Document Type
Article
Publication Date
11-2024
Abstract
Most mediation courses currently focus primarily on mediators’ perspectives and interventions during mediation sessions. Under the traditional view, mediators are the intervenors, and the parties, attorneys, and other participants in mediation sessions are the intervenees.
This article argues that mediation courses should provide balanced instruction of the roles of both mediators and attorneys by teaching students how to function as “quasi-mediators” when representing clients in mediation. As quasi-mediators, attorneys look for opportunities to reach reasonable agreements whenever appropriate, and they use mediation techniques to move the process in that direction. But they do not surrender their loyalty to their clients or try to be neutral. Another term for attorneys acting as quasi-mediators is “good lawyering.”
This article grows out of a conversation at this year’s Association of American Law Schools ADR Section Works-in-Progress Conference. I presented data showing that more than 90% of law school mediation courses and more than 90% of the coverage in popular mediation texts focuses on the mediator’s role. Some faculty teaching mediation expressed concern about losing “precious time” in their courses, especially considering that most of legal education focuses on adversarial litigation. This article suggests, seemingly counterintuitively, that we can increase instruction in mediation skills by combining instruction in neutral and representative roles in mediation courses.
Recommended Citation
John Lande,
Creating Educational Value by Teaching Law Students to be Quasi-MediatorsUniversity of Missouri School of Law Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2024-35
(2024).
Available at: https://scholarship.law.missouri.edu/facpubs/1252