The Advocacy and Dispute Resolution program complements the Fowler School of Law’s commitment to train competent, ethical lawyers by offering foundational courses that are fundamental to virtually all areas of legal practice.
Students who complete the required courses will graduate with a certificate designating competence in the Advocacy and Dispute Resolution fields, allowing them to distinguish themselves in the job market by demonstrating mastery of these skills for prospective employers.
Trial Practice (3)
This is a practical skills course in advocacy which introduces students to the fundamental
components of a typical civil and criminal trial. It requires students to perform
exercises involving each component, and try a mock civil or criminal case from provided
problem materials. The course requires student participation in discrete exercises,
including jury voir dire, opening and closing statements, and direct and cross-examination.
Prerequisite: successful completion of Evidence.
Negotiations (3)
Students will practice preparing for and conducting legal negotiations. Students will
learn about different approaches and theories of negotiation, develop their skills,
understand their negotiating preferences and those of others, as well deal with ethical
issues. Students will do simulated negotiations involving transactions, litigation
and other situations lawyers may encounter in practice. In addition to researching
and preparing for the negotiations, students will draft agreements and will be asked
to reflect upon and write about their learning. This course is a core requirement
for the Advocacy and Dispute Resolution Certificate.
Client Interviewing and Counseling (3)
Students will learn and practice skills involved in interviewing and counseling clients.
Through the course of the semester, students will take one simulated case from the
initial phase of gathering and evaluating facts supplied by a client, conduct substantive
legal research, write a memorandum to the client file, and provide oral and written
advice to the client based on consideration of facts and applicable law. The course
will focus on interpersonal aspects of client relationships as well as ethical problems
that may arise in the context of client representation. Students participate in simulated
interviews and counseling sessions, portraying both client and attorney. Students
will be videotaped in at least one interview or counseling session and will complete
several written products, including a client letter, a memo to the file, and papers
analyzing the lawyering process from the perspective of both attorney and client.
These electives allow students to choose a skill set to develop or expand. Students may learn about Mediation or Arbitration or develop litigation or transactional skills with a Practice Foundations course selection.
*In order to satisfy the elective requirement for the emphasis, a Practice Foundations course must be in addition to the course selected to satisfy the Practice Foundations requirement.
**Externships must involve significant exercise of lawyering skills in order to satisfy the requirement.
Specific offerings will vary from year to year, depending on periodic rotation of electives, instructor availability, student interest, and scheduling dynamics. Visit the course descriptions page for more information.
The law school faculty have identified the following learning outcomes as critical to a law degree and to developing the skills needed to become a proficient attorney.
For more information on the Advocacy and Dispute Resolution Certificate, please contact:
Professor Nancy Schultz
Director, Competitions and Alternative Dispute Resolution Program
Phone: (714) 628-2527
Email: nschultz@chapman.edu
In each of our legal clinics, students put skills learned in the classroom to work on real cases under the supervision of clinical faculty members.
Did you know that graduates who participated in the Lawyering Skills Competition have been much sought after in the hiring community?