Promoting access to justice: An exploration of teaching alternative dispute resolution in Australian clinical legal education

This thesis explores alternative dispute resolution (ADR) teaching in Australian clinical legal education. In a university law clinic, clinical legal education teaches students the skills needed for legal practice. With ADR becoming increasingly dominant in Australian legal practice, clinic students need to become knowledgeable about ADR so as to better advise clients about cost effective options for resolving cases without resorting to litigation. This enhanced focus on ADR has a vital ancillary effect of advancing access to justice. This thesis makes recommendations about how dispute resolution teaching can be better incorporated into clinical legal education for enhanced access to justice.