Some alternatives are to detour cases away from the courts, eliminate many occasions for controversy by changing the substantive law, reduce decision points, and provide alternative modes of handling many disputes. Courts currently tend to adhere to one model of dispute resolution. The nearly universal characteristics are adjudication by a professional judge through consideration of adversarial presentations by disputants who bear full responsibility for the development of their cases. Alternatives to litigation include conciliation, mediation, arbitration, and persuasive justice. A trend toward alternatives to the professionalized adversarial judicial model exists in the United States and other countries. Rationales for diverting disputes from litigation are to relieve the court workload, improve access for dispute resolution, and develop dispute settlement procedures superior to an existing system that is ineffective and counterproductive. Law schools should develop special courses or seminars in alternative dispute resolution; this course of study will fit in well with the current emphasis on clinical education. Seventeen references are included.