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Are schools that are strong in "dispute resolution" - see http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandr ... n-rankings - worthwhile if you would like to practice some form of alternative dispute resolution?

danteamante wrote:If you want to pursue a career as a mediator or arbitrator rather than follow a standard legal career path, does it matter where you go to law school (within the tier 1 schools)?

What does this even mean?

You don't typically just graduate law school and "pursue a career as a mediator or arbitrator". From what I've seen, successful mediators or arbitrators are people who have years of legal experience. It requires a "standard legal career path" to be able to do. You can't just graduate law school and go, "Hi, I want to arbitrate," and expect someone to go, "Okay! Have a bag of money."

vanwinkle wrote:

danteamante wrote:If you want to pursue a career as a mediator or arbitrator rather than follow a standard legal career path, does it matter where you go to law school (within the tier 1 schools)?

What does this even mean?

You don't typically just graduate law school and "pursue a career as a mediator or arbitrator". From what I've seen, successful mediators or arbitrators are people who have years of legal experience. It requires a "standard legal career path" to be able to do. You can't just graduate law school and go, "Hi, I want to arbitrate," and expect someone to go, "Okay! Have a bag of money."

+1

i mean, if you just want to be a community mediator (not arbitrator), there are small claims courts or other community programs that are just looking for certified mediators...in which case, you dont have to go to law school at all.

Most arbitrators I've seen are retired Judges. I am not sure that they ALL aren't, actually. We also use mediators a lot but most of them aren't lawyers or even law trained. They sometimes have Masters degrees in one or another social science but that is not universal.

BeautifulSW wrote:Most arbitrators I've seen are retired Judges. I am not sure that they ALL aren't, actually. We also use mediators a lot but most of them aren't lawyers or even law trained. They sometimes have Masters degrees in one or another social science but that is not universal.

i know of arbitrators who are not/were not judges but just attorneys.

Were they connected to the AAA?