U N I V E R S I T Y  O F  P I T T S B U R G H

Volume XI, Number 2

Pat Chew, Law

Photo by Joseph Kapelewski, CIDDE

I want my students to think reflectively and broadly about the law and their role as lawyers. The law should not be studied in isolation. While students should master legal principles and theory, they should also try to put the law and disputes into a realistic context. The perspectives of the parties, not just the perspectives of the judges, legislators, and lawyers, are considered. They are all humanized as individuals with values, interests, and emotions. Drawing from social science, business, and law materials, we explore interdisciplinary perspectives. Rather than focusing just on the national context, I bring in appropriate examples from other countries.

I also emphasize the important roles that lawyers can play in shaping the dispute resolution process and the outcomes. I believe lawyers have both the responsibility and the privilege to convey notions of fairness and justice in American society. My course in alternative dispute resolution, described below, reflects this teaching philosophy and student learning outcomes.

The more I teach, the more I see students as partners in the learning process. I try to foster respect between the students and myself and among the students themselves.  I treat them as prospective professionals, who will soon undertake significant responsibilities as lawyers (and as citizens). I know that students want to do well, that they are intelligent, and that they have important contributions to make to the learning process. Whenever I can, I progressively share responsibility for the educational process with the students, having them actively lead discussions based on the readings and on assignments—while I  am vigilant about challenging their positions and their reasoning. In my seminars, I encourage the students to present their research in ways that effectively, professionally, and creatively present their key research findings. They consistently respond with innovative and impressive presentations. For an illustration, see the description of my seminar on Harassment in the Workplace.

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) course

Most law school courses focus on the litigation model and an adversarial approach. This course explores options to this model and approach. It introduces students to the dispute resolution process, with a particular focus on alternative dispute resolution (ADR) processes such as mediation, negotiation, and arbitration. Beginning with an exploration of the problem-solving process more generally, the course then considers legal and policy issues associated with each ADR process. An analysis of the cultural context in which disputes occur is also considered.

The course combines lecture, discussion, interactive exercises, role-plays, and videotaping (when available). Typically, students prepare and participate in a mediation session based on a realistic hypothetical dispute. The students have many opportunities to have hands-on experiences. There is also a final exam.

Harassment in the Workplace seminar

I taught this seminar for the first time in fall 2004. We began with social science research on harassment and bullying in the workplace, followed by a review of key legal cases on harassment. Each student then selected a type of harassment (for example, religious harassment, particularly against Muslims, sexual harassment in the military, mental illness harassment, same-race harassment) on which they conducted both the relevant legal and social science research. Toward the end of the semester, students presented their research and completed their term papers. Finally, the students and I collaborated on building an integrative model for how "the law" has responded to all these types of harassment—identifying themes, strengths, and weaknesses across the different topics and laws.

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