Mediation Clinic

Mediation is a central aspect of lawyers’ work in many contexts, including litigation, transactional, private and public sector. The Mediation Clinic will give students firsthand experience mediating actual cases between real parties using alternate dispute resolution techniques.  While the skills developed in the mediation clinic will apply across all areas of law, students should be willing to work on family law cases in the clinic.  Coursework will include lectures and exercises on the substantive areas of law relevant to clinic cases, readings and class discussions about mediation techniques and strategy, and exercises designed to develop the concrete skills necessary to mediate cases, including interviewing potential clients, maintaining case files, and shepherding cases through mediation from start to finish.  A typical week will include 4-6 hours participating in mediations as a mediator, co-mediator or observer, and 3-4 hours preparing for, reflecting on, and debriefing those mediations.  Additional work will include drafting settlement agreements and filing documents with the relevant courts or agencies.  All clinic students will also attend a weekly two-hour seminar to discuss ethical, strategic, legal and professional issues that arise in clinic cases.   Clinical students must complete Mediation (Law 707) prior to participation in the clinic.