This is the course to take if students are interested in representing SMU in the best international moot competitions. It will be an intensive course held over half of the first semester, and admission is by approval of the course convenor only. This course exposes students to advanced legal research, writing and appellate advocacy skills. Students will be given a hypothetical moot problem on international law and will have to make oral and written submissions by the end of the course. Those who excel in this course will be selected to participate in moot competitions in the second semester.
At the end of this course, students will be able to:
1. Learn to size up a complex legal problem with a short runway
2. Develop a research methodology for complex and multi-disciplinary legal domains
3. Communicate arguments pointedly in written and oral form
4. Communicate arguments persuasively in written and oral form
5. Understand the legal processes for international adjudication
This course explores the various theories and practices of mediation. The stages of the mediation process and techniques for each stage are taught. Simulated role-play exercises are arranged to develop skills as mediators.
This course aims to provide students with a strong grounding in problem-solving mediation, and the opportunity to develop practical skills as a facilitative mediator. After successfully completing this course students will be able to:
1) Explain facilitative mediation and the purpose of each stage in the process;
2) Explain the different approaches to mediation and when each might be appropriate;
3) Apply the skills and techniques in communication, negotiation and mediation.
4) Reflect meaningfully on the practical experience and analyze how the experience relates to conflict resolution theories.
5) Research and critically discuss some current issues in conflict resolution and effectively present (orally and in writing) your research findings.
After successfully completing this course, students will
1. Understand various models of mediation internationally
2. Be able to explain the purpose of each stage in the facilitative mediation process
3. Be able to demonstrate knowledge, application of ethics and skills of mediation
4. Be able to demonstrate conduct of a mediation process
5. Research and critically discuss some current issues in conflict resolution and effectively present (orally and in writing) your findings
This course deals with the rapidly growing area of private international mediation and multi-tiered dispute resolution processes that have mediation as an element. It offers participants a framework for understanding cross-border law and practice in this field.
Imagine the following scenario: A Singaporean mediator is asked to mediate a professional negligence dispute. The plaintiff is based in Indonesia, the defendant accounting firm is in the Netherlands, and the defendant’s insurer has its headquarters in the United States. All agree to attend mediation in Singapore. The preliminary discussions and meetings, however, take place via email and video-conference with all parties in their home countries. The mediation occurs and the parties reach a settlement, which the parties’ legal representatives draft into contractual form.
Such cross-border mediations involve:
• international and intercultural competencies;
• online and face-to-face mediation protocols; and
• knowledge of private international law in relation to the substantive and procedural aspects of mediation.
The course will address these and other topical issues, including enforceability of international mediated settlement agreements, to provide participants with a current overview of international legal practice and trends in this field. Participants will have the opportunity to develop specialised mediation skills relevant to cross-border settings.
This term, the course will focus on the following themes:*
- Global trends in mediation.
- What happens after the ink has dried on the Singapore Convention? Once countries have signed on, what does it mean for them and what else to they need to do or to build to benefit from the Convention?
- International and comparative legal frameworks for mediation.
- Implications for mediator standards and ethics in light of the Singapore Convention.
- Online dispute resolution initiatives / digital readiness for mediation service providers
*There may be changes to the themes, depending on current international developments and the needs of participating mentor organisations.
As businesses increasingly embrace the use of technology in domestic and cross-border operations, such as blockchain technology, cloud technology, the Internet of Things (IoT) and digitalised trade documents, it is necessary for lawyers and legal policy-makers to not only appreciate the complex legal and policy issues arising from such use of technology, but to also help provide clear legal thinking and innovative ideas in resolving such issues.
This unique course aims to provide students with an opportunity to learn about and confront a selection of such issues, develop an understanding of real-world legal-policy issues and exercise skills in critical thinking and creativity to produce usable law and policy recommendations. The issues are selected based on their topicality, feedback from industry, importance to Singapore and ASEAN and a review of academic and business literature.
Students will be guided in an exploration and analysis of cross-border trade law issues relating to the intersection of commerce and technology. In the first part of the course, an explanation of the some key issues will be provided to help students understand the broader context of trade in the digital economy. Students will then be exposed to a number of issues which are confronting policy-makers and the private sector, so that they may conduct legal research and craft clear and cogent law and policy recommendations from their findings. Industry professionals will help to provide feedback and discuss students’ findings and recommendations. Industry contacts in this course are likely to be from the fields of finance, technology, commerce, policy/strategy and law.
In addition to interactive learning with the course instructor (Professor Locknie Hsu), students will also receive industry and policy insights from 1-3 industry experts (who may be from the commerce and finance, technology and/or policy-making sectors).
This course aims to provide students with the following learning opportunities:
• Understanding existing and emerging legal and policy issues affecting digital commerce;
• Analysis of cutting-edge law and policy materials and issues;
• Promotion of self-learning and group learning; and
• Exercising creativity in designing useful recommendations.
• Understanding basic features of key technologies used in commerce, including blockchain and AI applications
The proliferation of cross-border business activity has generated an increased demand for international commercial dispute resolution. As alternatives to litigation, arbitration and mediation have emerged as viable routes to the timely and cost-effective settlement of disputes, particularly in Singapore. This course will provide an overview of the role of the dispute resolution advocate within these processes, the legal framework governing their procedure and enforcement, and practical issues of cost and speed across different mechanisms. Participants will be divided into groups and presented with a simulated case to outline the role of an advocate at each stage of a dispute. Written submissions, oral presentations and groupwork will give participants a sound understanding of how an effective advocate must adopt a tailored approach to different processes of dispute resolution.
• A comprehensive understanding of the stages, processes and advantages of different dispute resolution mechanisms
• The unique role of each participant in dispute resolution processes, with a focus on the advocate's role
• Knowledge of the models and theoretical approaches appropriate to settle disputes through negotiation and mediation
• Capacity to draft written submissions to clients, meditators, arbitrators and judges, and recognise the distinctive functions of these submissions
• Deliver persuasive and clear oral arguments in different dispute resolution fora
By the end of the course, students should be able to:
- Understand the general legal framework regulating major corporate deals
- Understand the main legal documents involved in corporate deals
- Understand the business and financial rationales for the legal devices used
- Understand the key issues in negotiating and advising on venture capital investment deals
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
- Apply design methodologies to the challenges of legal processes and services.
- Develop a wider appreciation of the legal industry and innovation today.
- Develop an appreciation of how to be a human-centric participant in the legal industry and deliver value for its users.
This course provides excellent holistic training for students who are interested in any career in law. Students who wish to take part in international moot court competitions will have to apply successfully for this module or seek special dispensation from the course convenor, while students who have taken this course may be eligible to do another competition a second time.
This SMU-XO course offers an international experiential learning opportunity that allows students to translate classroom knowledge and theory into practical solutions for various institutions. In addition to visiting law firms, government agencies and companies, student will also participate in a consultancy project. Through the project, students will learn how to solve business problems with guidance from the faculty and project sponsor mentors. The project will focus on evaluating legal problems in different areas of law and recommending/applying solutions to these problems.
Students worked on legal memoranda that can benefit the practical operations of organisations (such as the law reform committee and foreign embassies) and enrich the comparative law aspects of future Taiwanese law.
For most of the competitions, teams will be expected to produce at least one substantial memorial, produced progressively over a minimum of 3 coach-vetted drafts; in some competitions, there are national/regional qualification rounds for the oral rounds. After the memorials have been submitted, teams will undergo 20-50 practice rounds.