Course Details

Conflict Management in Legal Practice

The goals of this course are to help students learn to manage conflict and to write, in a lawyering context, about managing conflict. The managing conflict portion of the course runs along three tracks, which we will frequently weave together, in simulations, because they reinforce one another: 1. Managing external conflict, (between people), through four negotiation models. 2. Managing focus, awareness, stress and emotions, through mindfulness, a way of paying attention that can improve performance and satisfaction. Mindfulness is taught in well over 40 U.S. law schools and in many law firms, bar associations, courts, corporations, medical practices, and athletic organizations—including three NBA basketball teams. 3. Managing internal conflict (within a person), through internal family systems (IFS), a psychological model of the mind that includes internal Subpersonalities” or “Parts” that interact as a system. The writing portion of the course will involve a simulation in which you will prepare about three documents (one or more of which may be rewrites) advising a senior lawyer (and maybe a client) about how to understand and address a particular case or situation. Evaluation is based primarily on these professional writings, with some credit for other brief, informal writings and class participation. This course satisfies the professional writing graduation requirement and the credits apply to the experiential learning graduation requirement. Required book: Leonard L. Riskin, Don’t Believe Everything You Think: Managing Inner and Outer Conflict (Fall 2017 draft) (forthcoming 2018). This manuscript is free (through Canvas) to students in this course.

Catalog Number: LITARB 611
Practice Areas: Civil Lit. and Dispute Resolution,  Legal Skills Development
Additional Course Information: Experiential Learning,  Professional Writing

Course History

Fall 2017
Title: Conflict Management in Legal Practice
Faculty: Riskin, Leonard L. (courses | profile)
Section: 1     Credits: 3.0
Capacity: 25     Actual: 15

Fall 2016
Title: Conflict Management in Legal Practice
Faculty: Riskin, Leonard L. (courses | profile)
Section: 1     Credits: 3.0
Capacity: 25     Actual: 14

Fall 2015
Title: Conflict Management in Legal Practice
Faculty: Riskin, Leonard L. (courses | profile)
Section: 1     Credits: 3.0
Capacity: 25     Actual: 25

Fall 2014
Title: Conflict Management in Legal Practice
Faculty: Riskin, Leonard L. (courses | profile)
Section: 1     Credits: 3.0
Capacity: 25     Actual: 24