Why the Type of Alternative Dispute Resolution Professor You Have in Law School Matters

Summary: The Alternative Dispute Resolution professor I had in law school has made all the difference in my career.

Attorneys are approached for their professional services often because they are highly proficient and skilled negotiators.


One of the most relevant and useful courses I enrolled myself in during law school was Alternative Dispute Resolution. I had several classmates that took the same course; however, they elected to take the course with a different professor. I had a very different experience as a student in the same course from the students that elected to take the same course with a different law professor.

The professor that instructed my course was not afraid to take the lead, opinionated, aggressive, and highly witty and was never afraid to insult someone in a very obvious way. He wasn't afraid to embarrass students in his class, and all of these traits changed the way I thought about negotiation, and it also affected the type of negotiator I became in both my professional and personal life. Because of the lessons I learned in that specific law school course with the type of professor I had, I now am never afraid to walk away from an offer that does not match the bottom line of what is acceptable, and I am more highly skilled in assessing what to disclose and what not to disclose to the party that I enter into any sort of negotiation with.

I am very proud to share that I have successfully negotiated some of my financial commitments to a lower number in the nation's capital, I have enhanced my professional network with diverse professionals that are not legal professionals through skills that I learned in Alternative Dispute Resolution in law school, and it has enabled me to achieve success that isn't always monetary and is more invaluable with my family and friends.

A lot of people that never gamble never understand that managed risks are sometimes necessary to ensure you get more than your bottom line when you enter negotiation with an opposing party in both your professional and personal life. Demonstrating to an opposing party that you enter into negotiation with that you are comfortable walking away with no agreement at all creates the opportunity for the opposing party to come closer to something that favors your interests more for the sake of earning some sort of business with you or avoiding confrontation that might be more costly at a later time.

Because I had a more aggressive law professor for Alternative Dispute Resolution in law school, I have been able to find success in various ways in both my professional and personal life. Managing risk is a huge component in negotiation, and my professor inspired all the law students in the class by not being afraid to make the law students in the class feel uncomfortable, and he took managed risks to inspire a lesson in alternative dispute resolution instead of simply advising strategies to the entire class.

When a law professor or professional mentor provides inspiration instead of a professional strategy through advice, it is more effective for academic purposes and personal purposes. A meaningful law school education is not a destination which one reaches and it ends. It is a lifetime experience that evolves into a journey that a young attorney reminisces about, interprets, & reevaluates through his or her career.

Ms. Tanu C. Esq. is a Seasoned Corporate Professional, Attorney, Published Writer, & Activist.