The Branstetter Litigation & Dispute Resolution Program
About Us
Vanderbilt Law School’s Branstetter Litigation and Dispute Resolution Program prepares students for the real world of litigation practice by acquainting them with a wide variety of ways that disputes are resolved, including arbitration, court-supervised settlement, mediation, negotiation, and trial. The program offers students an advanced legal curriculum designed to enable them to step immediately into sophisticated litigation practice.
The program’s name underscores a simple fact: the vast majority of litigation in the U.S. today results in settlements rather than trials. As a result, litigation practice today primarily involves the management and resolution of disputes. Students who complete Vanderbilt’s program are prepared to enter legal practice with both a practical and conceptual understanding of the different methods of dispute resolution.
Origin
The Branstetter Litigation & Dispute Resolution Program grew out of a nationwide consumer class action settlement. The supervising court directed a $3 million cy pres award to the Law School to endow a program in litigation and dispute resolution to help train the nation's next generation of dispute resolvers. The program is named in honor of Cecil D. Branstetter ('49), a distinguished Law School alumnus, whose firm, Branstetter, Stranch & Jennings, won the suit. Professor Richard Nagareda served as the Branstetter Program's founding Director. Professor Ingrid Wuerth currently directs the Branstetter Program.