A new program will be added to MSU-Detroit College of Law's repertoire.
The Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Program will begin next fall. The program will teach students how to manage conflict better and provide courses in negotiation, mediation and arbitration, Professor Mary Bedikian said.
"Any process that is other than litigation can be captured by that acronym ADR," Bedikian said.
These courses won't be new to DCL but instead they will be under an umbrella allowing students to obtain a masters degree in law in this specific area, she said. The program also formalizes what the college calls "resolving conflict," Bedikian said.
"It's a fact of life students need to know how to manage conflict better," Bedikian said. "But there is an entire body of empirical data that has been pulled together to show that some processes work better than others."
Bedikian will head the new program. She comes to the college from the American Arbitration Association, where she served as district vice president for more than 28 years.
Bedikian is not teaching yet, but she said she is busy getting the program on its feet.
"My game plan for the summer months is to develop the curriculum," she said, adding external programs also need to be created to improve lawyers negotiation skills who are already practicing.
Bedikian said she is also hoping to set up a symposium of speakers for the program.
DCL will have one of the few formal ADR programs in the country, Bedikian said. She said the closest law school with a program is Hamline University School of Law in St. Paul, Minn.
"It's not revolutionary, but it is certainly going to be new for the law school, and because so many lawyers are employing those skills, I think it will be a great skill for DCL students to gain," Bedikian said.
Associate Dean and Professor Michael Lawrence said this skill will be even more valuable to DCL students because the Michigan Supreme Court mandated courts must start in mediation before the case begins.
He said the school will be trying to provide weekend workshops for professionals practicing in such areas as Grand Rapids and Saginaw.
"This program really fits well with MSU's mission and outreach that we can provide a resource of one stop shopping," Lawrence said. "We are really trying to reach out."
