LAW 8200 - Mediation Practicum

Institution:

Villanova University

Subject:

Description:

Description: The mediation practicum offers students an opportunity to study and gain hands-on experience in the fast-growing field of mediation. The practicum includes classroom and fieldwork components. The classroom component will focus on the role of the mediator, the differences in process and purpose between mediation and traditional litigation, and the range of options, risks and advantages of resolving disputes through mediation. Students will also receive intensive skills training in class and will participate in simulated mediation sessions. The skills training will be front-loaded at the beginning of the semester to prepare students to engage in the fieldwork component. Following the initial intensive classroom instruction, the students will move into the fieldwork component. First, students will participate in specialized training through the court-annexed mediation program of the Philadelphia Municipal Court. Each student will then act as a front-line mediator in one or more cases in the Philadelphia Municipal Court in the area of civil litigation, private criminal complaints or housing disputes (real mediation cases are assigned based upon availability). Students will also be required to observe at least one live mediation in an appeals case in the Third Circuit and one private mediation. Students will meet with the professor to prepare for their mediation, and after the intensive training phase, will continue to meet weekly in the classroom with the professor to "debrief" and discuss their mediation experiences as a group. Students will also be required to submit a fifteen page research paper on a topic in the field of mediation. During the final two-three weeks of the semester, students will be required to orally present their papers to the class. Students will be evaluated on their classroom participation, simulated mediation, research paper, oral presentations and fieldwork. While the students' substantive performance in the field will not be graded, the students will be required to submit weekly reports summarizing both their simulated and real mediation sessions, and those reports will be graded for content. The rest of the grade will be comprised of: 1) an evaluation of the students' performances as mediator during five to six simulated mediation sessions, 2) contributions to classroom discussions, 3) the research paper, and 4) the oral presentation. Due to the intensive training and simulated mediation work which will take place in class, attendance is critical and mandatory. Students must be available to attend intensive training sessions, both here at Villanova and at the Municipal Court in Philadelphia. Mandatory skills training takes place at Villanova on the second or third weekend of the semester. Training at the Municipal Court in Philadelphia takes place over two 2- hour sessions on a weekday during the third and fourth weeks of the semester. To compensate for this front-loaded classroom training, the class will not meet for all of its regularly-scheduled sessions throughout the semester. Because of the intensive training schedule, however, students who have little free time or flexibility in their schedules should not enroll in the course. 3.00credit(s) Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Colleges: Law

Credits:

3.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.villanova.edu

Phone Number:

(610) 519-4500

Regional Accreditation:

Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools

Calendar System:

Semester

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