This 12-hour course covers the fundamentals of amicably settling disputes (including by mediation) in domestic and international commercial fora. It will mainly explain the process followed by a neutral but will also detail the elements of effective client advocacy by counsel. It will also explore amicable settlement and mediation in the context of adversarial international dispute settlement with a focus on international arbitration. 

Participants are expected to attend all sessions, complete assigned readings, and prepare in-class exercises as they will significantly impact the quality of class discussions and the peer-to-peer learning experience. 

In-class teaching will involve the frequent review and discussion of movie clips and therefore active participation will be key and graded. Most sessions will also include exercises or simulations that will maximize experiential learning. Exercises and simulations will be followed by instructor-led debriefs to emphasize key issues and lessons learned.

In the past, a fourth session was dedicated to a one-day visit to the District of Columbia’s Superior Court to observe a real mediation in person. This year we will attempt to replicate this experience with a “play by play” analysis of a simulated mediation.