Teaching Professional Ethics to Lawyers and Mediators Using Active Learning Techniques

Abstract

This article briefly discusses the barriers that exist to learning about professional ethics in the law school environment. It considers the possible approaches to teaching legal and mediation ethics to new and experienced practitioners. I found only one article on techniques for teaching mediation ethics. Otherwise, mediation instructors cover the topic from time to time at the major dispute resolution conferences. In the face of this gap in the literature, I have considered by analogy the articles about active learning in law school courses designed to teach legal and judicial professional ethics. It also discusses the series of articles I have planned on the use of active learning to teach the core values of mediation – mediator impartiality, party self-determination, confidentiality, and quality of the process. It concludes that we can create enthusiasm in students for professional ethics by providing well-designed training programs that use active learning techniques.

Keywords: Mediation. Mediator, Professional Ethics, Codes of Ethics, Active Learning, Student-Centered Learning