MU Certificate in Dispute Resolution

Clients and society today need and expect much more than traditional advocacy from their lawyers. Modern lawyers need to be able to address legal problems in ways that accomodate a variety of needs, goals and values, in addition to vindicating legal rights. As a result, today's lawyer must have the knowledge, skills and perspectives not only to advocate in the courtroom, but to participate in such processes as client counseling, negotiation, mediation, arbitration and creative problem-solving.

The MU Certificate of Dispute Resolution is designed to foster such learning in students by providing the opportunity to work with some of the nation's leading dispute resolution scholars and practitioners. The MU School of Law program is nationally ranked and has a significant number of full-time faculty specializing in dispute resolution.

This certificate program will give students an advantage in addressing the complex challenges of today's legal environment.

To receive a Certificate in Dispute Resolution from the MU School of Law, a J.D. student must take at least 10-11 credit hours of dispute resolution courses approved by the Law School. Eight of those credit hours are required core program courses and provide students with a basic understanding of the theory, skills and practice of dispute resolution. Students must take at least 2-3 additional elective hours from among the courses approved for the Certificate program.

Core Courses (8 Credit Hours)

Lawyering: Problem Solving and Dispute Resolution 5095 (2)
Conflict & Conflict Management 5450 (3)

One of the following skills courses:
Arbitration 5350 (3)
Mediation 5765 (3)
Negotiation 5810 (3)

Elective Course (2 or 3 credit hours taken from the following courses)

Arbitration (not if taken as a core course) 5350 (3)
Arbitration & Labor Problems 5355 (3)
Client Interviewing & Counseling 5420 (2)
Comparative Dispute Resolution (SA) 6710 (2)
Criminal Litigation Skills 5480 (3)
Cross-Cultural Dispute Resolution 5485 (2)
Emotional Intelligence in Law 5537 (3)
Family Law Dispute Resolution 5577 (3)
Independent Research (on DR topic) 5875 (3)
International Commercial Arbitration 5652 (3)
International Dispute Resolution 5655 (3)
Journal of Dispute Resolution 5680 (1-3)
Mediation (not if taken as a core course) 5765 (3)
Mediation Clinic 5770 (1-2)
Negotiation (not if taken as a core course) 5810 (3)
Public Policy Dispute Resolution 5840 (3)
Transnational Litigation 5923 (3)
*Group Dynamics & Conflict Resolution PA 8610 (3)
*Organizational Analysis & Change PA 8620 (3)
*Organizational Dynamics & Leadership PA 8160 (3)

* Only three (3) hours of Non-Law courses may be counted toward the 89 hrs required for the JD degree. And a copy of MU transcript will need to be provided for proof of completion for these non-law courses.