The Mediation Solution

Two Business Law Professors at the University of San Diego just published a thoughtful article entitled The Mediation Solution, BizEd July / August 2013; AACSB International, pp. 58-59, which discusses mediation in the post-secondary educational system.  According to Professors Michelle O’Connor-Ratcliff and Richard E. Custin, the often beneficial role of mediation and other alternative dispute resolution mechanisms in business are unfortunately all but ignored by business law programs at universities across the United States.

Here is the abstract:

In his notes for a law lecture, no less a legal mind than Abraham Lincoln advised, “Discourage litigation. Persuade your neighbors to compromise whenever you can. Point out to them how the nominal winner is often a real loser — in fees, expenses, and waste of time.” Little has changed since Lincoln’s time. Litigation remains a slow, inefficient, expensive, acrimonious, and unpredictable process that airs problems in full public view. Mediation, on the other hand, offers a way to resolve legal disputes effectively, efficiently, and privately — and at a reduced cost. While a few business courses briefly discuss alternative dispute resolution (ADR), which includes mediation and arbitration, it’s our experience that most undergraduate business law courses generally pay scant attention to this topic. And we believe mediation is too important in the real world to relegate to a small cameo in the curriculum.

This and other articles authored by Professors O’Connor-Ratcliff and Custin may be downloaded from the Social Science Research Network.