| LW.10833 / LW.10657 Professor Ray Kramer Professor Daniel M. Weitz Open to 3L, 2L and LL.M. students Maximum of 16 students |
Fall semester 5 Credits* No pre- or co-requisites. (See "Qualifications for Applicants" below.) |
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 Thursday, August 21, and Friday, August 22, 2025, at Furman Hall. Students will be expected to attend both full days. 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.
This seminar is open to 16 students. It serves as the co-requisite for students taking the Mediation Clinic fieldwork in Fall 2025 and as one of several possible prerequisites for Mediation Clinic - Advanced: Dispute System Design in Spring 2026. Priority in admission to this seminar is therefore given to students taking both the Mediation Clinic and Mediation Clinic - Advanced: Dispute System Design.
Application Procedure
Students who wish to apply to the Mediation Clinic should submit via CAMS the standard application, resume and unofficial transcript. There will be no interview.
The Mediation Clinic also welcomes LL.M. enrollments and regularly admits LL.M. students. 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 deadline is different than for JDs, and is posted on the Clinic Application Timelines page. There is a separate application form for LL.M. students. There will be no interview.
* 5 credits include 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.