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This course is required to give students knowledge in how to address clients’ needs in managing their disputes by using the most appropriate process in their legal practice. There are now a diverse array of processes available for dispute management. The course will provide students with the knowledge required to make informed choices when assisting clients. It also contributes significantly to the threshold learning outcomes for law graduates providing, in particular, communication and conflict theory for improved interpersonal client skills. The course covers the many processes by which disputes can now be managed, addressing the theories, practice, ethics and codes of conduct.

A fundamental skill of a lawyer is the ability to successfully manage disputes in their professional arena. The course will introduce students to analysis of disputes based on theory and approaches to communication and the legal environment when dealing with disputes. Students will explore important skills in communication such as listening, interviewing and negotiating. Students will be introduced to the array of possible processes for managing disputes, including litigation. The processes will be considered in depth on a weekly basis. The course gives students grounding in the fundamentals of dispute management in the Australian legal system.

On successful completion of the course, students should be able to demonstrate:

1. Demonstrate an advanced and integrated understanding [explain, apply and evaluate] of a complex body of knowledge relevant to dispute management, and underlying principles and concepts; the broader contexts within which legal issues arise in this area; the principles and values of justice and of ethical practice in lawyers’ roles [in this area], and contemporary developments in law, and its professional practice (PO1/TLO1).
2. Demonstrate an advanced and integrated understanding [explain, apply and evaluate] of approaches to ethical decision-making, an ability to recognise and reflect upon (and a developing ability to respond to) ethical issues likely to arise [in the context of dispute management], an ability to recognise and reflect upon the professional responsibilities of lawyers in promoting justice and in service to the community, and a developing ability to exercise professional judgment (PO2/TLO2).
3. Identify and articulate complex issues [relevant to dispute management], [comprehend legal and other materials]; generate appropriate practical responses to issues [that may arise in dispute management]; engage in critical analysis and make reasoned and appropriate choices amongst alternatives, and demonstrate sophisticated cognitive and creative skills in approaching [disputes] and generating appropriate responses [through the use of dispute management methods] (PO3/TLO3).
4. Communicate in ways that are effective, appropriate and persuasive for legal and non-legal audiences (PO5/TLO5).