LAW 0738:
Domestic Relations Mediation
Spring 2019 • Section S21
• CRN 27468
Course Description
This clinical course offers students an opportunity to be trained in mediation skills and to obtain experience conducting mediation sessions with actual disputants referred by the Family Court. Students will assist disputants to explore and develop their own options to resolve disputes rather than resort to litigation. Duties include explaining the goals and rules of mediation, interviewing the clients in the context of the mediation sessions and drafting the memorandum of agreement for the disputants at the conclusion of the mediation session as may be needed. The focus of the clinical course will be to introduce students to an alternative method of resolving disputes as applied in the domestic relations context.
Schedule
Schedule To Be Announced
Additional Time Requirements
Classroom Component: Intensive mediation skills training will take place on Wednesdays from 9 am-4 pm for the first four weeks of the semester. Thereafter, the students will participate in a debriefing session and are required to answer and turn in Mediator Reflection Questions after each mediation is completed. In addition to presentations designed to introduce students to a wide range of issues confronting the mediator, debriefing and feedback on the use of mediation skills in the actual sessions will be discussed.Clinic Component: Beginning the fifth week, after completion of the skills training, and continuing throughout the semester, interns will conduct actual mediation sessions with family court clients. There will also be opportunities to observe court proceedings such as judicial hearings and Master's hearings. The mediation sessions are scheduled on Wednesdays.
Registration Info
Registration Notes
You may register for this course if you have completed one or more of the listed Pre-Requisite Courses. Wednesdays from 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM for the first 4 weeks at Good Shepherd.
Pre-Requisites
You must have completed the following courses before enrolling in this course:
- LAW 0623 (Legal Negotiation and Settlement) or LAW 0568 (Family Law) or LAW 0655 (Mediation Advocacy and Practice) or LAW 1033 (Families in Law and Public Policy)