Collection of Negotiation, Mediation, Arbitration, and Client Counseling Simulations
Marjorie Corman Aaron
This collection encompasses an array of simulations written by Marjorie Corman Aaron since 1998. They were written for teaching at the University of Cincinnati College of Law and for various CLE programs and client workshops in negotiation, mediation, client counseling and even arbitration. Those created for client workshops were written to reflect clients’ negotiation or mediation challenges and, often, their professional contexts.
Most of these simulations were drawn from or inspired by real cases she mediated, and others from interviews with professional clients regarding their legal dispute or business transactions. Nevertheless, Aaron has been committed to the idea that a simulation’s teaching purpose matters more than hewing to the real facts or characters. Thus, if she wanted a mediation simulation to teach participants ways to deal with a difficult party or lawyer, hard-to-find backstories, unexpected interests, or ethical conflicts, she wrote them into the plot line. Aaron also exercised a free hand in taking what were real mediations and creating a negotiation or client counseling version, and vice versa. In fact, you’ll see that this collection includes several disputes and deals that emanate from a central plot idea, spun into different forms and stages.
Please note Aaron wrote each simulation’s teaching note as if she were speaking to a colleague asking for suggestions on teaching with it. For simulations recently expanded into multi-phased versions or converted from mediation to negotiation formats, or vice versa, the teaching notes are more accurately described as educated musings or intentions. Also, the estimated run times in the teaching notes should be viewed as reasonably elastic, depending on your pedagogical goals and classroom or workshop agenda constraints.
Lastly, please note that several negotiation videos, almost always produced in collaboration with Dwight Golann, Professor Emeritus of Suffolk University Law School, were based on simulations in this collection. Where this is true, links to the videos are included in the teaching notes or simulation folder. Some of these simulations, videos, and other teaching or reference materials can also be found at Clientsciencecourse.com or Riskandrigor.com.
Marjorie Corman Aaron asked that we include this message from her:
I am deeply grateful to the Dispute Resolution Institute at Mitchell-Hamline for providing a home for this collection. This has provided me the great privilege and pleasure of offering my work to educators, students, and professionals for teaching and learning best practices and experiencing them in simulated practice.
Arbitration
Client Counseling
Hapless Harvest – Client Counseling
Heartaches – Interviewing and Counseling
Tea Troubles – Client Counseling
To Leave or Not to Leave Design Display
Mediation
Bio-Con v. Microtex – Mediation and Arbitration
Negotiation
Bio-Con v. Microtex – Negotiation and Arbitration