South Texas College of Law Houston (STCL Houston) is nationally renowned for the quality and high number of experiential learning opportunities students can participate in during their law school experience. One area of strong focus is alternative dispute resolution (ADR), under the umbrella of the Frank Evans Center for Conflict Resolution.
BY THE NUMBERS
- 1st: 3Ls Vikesh Patel and McKensie Wren won the regional ABA Negotiation Competition in November 2021.
- 15: STCL’s Dispute Resolution program was ranked 15th in the nation by U.S. News & World Report in its 2023 Best Graduate School rankings.
- 2,500: Our Inter-School Negotiation Practicum continues to grow. By the end of spring 2022, almost 2,500 students from 45 law schools will have participated. More info here: https://www.stcl.edu/academics/center-for-conflict-resolution/inter-school-negotiation-practicum/
- 8: number of ADR-related courses offered at STCL Houston, including a mediation clinic and a 40-hour basic mediation training open to students and attorneys
- 21: number of first-place national and international ADR competition wins in past 10 years
- 100: average number of students who receive their 40-hour mediation certificate annually
- $581,096: amount of monetary settlements from the 77 EEOC cases our students have mediated
- 18: number of teams that participated in the 7th Annual Energy Law Negotiation Competition in March 2022.
Read more here: https://www.stcl.edu/academics/center-for-conflict-resolution/energy-law-negotiation-competition/
EXPERIENTIAL OPPORTUNITIES IN DISPUTE RESOLUTION
STCL Houston Inter-School Negotiation Practicum: Prof. Berman created this fully centralized, month-long cross-school negotiation exercise that STCL Houston offers every October and March. To date, more than 2,000 students from 43 law schools have participated (including 50 students from STCL Houston negotiation classes and clinics each year). Students from STCL Houston are paired with students other law schools. The one-on-one settlement negotiation involves an actual pending lawsuit, and students have a month to reach an agreement. All participating students across the country are negotiating the same case. For more information, including a list of past participating schools, comments from students, and previous cases, see: https://www.stcl.edu/academics/center-for-conflict-resolution/inter-school-negotiation-practicum/
Cross-School Simulation for Students in the Mediation Clinic: Prof. Berman, through the Legal Education in Dispute Resolution (LEDR) Committee, now sponsors a cross-school virtual mediation simulation designed for students enrolled in mediation clinics. Each semester, students do a 2.5-hour virtual mediation with students from other law schools. Various professors observe and debrief in each Zoom room. To date, 72 students from 10 schools have participated.
Mediation Theory and Practice Class: Students in the Mediation Theory and Practice class spend 18 hours honing their advocacy skills during six 3-hour mediations of actual lawsuits involving personal injury, wrongful termination, breach of contract, consumer confusion, products liability and more. Students are provided with all relevant court documents, including complaints, motions, disclosures, excerpts from depositions, scheduling documents and more. On average, students review approximately 100 pages of court documents per mediation.
Mediation Practice Class (40-hour mediation training): Students in the Mediation Practice class spend five intensive days learning to mediate and advocate alongside practicing attorneys from across Texas.
