*N.B. You must be enroled in the JD program in order to qualify.

Any enroled JD student may take a course listed as a Dispute Resolution & Professionalism option course. However, JD students who wish to receive formal recognition for having completed the Dispute Resolution & Professionalism, which consists of a notation on their transcript, must complete the following requirements:

1. complete compulsory courses (9 units); and 
2. complete optional courses (9 units) chosen from among courses in either the English Common Law Section or the French Common Law Section (for a list, see below); and
3. complete a major paper in an approved Dispute Resolution & Professionalism course or an approved Dispute Resolution & Professionalism directed research course. If completed as part of an approved Dispute Resolution & Professionalism course, the paper must be worth at least 50% of the final grade for the course. A major paper completed through a Directed Research course must be on a topic approved by the Coordinator of the Dispute Resolution & Professionalism Option, and be assigned the code CML3251 (4 units) or CML3351 (3 units).
4. obtain a minimum overall average of 6.0 in the Dispute Resolution & Professionalism Option courses.

As well, students may choose to participate in a moot or a competition in an area related to Dispute Resolution & Professionalism. The following is a list of competitions in the area of Dispute Resolution & Professionalism. Please note that not all Dispute Resolution & Professionalism competitions qualify as independent courses:

• ABA Client Counseling Competition (open to students registered in CML3313 Interviewing, Counseling and Negotiation)
• ABA National Negotiation Competition (open only to the winning team of the FMC Negotiation Competition)
• Canadian National Mediation Advocacy Competition
• ELSA Moot Court Competition on WTO Law (WTO Dispute Settlement System)
• Fraser Milner Casgrain Negotiation Competition
• Hicks Morley Labour ArbitrationCompetition
• International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) International Commercial Mediation Competition (ICC Amicable Dispute Resolution)
• International Law School Mediation Tournament
• Kawaskimhon Law Moot 
• Richard Weiler Competition on Effective lawyer-client relations and team work in mediation (open only to students registered in CML4202 Dispute Resolution and Professional Responsibility Practicum)
• Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot 

What do I do if a course I have taken/want to take is not listed?

Ask the instructor of the course to contact the Coordinator of the Dispute Resolution & Professionalism Option at [email protected]. The Coordinator will review the course syllabus and decide if the course meets the criteria for a Dispute Resolution & Professionalism course.

Compulsory courses (total of 9 units) 

3 units from:

• CML1106 Dispute Resolution and Professional Responsibility (3 units)
• CML1506 Introduction à la résolution de différends (3 units)
• Transfer students can satisfy this requirement by taking CML2320 Mediation Theory and Practice (3 units), CML2321 Alternative Dispute Resolution Processes (3 units), or CML3774 Méthodes de rechange pour le règlement de différends (3 units)

3 units from: 

• CML3173 Dispute Resolution & Professionalism Internship (3 units)
• CML3573 Stage en résolution des différends et professionnalisme (3 units)
• CML4100 [previously CML4202] Dispute Resolution and Professional Responsibility Practicum  (4 units)
• CML4500 Stage en résolution de différends (3 units)
• An an equivalent internship placement (3 units)

3 units from:

• CML1105 Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility (3 credits) 
• CML3376 Professional Responsibility (3 credits) / CML3376 Professional Responsibility & Legal Ethics (3 credits)
• CML3776 Responsabilité professionnelle (3 crédits) 

Optional courses (Nine (9) credits from the following courses, with at least one course taken in each of the two sub-categories)

Note: Not all courses are offered each academic year. Courses counting toward the Dispute Resolution & Professionalism option are determined on a yearly basis depending on content and approach of the course. The full course description is available in the Course Selection Guide available through Academic Affairs. If you have any questions about which courses qualify for the Dispute Resolution & Professionalism option, please contact the Coordinator for the Dispute Resolution & Professionalism Option. 

Courses offered in the English program

Category I

• CML2320 Mediation Theory and Practice (3 credits)
• CML2321 Alternative Dispute Resolution Processes (3 credits)
• CML3313 Interviewing & Counseling (3 credits)
• CML3315 Negotiation (3 credits)
• CML3366 Family Conflicts Resolution: Collaborative Family Law (3 credits)
• CML3376: Professional Responsibility: Equity & Diversity (3 credits)
• CML4113 Selected Problems in Legal Practice: Dispute Resolution in Family Matters (3 credits)
• CML4303 International Commercial Arbitration (3 credits)

Category II 

• CML1105 Critical Issues in Restorative Justice (3 credits)
• CML1105 So You Think You Want to be an International Business Lawyer (3 credits)
• CML1105 Aboriginal Legal Mechanisms (3 credits)
• CML2101 Appellate Advocacy (3 credits)
• CML3119 Studies in Oral Advocacy: Centre for Trade Policy & Law CTPL-Strategic Trade Policy in Context:Canada-CARICOM (3 credits)
• CML3143 International Investment Law (3 credits)
• CML3144 [previously CML3374]Defending Battered Women On Trial (3 credits)
• CML3147 [previously CML4111] Wrongful Convictions: Preventing, Detecting and Remedying (3 credits)
• CML3150 [previously CML3374] Race, Racism and the Law (3 credits)
• CML3154 Trial Advocacy (3 credits)
• CML3155 Legal Drafting  (3 credits)
• CML3174 Dean’s Research & Writing Fellows (3 credits)
• CML3183 Women and the Legal Profession (3 credits)
• CML3234 Labour Law II (3 credits)
• CML3248 Introductory Legal Aid Clinic Course (6 credits)
• CML3374 Law & Society: Access to Justice and Elder Law (3 credits)
• CML3385: WTO Dispute Settlement
• CML3449 Clincial Legal Aid II (6 credits)
• CML3450 Clincial Legal Aid III (6 credits)
• CML4104 Studies in Public Law: Role of the Attorney General, Minister of Justice and Law Officers of the Crown  (3 credits)
• CML4104: Studies in Public Law: Feminist Law Reform (3 credits)
• CML4106: Studies in Private Law: Sports Law (3 credits)
• CML4108 Studies in International Law: Centre for Trade Policy and Law (CTPL) Course on Strategic Trade Policy in Context: Canada-CARICOM (3 credits)
• CML4111 Studies in Criminal Law: Criminal Trial Advocacy (3 credits)
• CML4113 Selected Problems in Legal Practice: Legal Writing Academy Portfolio and Leadership (3 credits)
• CML4113 Selected Problems in Legal Practice: Sport Law: Theory and Practice (3 credits)
• CML4113 Selected Problems in Legal Practice: Written Advocacy (3 credits)
• CML4113: Selected Problems in Legal Practice: Innovation in Legal Services (3 credits)
• CML4113: Selected Problems in Legal Practice: Foundation Legal Writing Skills (3 credits)
• CML4114 International ADR (3 credits)
• CML4114 Restorative Justice: Re-energizing, Re-vitalizing and Realizing Justice (3 credits)
• CML4305 [previously CML4108] Advocacy Before International Tribunals (3 credits)
• CML4307 Legal Writing (3 credits) [previously CML4113 Write with Purpose: Essential Skills for Lawyers]
• CML4382 Feminist Legal Issues (3 credits)
• CML4382: Feminist Legal Issues: Canada and Puerto Rico 

Courses offered in the French program

Catégorie I

• CML3569 [précédemment CML4508] Arbitrage international (3 crédits)
• CML3713 Entrevue, consultation et négociation (3 crédits)
• CML3774 Méthodes de rechange pour le règlement de différends (3 crédits)
• CML4513 Problèmes pratiques en droit: Négociations (3 crédits)   

Catégorie II

• CML2501 Tribunal-école (3 crédits)
• CML3534 Droit du travail II : Arbitrage de griefs (3 crédits)
• CML3554 Art de la plaidoirie (3 crédits) 
• CML3648 Clinique juridique I : introduction (6 crédits)
• CML3780 Les femmes et le droit (3 crédits)
• CML3849 Clinique pratique d'aide juridique II (6 crédits)
• CML3850 Clinique pratique d'aide juridique III (6 crédits)
• CML4501 Études en droit constitutionnel: Le secret ministériel et la primauté du droit (3 crédits)
• CML4501 Études en droit constitutionnel: Litige en matière d'égalité (3 crédits)
• CML4501 Études en droit constitutionnel: Litiges en droit linguistique (3 crédits)
• CML4504 Études en droit public : Les rôles du procureur général, du ministre de la Justice et des avocats du gouvernement (3 crédits)
• CML4504 Études en droit public : Réforme féministe du droit (3 crédits)
• CML4508 Études en droit international : Règlement des différends en droit international (3 crédits)
• CML4514 Étude intensive: Thèmes choisis : Droit des sports (3 crédits)
• CML4702 Rédaction juridique approfondie (3 crédits)

IMPORTANT: You must be currently enroled in the University of Ottawa Faculty of Law JD program in order to register for the Dispute Resolution & Professionalism Option.

Do I register for the Dispute Resolution & Professionalism Option before I have completed all the requirements?

No. There is no special procedure to register for the Dispute Resolution & Professionalism Option during the regular annual admission process. Once they have completed their first year of legal studies, law students may take the compulsory and optional courses required to satisfy the requirements of the Dispute Resolution & Professionalism Option, including a Major Paper in an approved course. Once the requirements have been met, students should follow the procedure below.

Registering for the Dispute Resolution & Professionalism Option once you have completed the requirements

1. JD students who wish to receive formal recognition of an Option in Dispute Resolution & Professionalism must complete 18 units in the field of dispute resolution & professionalism. (See requirements).
2. Once the required units have been achieved, students should obtain the registration form.
3. Students must complete the form to identify which qualifying courses they have completed and to identify their Major Paper.
4. The form must then be signed by the Dispute Resolution & Professionalism Coordinator, and returned to the Common Law Student Centre for processing.

Major Paper Registration for Students Pursuing the Dispute Resolution & Professionalism Option

Students pursuing the Dispute Resolution & Professionalism Option must complete a major paper in either a concentration option course listed in the requirements (the paper must be at least 50% of the final mark) or in a Directed Research course approved by the Dispute Resolution & Professionalism Coordinator under course code CML3251 (4 units) or CML3351 (3 units).