In Search of a Canon: Three Texts on Dispute Resolution

Abstract

Is the dispute resolution field finding its canon? The recent publication of three similar academic texts in the field suggests a growing consensus around what dispute resolution is and what body of theory underlies it. Publication of these texts also suggests that the study of dispute resolution continues to move more centrally into legal, and other professional, education. Important scholarship, however, remains unexamined, affecting both the maturation of the field and its potential influence on future professionals.

The three texts reviewed in this article include the following:

1. Resolving Disputes: Theory, Practice and Law (2005) by Jay Folberg, Dwight Golann, Lisa Kloppenberg, and Thomas Stipanowich (eds.).

2. Dispute Resolution: Beyond the Adversarial Model (2005) by Carrie J. Menkel-Meadow, Lela Porter Love, Andrea Kupfer Schneider, and Jean R. Sternlight (eds.).

3. The Handbook of Dispute Resolution (2005) by Michael L. Moffitt and Robert C. Bordone (eds.).

Keywords: dispute resolution, arbitration, mediation, negotiation, canon, textbook, handbook, review, law school, interdisciplinary, curriculum

JEL Classification: I2, K00, K4, K33, J52, D74