, leaders, and changemakers.  Together, we will analyze at least five distinct dispute systems from a variety of contexts and disciplines, using evidence-based theories about systems, conflict, and design. Through readings, practical exercises, case studies, and discussions, we will assess how the systems were designed and whether they were designed effectively. We will examine design principles including: procedural fairness; stakeholder identification, communication, and assessment; clear and well-articulated purpose(s); checks and balances; and feedback loops. At the conclusion of the course, students will have the opportunity to propose changes to a real-life dispute system of their choosing.

Course Requirements

Students must attend all class sessions and complete an advance reading assignment. Degree-seeking students must submit a written paper. Students may take one or more courses. Mitchell Hamline law students may take either the Mediation or Family Mediation course but may not take both for academic credit. Enrollment is limited to enhance the interactive nature of each course.

Course Materials

Syllabi for all courses will be made available 2 weeks prior to the first day of class.

Registration

Certificate Students: Complete the online application.

Law and Graduate Students: Degree-seeking law or graduate students currently enrolled in an accredited graduate program should complete the online application form. A letter from their school’s registrar reflecting the applicant’s status as a student in good standing with permission to take the Mitchell Hamline course(s) as a visiting student will need to be uploaded. Note: Hamline MSL students do not need a letter of good standing from the registrar.

Attorneys: Attorneys may apply for summer courses by completing the online application form. Attorneys will be granted special student status.

Others: Other professionals may apply to take summer courses by completing the online application form. To be considered, applicants must furnish a transcript indicating completion of an undergraduate or graduate degree.

Tuition

Audit: $650/credit.  Exception: For the courses that qualify for MN Supreme Court Rule 114 Certification which are offered at a flat rate as follows:

• Arbitration: $800
• Mediation and Family Mediation: $1,200

Certificate students: $930/credit

Full tuition due 1 week prior to the start of the course.

• For further information on tuition costs, contact Kitty Atkins | 651.695.7677 | kitty.atkins@mitchellhamline.edu
  

  Housing

  Information regarding housing is available upon request.  Check the appropriate box on the application form to receive this information.

  Questions

  Contact kitty.atkins@mitchellhamline.edu | 651.695.7677