Copyright (c) 2009 All rights reserved. http://works.bepress.com/bobette_wolski Recent documents in Bobette Wolski en-us Mon, 02 Nov 2009 22:48:18 PST 3600 http://works.bepress.com/bobette_wolski/15 http://works.bepress.com/bobette_wolski/15 Thu, 24 Sep 2009 21:52:15 PDT Extract: This paper raises a sequence of issues; then provides some possible answers to three of them. The issues, which are interrelated, are as follows: 1. The conference appears to focus on the education of practicing lawyers. Is it reasonable to assume that our students will practice law (when, in some jurisdictions at least, there is evidence that a great number of law students never do). Does this matter? 2. Some of the conference papers refer to the teaching of skills. Is there a consensus that skills should be taught and learned in the curriculum? Indeed, is there consensus on what we mean by the term "skills"? Does it make a difference? 3. What skills should be taught and learned in the curriculum to equip students for the challenges of transnational practice? 4. How should skills be taught? I do not mean by what methodology (for I think it fair to say that there is broad agreement that skills are best taught and learned by experiential learning methods). The real question is how should skills teaching and learning be incorporated (or woven) into the curriculum? Is one way better (and more affordable) than another? 5. Should we not also teach, for each skill, the theory relating to the relevant skill; cross-cultural implications for practice; and issues of ethics, values and professional responsibilities? If yes, then which theories, values and issues should we teach and how? Bobette Wolski http://works.bepress.com/bobette_wolski/14 http://works.bepress.com/bobette_wolski/14 Mon, 10 Aug 2009 21:46:57 PDT Extract:Clients - and potential clients - do not enter a lawyer's office in order to pass the time of day. They seek the services of a lawyer because they believe that they have a legal problem, for which they require a solution. It is essential for intending lawyers to appreciate from Day 1 at law school that to the client (who thinks of himself as "a purchaser of legal services") a lawyer is no different from a vet, a car mechanic or a dentist. The expectation is the same in each case: "I have this problem. You are the expert. Fix my problem." You will note the use of the word "believe" in the previous paragraph. Not every client who consults a lawyer turns out to have a problem, in the same way that patients who visit doctors are sometimes reassured that "There's nothing to worry about." But neither the client nor the patient will know whether or not they do have a problem - or its extent - unless and until they consult the professional. Hence the importance of skilled client interviewing and comprehensive client advice.<br. However, before they can advise on the problem, and the several possible alternative solutions, lawyers must engage in a complex and multifaceted process of analysis. It is complex because clients do not know (nor should they) which of the many facts, documents and previous exchanges with "the other party" that they have brought with them to the initial meeting (often in a series of files or even shoe-boxes) will prove to be relevant. As a result, they often bring them all, and it is the initial task of lawyers to arrive at a provisional assessment of what is "relevant" and what is not. Bobette Wolski http://works.bepress.com/bobette_wolski/13 http://works.bepress.com/bobette_wolski/13 Mon, 10 Aug 2009 21:46:56 PDT Extract: In this article I consider one model--currently operating at the law school at Australia's Bond University--for the integration of skills teaching and learning in the undergraduate law curriculum. In the process of doing so, I attempt to systematize the various approaches to skills integration adopted by law schools in Australia, America, and the United Kingdom. The article is in three parts. The first sketches the various approaches to skills integration that have emerged in Australian law schools and makes some general observations about skills teaching in law schools in Australia, America, and the United Kingdom. For the purpose of this article, it is assumed that the term skill has been adequately defined, that skills teaching/learning has a place in the undergraduate law curriculum, and that there is broad agreement on the skills (and values) that should be taught. In the second part of the article I review the challenges involved in teaching skills at law school. This part focuses on the labor- and resource-intensive nature of skills teaching and on the difficulty of developing skills incrementally in a structured and systematic way throughout a student's undergraduate studies in law. The third describes the skills program operating at the law school at Bond University. It describes the content of the program, the institutional rules and routines governing the program, and the way in which the program is related to other parts of the curriculum. It may provide a useful model for other law schools considering the implementation of an integrated skills program and, at the same time, highlight some of the pitfalls to be avoided in setting up such a program. Bobette Wolski http://works.bepress.com/bobette_wolski/12 http://works.bepress.com/bobette_wolski/12 Tue, 17 Feb 2009 12:06:55 PST This issue of the Bond Law Review is devoted to developments in alternative dispute resolution (ADR) in international perspective. Laurence Boulle http://works.bepress.com/bobette_wolski/9 http://works.bepress.com/bobette_wolski/9 Tue, 17 Feb 2009 12:06:54 PST Several international organisations, including the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), are now taking steps (albeit small and tentative ones) to establish an infrastructure of laws, rules and procedures which recognises ADR clauses and settlements reached in ADR [alternative dispute resolution] proceedings. These efforts are aimed at promoting certainty and consistency in the use of ADR processes and, ultimately, at expanding the options available to parties for the resolution of international commercial disputes. This article examines the latest initiatives of the ICC (namely the ICC ADR Rules) and UNCITRAL (namely the Draft UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Conciliation) to facilitate the use of ADR options such as mediation and conciliation. Bobette Wolski http://works.bepress.com/bobette_wolski/10 http://works.bepress.com/bobette_wolski/10 Tue, 17 Feb 2009 12:06:54 PST This paper was presented at the Second International Mediation Conference, Adelaide, January 1996. The view is presented that teaching and learning dispute resolution is labour and resource intensive, and the role of self-instruction in this area is discussed. The paper also presents an outline of problems within a conventional teaching and learning environment as well as some techniques for learning by self-instruction, and addresses the possibilities for the use of self-instructional materials. Bobette Wolski http://works.bepress.com/bobette_wolski/11 http://works.bepress.com/bobette_wolski/11 Tue, 17 Feb 2009 12:06:54 PST This paper considers the ways in which the principles in Fisher and Ury's 'Getting to Yes' are applicable to the mediation process. Aspects addressed include positional and interest-based negotiation, the limits of the model, mediator strategies outside the scope of 'Getting to Yes', and the meaning of 'win/win' in negotiation. Bobette Wolski http://works.bepress.com/bobette_wolski/6 http://works.bepress.com/bobette_wolski/6 Tue, 17 Feb 2009 12:06:53 PST Paper given at the Australasian Law Teachers' Association Conference, Vanuatu, 2-4 July 2001, questioning the concepts of mediator neutrality and impartiality. This paper also discusses the strategies used by mediators to pressure parties to settle and influence the course and outcomes of mediations, the contextual factors that influence mediator choice of strategies, and possible mediator interests and various sources of mediator power and influence. Bobette Wolski http://works.bepress.com/bobette_wolski/7 http://works.bepress.com/bobette_wolski/7 Tue, 17 Feb 2009 12:06:53 PST This article provides a comparative analysis of community mediation, that is the mediation of interpersonal disputes between individuals, in China and the West. It explores the link between culture, society and preference for dispute resolution methods and examines the impact of socio-cultural forces on the practice of mediation. Particular emphasis is given to the functional aspects of mediation; that is, the way in which mediation is perceived and the purpose for which it is used. Bobette Wolski http://works.bepress.com/bobette_wolski/8 http://works.bepress.com/bobette_wolski/8 Tue, 17 Feb 2009 12:06:53 PST The Laws of Australia is a legal encyclopaedia which uses over 38,000 legal statements to summarise virtually all areas of Australian law. This service provides the principles of law and discusses their context in all Australian jurisdictions. The content is written by a team of over 400 specialist contributing authors, with ongoing review by a team of expert editors. The paper format of The Laws of Australia consists of 36 Titles in 53 looseleaf binders. Bobette Wolski