My goal is to become a dispute resolution lawyer in a big law firm. This is my study interests and the reason why I pursue my legal studies.

During my internship as a lawyer assistant at Hunan Jinqiu law firm, I came across a case from a client who lost his job because of a sales contract dispute with a buyer. Our principal sued the buyer because he did not make the payment for goods. Unfortunately, there was not much evidence except several recordings and the judge did not accept recordings we submitted at the first hearing. After that, I listened to four recordings that lasted one and a half hours for more than three times and transcribed related clips, from which I found two more admissible clips for my team. In one clip, the defendant said: "I don't remember whether I made the payment or not, but I and my lawyer agreed to claim a situation that I paid to you if there will be a lawsuit." This crucial clip guaranteed our winning. In the practice of dispute resolution, being able to safeguard the legal rights and interests of our client and help a needy unemployed person to avoid economic losses made me feel that the role dispute resolution lawyers play could be determinative and enjoy a great sense of accomplishment in legal services.

Academically, this area also evokes my interests the most. To be an outstanding dispute resolution lawyer, the practitioner should be proficient not only in substantive law but also in procedural law. I selected a course called “Mediation and Negotiation” in the sixth semester to study compulsory mediation because I had confronted a judge who yelled at our client: "Who is to blame for your lack of awareness of commercial risk and imprudence in trading?” and pressured him to mediate. Most scholars, including Professor Xilian Li who taught me this course, argued in papers that the main reasons for the prevalence of compulsory mediation were the blind pursuit of mediation settlement rates by judges owing to current judicial policies and irresponsible attitudes of some judges who did not take small cases seriously. When I wrote the course paper, I went to the court and the law firm where I had interned to discuss compulsory mediation with practitioners. I highlighted that provisions related to the scope of application of the lawsuit mediation, which should be clearer and more detailed, gave judges too much discretion. Besides, a foreign paper enlightened me that it is necessary to reconstruct Chinese mediation culture. In Chinese traditional legal culture, the most primary value of mediation is considered to be the repair of human relations rather than the achievement of fairness and justice, but this value is not the pursuit of the parties seeking litigation relief. Therefore, in order to enhance the willingness of litigants to accept and participate in lawsuit mediation, it is necessary to educate the public that this system gives consideration to justice, efficiency and peace equally. By regulating judges’ behaviors and increasing litigants’ willingness, we can reduce the occurrence of compulsory mediation more effectively.

In Professor Rebecca Hollander-Blumoff’s paper, Procedural Justice and the Rule of Law: Fostering Legitimacy in Alternative Dispute Resolution, her opinion that concerns over the lack of law values in ADR are overblown is exactly the reason why I believe Chinese mediation culture should be reconstructed. Her analysis of procedural justice from the psychological view also inspired me that managing litigants’ expectations for procedural justice of lawsuit mediation in individual cases is the key to achieve it.

The life of law has not been logic; it has been experience. I believe that the undergraduate education has trained me to be a good law student, and I also aspire to excel in legal practice. This is why WashULaw’s goal of introducing students to the practice of law attracts me. From Comparative Business Negotiation, I can learn conceptual knowledge about negotiation and convert it into effective action through simulated real-world business situations. The moot court competition and career center also give me opportunities to strengthen my lawyering skills and insights into professional development. In addition, taking part in the “Socratic” teaching method and studying with classmates from diverse legal cultures enable me to analyze legal questions in a more creative way and from more perspectives, which is a critical skill for dispute resolution lawyers. This LLM program will definitely train me to be a better law student and a better lawyer.

After finishing my LLM study, I will join a big law firm in a first-tier city in China and become a dispute resolution lawyer. I believe that at the beginning of my career I can use my theoretical knowledge, practical experience, and reliability as a good task executor to create value for my team. In the long run, my goal is to grow into a partner after about ten years to take on challenging jobs and bring benefits to my clients and my team. In this era of rising anti-globalization and increasing uncertainty, more dispute resolution lawyers are needed to participate in the legal services. I am ready.