Why is ADR Important to Law Students?
Why is ADR Important to Law Students?
By Ana Kiknavelidze
Daily, there are hundreds of thousands of cases being heard in courts across the globe. As a result, when we think about the justice system, especially in Europe, we rarely question its accessibility. We assume that the systems in place are open and accessible to everyone. However, this was not always the case. The justice system has remained unreachable for the majority of people for many years. Things like your gender, race, or even financial resources could easily limit your ability to go to court and can be barriers to justice for many groups. For example, in ancient Athenian law, women lacked many of the legal rights given to their male counterparts. They were excluded from appearing before courts or participating in the assembly. In England, in order to be a juror you had to own land of a certain value, which excluded not only most women but also poor people from participating in the legal world. Not being wealthy meant that you were a step further away from the justice system.[1]
The problem of accessibility to justice however is still an issue. Legal barriers may often determine the quality of justice a person can be served. The financial burden of going to court is as high as ever with fees charged by lawyers, bailiffs, potentially missing work to appear in court, and so on.[2] According to a Legal Needs Survey conducted by The Hague Institute for the Innovation of Law, low-income households are more likely to experience legal problems like divorce and family conflict.[3] And many people avoid taking their claim to trial because of added legal fees and postponed compensations.[4]
This is where ADR comes in. The low-cost methods for dispute resolution outside of courtrooms are not widely known, but are gaining more and more attention. Alternative Dispute Resolution should be an area of focus to prepare law students for the increased use of ADR in justice systems around the globe. Lawyers should always look out for their client’s best interests, and in many instances, this means settling disputes outside of court. For example, in commercial disputes, it can be a cost-efficient way to preserve reputational damage or controversy. Additionally, including ADR in the curriculum would give students a better outlook on problems.[5] This is why ADR should be included in legal education.
Current curriculums for law students are highly theoretical. They focus more on knowing the law rather than dealing with it in a hands-on approach. ADR inclusion in the curriculum would solve this problem. Learning mediation and negotiation skills can help not only when dealing with cases, but also with clients. Internal disputes that arise at a workplace can be more crucial for one's career prospects than case-related obstacles. Having the ability to find a common goal and get people to work with you toward a solution can be a remarkably useful skill. Law-school graduates fresh out of university often say that they lack practical skills or never expected how “messy” the practice of law would be. Practical skills include everything from drafting a contract to handling a meeting.
It is clear that implementing ADR is not going to be a magic fix to all issues relating to legal education students are getting. However, it will undeniably be a big step in the right direction to providing law students with the tools needed to, not only be good lawyers for their clients, but for themselves, as well in their own careers.
[1] Dr K Crosby ‘How women finally got the right to jury service’ (2018) The British Academy <https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/blog/how-women-finally-got-right-jury-service/> accessed 20 March 2023.
[2] <https://www.government.nl/topics/administration-of-justice-and-dispute-settlement/costs-of-judicial-proceedings> accessed 19 March 2023.
[3] Dr Martin Gramatikov ‘Measuring Justice in Fiji: Experiences from the Pacific’ (2018) HiiL <https://www.hiil.org/news/measuring-justice-in-fiji-experiences-from-the-pacific/> accessed 20 March 2023.
[4] ‘4 Reasons Why Many People Avoid Taking Their Claim to Trial’ (2017) <http://www.chblawfirm.com/blog/4-reasons-why-many-people-avoid-taking-their-claim-to-trial/> accessed 22 March 2023.
[5] Nayoleeka Purty ‘the need for alternative dispute resolution (ADR) as a subject in law schools’ (2020) BIMACC <http://www.bimacc.org/the-need-for-alternate-dispute-resolution-adr-as-a-subject-in-law-schools/> accessed 17 March 2023.