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 27, and Tuesday, August 28, 2012, 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 similar mediations 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 Mediation Clinic fieldwork in Fall 2012 and as one of several possible prerequisites for Mediation Clinic - Advanced: Dispute System Design in Spring 2013. 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.

Fieldwork
Fieldwork mediation study and practice takes several forms, including co-mediating, teaching, coaching and training. 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 journal entries and site reports reflecting upon their observations and experiences in mediation and training.

Mediation: In 2011, clinic work engaged students as practitioners with five primary systems focused on mediation and we expect that we will be working in the same venues for fall 2012.  These include: NYC Small Claims Courts, primarily the courts in the Bronx and Brooklyn; New Jersey Small Claims and Civil Court, primarily in Jersey City;  the Foreclosure Mediation Program, administered by the State of New Jersey Office of Dispute Settlement (“NJ ODS”), primarily in Jersey City and Trenton; the New York City Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings ("OATH") at 40 Rector Street in NYC; and NYU Residential Life Conflict Management Program (“NYU CMP”) on the NYU campus.  New York and New Jersey Small Claims/Civil Courts and NJ Foreclosure Mediation offer numerous opportunities for students to gain experience as mediators.  OATH and NYU CMP offer challenging mediation experiences on a more infrequent basis. Full mediator apprenticeship training requires each fieldwork student to complete a minimum of eight (8) live party mediations under supervision of an experienced mediator. A regular time will be blocked in fieldwork student schedules to ensure each student is available to complete their apprenticeship work. 

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 or assist in training as part of NYU CMP or other partner programs.  Clinic students will also coach law students mediating in Small Claims Court under the NYU Mediation Organization (“NMO”).

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 27 and Tuesday, August 28, 2012. 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, resume 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.

The Mediation Clinic also welcomes LL.M. enrollments and will consider taking LL.M. students, but does not specifically reserve space for LL.M.s. Students should carefully consider the impact of the clinic on their other academic choices during their LL.M. year, including consulting the LL.M. Program concerning credit requirements. The application deadline for LL.M.s is August 10, 2012, but earlier applications will be considered when they are submitted. There is a separate application form for LL.M. students. Please use that form and submit it along with a resume and unofficial transcript to CAMS. Applicants will be contacted for interviews as part of the selection process; accordingly, please make sure your submission includes information about how you can be reached during the weeks immediately following the application.

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.

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