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 28, and Tuesday, August 29, 2023, 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 2023 and as one of several possible prerequisites for Mediation Clinic - Advanced: Dispute System Design in Spring 2024. Priority in admission to this seminar is therefore given to students taking both the  Mediation Clinic and Mediation Clinic - Advanced: Dispute System Design.

Fieldwork

Fieldwork mediation, study and practice may take several forms, including case development, co-mediating, coaching and training. Students will contrast facilitative mediation with other dispute resolution processes, including the more evaluative court-imposed settlement process. 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 Fall 2022, clinic work engaged students as practitioners with two primary systems focused on mediation and we expect that we will be working in the same venues for Fall 2023. These were the NYC Small Claims Courts and the Center for Creative Conflict Resolution at the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings ("OATH") at 66 John Street in lower Manhattan. Fieldwork in Fall 2023 is likely also to include co-mediating at the Institute for Mediation and Conflict Resolution (IMCR), a community dispute resolution center in the Bronx. The IMCR and the Small Claims/Civil Courts offer numerous opportunities for students to gain experience as mediators. OATH offers challenging mediation experiences on a more infrequent basis involving workplace conflict; it also offers the opportunity to mediate in the MEND program, a free mediation service for quality-of-life disputes between community residents and neighboring restaurants, bars and nightclubs. 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.

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 28 and Tuesday, August 29, 2023. 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 Trena Crockett for an interview with Professor Ray Kramer and Professor Dan Weitz; 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 Ms. Crockett at 212-998-6448 or via email if you have any questions.

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. Please use that form and submit it along with a resume and unofficial transcript on 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:

Fall 2022
Sarah Bruley    
Rachel Burns  
Calvin Chappell   
Jenelle Davis    
Callen DiGiovanni   
Claudia Fernandez
Isabel Feuer   
Bernard Gburek    
Howard Glucksman
Emma Hagle  
Anna Heitmann  
Maya Hiebert  
Moe Katchen   
Elizabeth Lewis   
Maisie Ng    
Liz Ortiz   
Camille Perral
Ari Pomerantz   
Gaby Santiago
Eric Thompson

* 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.