Mediation Clinic

(Writing credit available by arrangement with the professor)

(4 clinical pts; of the 7 credits, 4 are graded and 3 are credit/no credit)

One LL.M. with specific interest in mediation and ADR may be admitted to this course by permission of the professor.

This clinic is designed to give students the opportunity to develop their problem-solving and conflict-resolution skills; to examine the circumstances in which mediation is an appropriate form of dispute resolution; and to explore the role of the lawyer in mediation, either as mediator or as counsel to a client considering or participating in mediation. Students will mediate cases throughout the semester. Settings are likely to include Safe Horizon in Manhattan and Brooklyn, Manhattan and Brooklyn Civil Courts, Harlem Small Claims Court and IMCR in the Bronx. Students may also handle federal sector EEOC cases and conflicts between members of the Columbia Community.

In preparation for their work as mediators, students participate in an extensive program of simulations designed to build their skills as mediators and their capacity to critique and learn from their own work. Students receive individual feedback on both actual and simulated mediations.

Through readings and simulation exercises, students will also address policy and ethical issues raised by mediation (e.g., the role of law in mediation, the appropriate degree of confidentiality for matters raised in mediation, the mediator's responsibility for the fairness of the mediated agreement, the desirability of mandatory mediation).

A final paper or project, developed in consultation with the professor, is required.