NYU School of Law

Mediation Clinic

The Purpose of the Mediation Clinic

The Mediation Clinic is designed to foster mediation skills while orienting students to major issues in the intersection between law and informal dispute resolution and delivery and regulation of dispute resolution services.

Course Description

This course is designed to teach facilitative mediation techniques and related communication, problem-solving and negotiation skills. The course is taught using a series of progressively more difficult simulations exploring negotiation and then placing the student in the role of a neutral/mediator managing a formal mediation, first with unrepresented parties and then with parties represented by lawyers. The training is supported with a video-integrated text.

The course begins with two full days of intensive training held on Monday, August 29, and Tuesday, August 30, 2011 at Furman Hall. Students will be expected to attend both full days because the 2-day intensive training accounts for one seminar credit. Following training, the seminar meets once a week for two hours, reinforcing the initial intensive training with classroom simulations. Students are required to mediate and critique their own videotaped mediations and to observe and critique a similar mediation by other mediation teams in the class. Course requirements are completed with a final paper on a related topic of the student’s choice. Because the course is based upon an experiential learning model, attendance and participation are essential.

This seminar is open to 16 students. It serves as the co-requisite for students taking the 2 credit Mediation Clinic fieldwork in Fall 2011 and as one of several possible prerequisites for Mediation Clinic - Advanced: Dispute System Design in Spring 2012. Priority in admission to this seminar is therefore given to students taking one or both of the Mediation Clinic and Mediation Clinic – Advanced: Dispute System Design course seminar.

Fieldwork

Fieldwork mediation study and practice takes several forms, including co-mediating; teaching, coaching and training; and developing conflict management programs. Students will contrast facilitative mediation with evaluative court-imposed settlement process. Students may also have an opportunity to observe mediation in other contexts, such as family and housing court. As part of the guided learning, students will be required to submit biweekly journal entries reflecting upon their observations and experiences in mediation and training.

In 2010, clinic work engaged students as practitioners with five primary systems focused on conflict management, four of which will be a continuing aspect of the program. These include: NYU Residential Life Conflict Management Program (“NYU CMP”); NYU Mediation Organization (“NMO”), the School Conflict Management Project (“SCMP”) the Foreclosure Mediation Program, administered by the State of New Jersey Department of the Public Advocate’s Office of Dispute Settlement (“NJ ODS”); and the Center for Mediation Services (“OATH CMS”) at the New York City Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings ("OATH").**

Mediation: The 2010 Clinic mediations took place primarily in two venues -- on the NYU Campus mediating residence hall disputes as part of the NYU CMP and at OATH CMS, located at 40 Rector Street in lower Manhattan, mediating employment disputes. In both CMP and CMS mediation practice, students co-mediated with a more experienced mediator in an apprenticeship model. While OATH CMS may no longer be an available venue in 2011, plans are underway to have students regularly co-mediate disputes in New York or New Jersey small claims courts, in addition to continuing to mediate residence hall disputes as referred through the NYU CMP.  

In addition, students will also have the opportunity to periodically travel to New Jersey courthouses in Jersey City and Trenton, and to the Newark offices of the NJ State Office of Dispute Settlement, to observe a variety of mediations, including employment, general commercial and foreclosure mediations through the NJ ODS program. The venues for the NJ mediations are all easily accessible by public transportation from NYC. NJ ODS is one of the country’s leading public dispute resolution offices and is a primary architect of the statewide foreclosure mediation program in New Jersey. This unique foreclosure mediation program is assisting thousands of homeowners in sitting down with their lenders and a neutral mediator in an effort to renegotiate the terms of their mortgages and potentially save their homes. In addition to observations, students will likely have the opportunity to co-mediate foreclosure mediations with experienced program mediators. 

Conflict Teaching, Coaching and Training: Working to foster conflict resolution learning is a core aspect of any dispute resolution expert’s work – and is thus part of the Clinic’s work. Clinic students may be called upon to do conflict education as part of NYU CMP or the Clinic’s School Conflict Management Project (SCMP).  Clinic students will also coach law students mediating in Small Claims Court under NMO.

Conflict Management Program Development: Students may also work with the School Conflict Management Project to expand service in New York City Schools. For a more complete description of the SCMP, please see the inset about the Project in the description for Mediation Clinic – Advanced: Dispute System Design.

Qualifications for Applicants

All students are expected to participate in 16 hours of training at the beginning of the semester. The dates and times for the intensive training will be 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday, August 29 and Tuesday, August 30, 2011. This training is a necessary qualification to mediate with real parties and ultimately to receive credit for the course.

Application Procedure

Students who wish to apply to the Mediation Clinic should submit via CAMS the standard application, résumé and unofficial transcript. Applicants will be contacted by Ray Ivey for an interview with Professor Sarah Burns; once contacted, students should sign up for the interview on the CAMS system. These interviews will be held throughout the clinic application period and are a prerequisite to admission to the clinic. Please contact Mr. Ivey at 212-998-6474 or via email if you have any questions.

Student Contacts

Interested students might wish to contact current or former Clinic students, including:

* 5 credits includes 2 clinical/fieldwork credits and 3 academic/seminar credits. Note that all students are expected to participate in 16 hours of training at the beginning of the semester. This training is a necessary qualification to mediate with real parties and ultimately to receive credit for the course.

** It is unclear at this time whether the Center for Mediation Services (“OATH CMS”) will be a venue for student fieldwork in 2011.

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