Many of us teach mediation courses focused on preparing students to serve as neutrals.
Our courses don’t focus much on preparing them to represent clients in mediation, a role they are far more likely to perform soon after graduation.
I just posted my latest Theory Meets Practice column for CPR’s Alternatives magazine, The Art of Mediation Representation: Helping Clients Make Good Decisions.
It outlines the theory and practice of mediation representation, drawing on Real Practice Systems checklists, recent research, and techniques of practical lawyering. It emphasizes how attorneys can help clients make informed, confident decisions before, during, and after mediation sessions.
If you will teach mediation next year, I hope this article provides some food for thought.
We’ll be discussing these issues in a session at the ABA Section of Dispute Resolution Conference in Chicago:
- What Do Law Students Really Need to Learn About Mediation?
- Saturday, April 26, Noon – 1:00 p.m.
The panel will feature Rob Rubinson (University of Baltimore) and Erin Gleason Alvarez (Pace University), who teach clinical courses in mediation representation, as well as myself. We’ll share ideas, challenges, and examples from our teaching, and we’re building in time to hear your perspectives and experiences.
We hope to see you there.